Sep 6, 2008 6:06 pm US/Pacific
3,000 To Compete In L.A.'s 9th Annual Triathlon
LOS ANGELES
Nearly 3,000 people, including 2008 Olympian Julie Ertel, are expected to compete in Sunday's ninth annual Los Angeles Triathlon, which includes a new finish area and a modified cycling course.
Approximately two-thirds of the participants will compete in the Olympic distance race, which consists of a ninth-tenths of a mile swim off Venice Beach, a 24.8-mile bicycling segment to the L.A. Live entertainment complex adjacent to Staples Center, followed by a 6.2-mile run on a looped course, also ending at L.A. Live.
The remaining one-third will compete on the sprint course -- a four-tenths of a mile swim, 19.5-mile bicycling segment and 3.1-mile run.
About 30,000 spectators are expected to line the course, race director Jack Caress said, citing figures provided by the Los Angeles Police Department.
The male and female winners will each receive $10,000, while the first-place finishers of the swimming segment will each receive $1,000.
Ertel, an Irvine resident, finished 19th in the Olympic triathlon and won a silver medal in the 2000 Olympics as a member of the U.S. women's water polo team.
Streets, including Venice Boulevard, will be opened and closed as competitors move from the beach to downtown, but all streets will be reopened by noon, according to race organizers.
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