L.A. TRIATHLON: FOR WALTON, LONELY TRIP WELL WORTH IT.Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer The organizers of Sunday's City of Los Angeles
Walton competed at the first Olympic triathlon at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He took twenty-seventh place with a total time of 1:50:57.66. was more than happy not to oblige. Walton, a 27-year-old Australian professional, overwhelmed the field from start to finish in capturing his second consecutive L.A. Triathlon title. He covered the Olympic-distance course - stretching from Venice Beach to El Pueblo El Pueblo (The People) was a Spanish daily newspaper, the central organ of the Syndicalist Party during the 1930s. - in 1 hour, 49 minutes, 32 seconds. Walton's margin of victory (3:38 over second-place Simon Lessing Simon Lessing (born February 12, 1971) is a triathlete from the United Kingdom, born in South Africa he now lives in Boulder, Colorado, United States but competes for the UK. His major sponsors include American Interbanc (Mortgage Bankers), Asics (apparel) and Javelin (bike). of Great Britain) was by far the widest in race history. Instead of a sprint to the finish, Walton was able to jog up Los Angeles Street Los Angeles Street is a historic avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California. Traffic on the street travels northbound only, from the I-10 Freeway in the south of downtown, through the Fashion District, and on through Little Tokyo, where it ends after passing between LAPD , high-fiving the crowd, before walking across the line. ``I'm really sorry to disappoint (the organizers),'' said Walton, who earned $8,000 for the victory. ``But I'd rather finish with four minutes up my sleeve.'' Cupertino's Becky Gibbs Lavelle, who took bronze at last month's Pan American Games Pan American (Sports) Games Quadrennial sports festival. The games, conceived in 1940 as an event for the nations of the Western Hemisphere, were first held in 1951. in the Dominican Republic, won the women's title by 55 seconds over Nicole DeBoom. It was Lavelle's first victory of the summer season and came in 2:08.06. But the star of the morning was Walton, who afterward left even his fellow competitors marveling. ``He was in a class of his own,'' Lessing said. ``There's not much you can do when that happens.'' The only thing that went wrong all day, Walton said, was that the ankle band he wore ended up cutting off circulation to his foot. He lost 15 seconds trying to loosen it during the run. On the women's side, meanwhile, the absence of two-time champion Barb Lindquist was noticeable. She elected not to race in L.A. after winning $250,000 in a handicap race against men at last month's Life Time Fitness Triathlon The Life Time Fitness Triathlon is a triathlon race held annually in Minneapolis MN. An Olympic Distance length course winds its way through the city, drafting is not permitted. in Minneapolis. As a result, the winning time was nearly 10 minutes off the standard Lindquist set in winning last September. Ross Siler, (818) 713-3610 ross.siler(at)dailynews.com |
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