Courtesy: USAT

U.S. elite triathlete Laura Reback, a native of North Palm Beach, Fla., grabbed a narrow victory at the St. Anthony's ITU World Cup race, the first event of the USA Triathlon Race to Athens elite series.

Reback outran U.S. teammate Sheila Taormina in the final meters to win the Olympic distance race in 1 hour, 54 minutes, 29 seconds. Taormina (Livonia, Mich.) finished eight seconds behind and Germany's Anja Dittmer was third in 1:54:42.

The U.S. men were also led by a Florida native, as Brian Fleischmann of Jacksonville was the top U.S. men's finisher in 14th. Tim Don of Great Britain won the men's race in 1:45:05. Volodymyr Polikarpenko of Ukraine was second in 1:45:16 and Greg Bennett of Australia finished third in 1:45:20.

Bennett, ranked No. 2 in the world, is the fiance of women's winner Reback. Both were ecstatic about her World Cup victory, the second of her career.

"Last year, I set a goal to win this race this year," Reback said. "It's as close to a hometown race as I'll get. That's why I wanted to win."

The United States had five women finish in the top 10, as Barb Lindquist (Victor, Idaho), ranked No. 1 in the world, placed fifth, Joanna Zeiger (Baltimore, Md.) placed seventh and Susan Williams (Denver, Colo.) finished eighth.

The event went off without a hitch despite torrential thunderstorms that had moved through the area the night before. The weather was overcast; keeping temperatures in the 70s and low 80s, but wetsuits were not needed for the swim.

Lindquist, Taormina and Australia's Loretta Harrop exited the water together and formed a lead pack on the bike. However by the fourth lap, a chase pack of about 14 -- including Reback, who finished the swim in fourth, Zeiger, Williams and Susie Gallucci (Hudson, Ohio) -- had caught them.

"We had to make a decision on lap three or four," Taormina said of the lead pack. "The second group had all the workhorses in it. It would have been a death sentence to try to hold them off."

Taormina took the lead out of the second transition, followed by Reback and Lindquist. Dittmer and Germany's Joelle Franzmann, who ran together for much of the race, eventually passed Lindquist, but never threatened Taormina and Reback.

With 75 athletes starting the men's race, the swim proved to be a somewhat brutal affair.

"St. Anthony's is always a battle on the swim," Fleischmann said. "It was definitely rough out there."

Hunter Kemper (Longwood, Fla.), the top ranked U.S. man and runner-up at St. Anthony's in 2001, exited the swim in 39th and struggled in transition. After riding with the last pack on the bike, he finally dropped out in the run.

U.S. elite Doug Friman (Tucson, Ariz.) joined Great Britain's Richard Allen, New Zealand's Matt Reed and Spain's Jose Merchan in a breakaway on the bike. They were followed by a pack of more than 50 riders including U.S. elites Fleischmann, Victor Plata (San Luis Obispo, Calif.), Mark Fretta (Portland, Ore.), Andy Potts (Princeton, N.J.) and Joe Umphenour (Bellevue, Wash.).

But the runners won out in the end as Don, Polikarpenko and Bennett made their moves in the later stages. Plata went on to finish 17th and Potts held on for 20th.

For complete results, go to www.triathlon.org.

St. Anthony's ITU World Cup/Race to Athens No. 1
April 26, 2003; St. Petersburg, Fla.
1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run

Women
1. Laura Reback (North Palm Beach, Fla.) 1:54:29; 2. Sheila Taormina (Livonia, Mich.) 1:54:37; 3. Anja Dittmer (Germany) 1:54:42; 4. Joelle Franzmann (Germany) 1:54:55; 5. Barb Lindquist (Victor, Idaho) 1:55:02; 6. Loretta Harrop (Australia) 1:55:24; 7. Joanna Zeiger (Baltimore, Md.) 1:55:42; 8. Susan Williams (Denver, Colo.) 1:55:42; 9. Vanessa Fernandes (Portugal) 1:56:23; 10. Sharon Donnelly (Canada) 1:56:48

Other U.S. finishers
21. Becky Gibbs Lavelle (San Jose, Calif.); 26. Amanda Pagon (Glenn Dale, Md.); 31. Susie Gallucci (Hudson, Ohio); 37. Monica Caplan (Boulder, Colo.); 43. Laurie Hug (Ambler, Pa.)

Men
1. Tim Don (Great Britain) 1:45:05; 2. Volodymyr Polikarpenko (Ukraine) 1:45:16; 3. Greg Bennett (Australia) 1:45:20; 4. Frederic Belaubre (France) 1:45:28; 5. Maik Pezold (Germany) 1:45:29; 6. Leandro Macedo (Brazil) 1:45:33; 7. Simon Lessing (Great Britain) 1:45:36; 8. Jose Merchan (Spain) 1:45:38; 9. Stephane Poulat (France) 1:45:49; 10. Bevan Docherty (New Zealand) 1:45:55

U.S. finishers
14. Brian Fleischmann (Jacksonville, Fla.); 17. Victor Plata (San Luis Obispo, Calif.); 20. Andy Potts (Princeton, N.J.); 27. Mark Fretta (Portland, Ore.); 28. Doug Friman (Tucson, Ariz.); 43. Joe Umphenour (Bellevue, Wash.)