CITY OF LOS ANGELES TRIATHLON TRIATHLON IS WINNERS' GOLD L.A. NO SYDNEY, BUT THEY'LL TAKE IT.

Byline: Lee Barnathan Staff Writer

Their finishes differed, but their feelings didn't.

There was happiness and relief mixed with sadness and regret as Chris McCormack slowed to a walk and Barb Lindquist sprinted across the finish line to win the inaugural City of Los Angeles Triathlon.

McCormack, an Australian now living in Carlsbad, completed the 0.9- mile swim, 24-mile bicycle ride and 6.2-mile run in 1 hour, 44 minutes, 18.2 seconds, which was 28.5 seconds ahead of fellow Aussie Greg Bennett. Lindquist, from Wyoming, won the women's division in 1:57:05.3, almost three minutes ahead of Australian Joanne King.

The happiness and relief comes from finishing as grueling a race as a triathlon can be (plus knowing they've become $20,000 richer. Lindquist said a payday like that doesn't happen too often).

And yet, it doesn't take much for their thoughts to turn to Sydney, where the first Olympic triathlon will be contested this week without them.

Both would have been heavy favorites had they qualified. Instead, they were in Los Angeles, the result of a bad selection process and a bad day at the Olympic Trials.

``This is my Olympic Games,'' McCormack said. ``As far as I'm concerned, I won the gold (medal) today.''

McCormack, 27, is the premier triathlete today, having won the world championship three times and having finished first in six triathlons this season, including Los Angeles.

And yet, he's not in Sydney because of questionable selection processes. To qualify for one of three triathlon berths, an Australian had to win the triathlon in either Sydney or Perth in April. Then in May, the coaches would select the remaining berths in much the same way as the U.S. women's gymnastics team was chosen.

McCormack finished second to Peter Robertson in Sydney and third in Perth. Since no Australian won in Perth, the coaches had two selections - they chose Miles Stewart and Craig Walton, who were injured and didn't compete in either triathlon.

That was within the rules, but it didn't please McCormack. He was selected second alternate behind Bennett, who today flies back to Sydney just in case he's needed.

In that context, it perhaps made sense to see McCormack, his victory assured, slow to a jog and walk over the final 300 yards, waving to the crowd and acknowledging the cheers.

``I wanted to savor it,'' he said.

After crossing the line, he greeted Bennett, his longtime friend, roommate and training partner in front of the finish line with a big hug.

Bennett also feels bad for McCormack.

``Politics,'' he said. ``The selection policy basically screwed it.''

There was nothing political about Lindquist missing the Games. The 31-year-old fell victim to the dreaded ``bad day'' in Dallas, where temperatures were in the 90s - and it was snowing in Sydney.

``Big mistake,'' she said of holding the triathlon in Dallas, where she had a comfortable lead until the run, when the effects of the race caused her body to overheat.

Since then, she has won the Cleveland triathlon, a World Cup in Canada and finished fourth in Chicago. But she doesn't race for vengeance. She races because it's fun.

What wasn't fun was not knowing how far behind her competition was. No one gave her split times on the course, so she never realized she had a two-minute lead for most of the race.

``You could see I ran full-on at the end,'' she said. ``But that's OK. You race against the clock and get the most out of how you feel.''

How they feel is richer in the pocketbook and poorer in the Olympic count. McCormack regrets not being able to call himself an Olympian.

And both winners said the same thing about watching the Olympic triathlon: It will he difficult, but they'll watch.

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Photo:

Los Angeles Triathlon competitors run to the Venice Beach shore after completing the swim on Sunday.

John McCroy/Staff Photographer