By Brad Culp
Photos By Rich Cruse
Sept, 10 -- 2007 -- Earlier this season, when it was announced that any man or woman who could sweep the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon Series would win a $300,000 bonus, most believed that the feat would be impossible. With one race left in the series, Aussie speedster Greg Bennett is on track to accomplish the impossible.
The seemingly unbeatable Bennett won the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Triathlon on Sunday, narrowly out-dueling his countryman Craig Walton. Another Aussie, Stephen Hackett, completed the podium sweep for the men from down under.
In the women’s race, few were surprised to see yet another Australian, Emma Snowsill run her away to victory. Great Britain’s Julie Dibens held off Aussie Mirinda Carfrae for second.
Twenty-one pro men charged into Venice Beach to start the swim under ideal conditions, with American John Kenny leading the way into T1, after a sub-21 minute swim. Not far behind the leader were Paulo Miyasiro of Brazil and Walton, who routinely has one of the best swim-bike combinations in the sport.
Once out of transition, Walton surged away from the rest of the field and flew through L.A’s famous neighborhoods in 55 minutes. The rest of the top men lost about two-and-a-half minutes to Walton and it appeared that Bennett’s shot at $300,000 was all but lost.
Bennett stormed out of T2 to begin his 10km pursuit of Walton and his big paycheck. After almost five-and-a-half miles of chasing, Bennett caught Walton as they made the final turn toward the finish line at the Staples Center. The two were side by side for mere seconds before Bennett made his move and pulled away to win by only six seconds.
Next up for Bennett is the Toyota U.S Open in Dallas, Texas, in five weeks. If Bennett crosses the line in first, he will earn the cash bonus, on top of the series championship. The bonus, combined with his wife’s (American Laura Bennett) $250,000 check from the HyVee World Cup, will make for a big year for the world’s fastest couple.
The women’s race didn’t have nearly as much excitement as the men’s, which is becoming very standard for any race that Snowsill enters. Although she was only seven days removed from her runner-up finish at the ITU World Championships, Snowsill had no problem dominating her competition in L.A.
Snowsill was the second woman out of the Pacific, just seconds behind American Jasmine Oeinick, but she and Dibens took control of the race as they biked up Hollywood Blvd. The pair destroyed the rest of the field over the 40km course and entered T2 comfortably ahead of their pursuers.
In typical Snowsill fashion, she put three minutes into the rest of the women on the run and cruised down the finishing chute in 2:00:45. Dibens finished less than three minutes later, with Carfrae another three-and-a-half minutes back.
“I was pleased with being third behind [Snowsill and Dibens],” Carfrae said after the race. “It was a great way to see the city. I had never been to L.A before and
the race was a great way to see it all.”
Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles TriathlonLos Angeles, Calif.September 9, 20071.5-k sw, 40-k bi, 10-k ruMen1. Greg Bennett (AUS) 1:51:49
2. Craig Walton (AUS) 1:51:55
3. Stephen Hackett (AUS) 1:54:51
4. Timothy O'Donnell (USA) 1:55:04
5. Simon Lessing (USA) 1:55:37
Women1. Emma Snowsill (AUS) 2:00:45
2. Julie Dibens (GBR) 2:03:33
3. Mirinda Carfrae (AUS) 2:07:17
4. Rebeccah Wassner (USA) 2:07:38
5. Mary Beth Ellis (USA) 2:08:48