Top male and female triathletes from throughout the world will race in Des Moines on September 4 for a share of the sport's largest prize purse
DES MOINES, IA - Professional athletes from 13 countries - including a number of up-and-coming Americans - will take to the start line on September 4 for the Hy-Vee 5150 U.S. Championship Elite Cup races.
The athletes - 30 men and 30 women - qualified for the championship event by finishing atop the 2011 rankings in World Triathlon Corporation's new 5150 Series, or by receiving a special invitation to compete. When they line up on the swim platform in the Des Moines River on September 4, they will be racing for a total of $1.1 million in cash - the largest prize purse in the history of triathlon. The men's and women's winners will each take home $151,500.
Bill Burke, race director, said organizers have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of interest in the new race series among both international and U.S. athletes.
"Athletes have traveled to events in Europe and added more races to their schedules to make sure they qualified for Hy-Vee," Burke said. "It's a strong field, and we expect two very competitive races."
Great Britain's Stuart Hayes tops the men's qualifier list, while Nikki Butterfield of Australia leads the women's contingent. Hy-Vee Triathlon fans will recognize a number of familiar faces in this year's field, including New Zealand's Kris Gemmell (second to 2010 men's winner Tim Don) and Bevan Docherty (second in 2008), consistent Top 10 finisher Liz Blatchford of Great Britain, and American standouts Alicia Kaye, Annie Warner, Amanda Stevens, Sara McLarty, Sarah Haskins, Jarrod Shoemaker, Andy Potts, Matt Reed, Cameron Dye and Benjamin Collins, among others.
The list of special invitees includes the two current Ironman champions - Chris "Macca" McCormack and Mirinda Carfrae, both from Australia. Burke said he believes this is the first time both reigning Ironman champions have competed in a non-Ironman race. Also accepting special invites to compete are past Hy-Vee champions Laura Bennett of the U.S., (2007), Rasmus Henning of Denmark (2007-08) and Emma Moffatt of Australia (2009), along with three-time U.S. Olympian Hunter Kemper.
Burke pointed out that the Hy-Vee Elite Cup event, like all 5150 Series events, is a non-drafting race, which means fans will see more passing and jockeying for position during the bike portion of the event. Another change in the Elite Cup race this year is the introduction of the 5150 Bonus Line, which provides a cash bonus of $5,150 to the athlete leading the field after each of the race's 10 laps.
"Those two factors alone will increase the excitement level for athletes and spectators," Burke said. "With the 5150 Bonus Line in play, fans will see the equivalent of 10 mini-races within each race."
The Elite Cup races Sunday afternoon will follow a morning filled with action for amateur age-group athletes. The Hy-Vee Triathlon 5150 U.S. Championship and Hy-Vee Triathlon races begin at 6:45 a.m. on September 4 at Gray's Lake and conclude at the finish line west of the Iowa State Capitol. The men's and women's winners of the 5150 U.S. Championship will receive Mini Cooper automobiles.
We've added a triathlon poll: Who are you picking to win the 2011 Hy-Vee Triathlon 5150 U.S. Championship? Women's Race: twtpoll.com/8lqsm2 Men's Race: twtpoll.com/to731c
| Men's Field | Country | Women's Field | Country | |
| Stuart Hayes | GBR | 1 |
Nikki Butterfield | AUS |
| Paul Matthews | GBR | 2 |
Alicia Kaye | USA |
| Cameron Dye | USA | 3 |
Annie Warner | USA |
| Martin Krnavek | CZE | 4 |
Amanda Stevens | USA |
| Matt Reed | USA | 5 |
Nicole Kelleher | USA |
| Csaba Kuttor | HUN | 6 |
Angela Axmann | DEU |
| Bertrand Billard | FRA | 7 |
Radka Vodickova | CZE |
| Benjamin Collins | USA | 8 |
Liz Blatchford | GBR |
| Joshua Amberger | AUS | 9 |
Renate Forstner | DEU |
| Filip Ospaly | CZE | 10 |
Annabel Luxford | AUS |
| Kris Gemmel | NZL | 11 |
Jenny Fletcher | CAN |
| David Thompson | USA | 12 |
Amanda Felder Derkacs | USA |
| Chris Foster | USA | 13 |
Pip Taylor | AUS |
| Ritchi Nicholls | GBR | 14 |
Margaret Shapiro | USA |
| Brian Fleischmann | USA | 15 |
Sara McLarty | USA |
| Kyle Leto | USA | 16 |
Laurel Wassner | USA |
| Igor Sysoev | RUS | 17 |
Sarah Haskins | USA |
| Jordan Jones | USA | 18 |
Kristen Peterson | USA |
| Kaleb VanOrt | USA | 19 |
Christine Jeffrey | USA |
| Tim Reed | USA | 20 |
Becky Lavelle | USA |
| Greg Bennett | AUS | 21 |
Evelyne Blouin | CAN |
| Tim O'Donnell | USA | 22 |
Rebecca Wassner | USA |
| Fraser Cartmell | GBR | 23 |
Amy Bevilaqua | USA |
| Kevin Everett | USA | 24 |
Sarah Groff | USA |
| Marcus Ornellas | BRA | 25 |
Mandy McLane | USA |
| Rasmus Henning | DNK | 26 |
Laura Bennett | USA |
| Hunter Kemper | USA | 27 |
Mirinda Carfrae | AUS |
| Chris McCormack | AUS | 28 |
Gwen Jorgenson | USA |
| Andy Potts | USA | 29 |
Emma Moffat | AUS |
| Jarrod Shoemaker | USA | 30 |
Lisa Norden | SWE |
Hy-Vee, Inc. is an employee-owned corporation operating 233 retail stores in eight Midwestern states. For fiscal year 2010 the company recorded sales of $6.9 billion, ranking it among the top 30 supermarket chains and the top 50 private companies in the United States. Hy-Vee annually sponsors the Hy-Vee Triathlon, one of the sports premier events with the richest prize purse in triathlon history. Learn more about Hy-Vee's commitment to making lives easier, healthier and happier by visiting the company's website at www.hy-vee.com
