ISLE FILE
Off-road triathlon championships on Maui
Advertiser Staff
Four hundred competitors are expected in the 7th annual $105,000 Nissan Xterra World Championships, an extreme off-road triathlon, on Oct. 27 at the Outrigger Wailea Resort on Maui's South Shore.
The course consists of a 1.5-kilometer roughwater swim at Wailea Beach, a 30-kilometer mountain bike on the slopes of Haleakala, and an 11-kilometer trail run from Makena to Wailea.
The Championships is a culmination of a worldwide series of races held in Australia, Japan, Saipan, Germany, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Great Britain and the United States.
Last year, two athletes from Stellenbosch, South Africa swept the men's and women's races, with Conrad Stoltz, 29, winning in 2 hours, 28 minutes and 48 seconds, and Anke Erlank, 25, winning in 3:00:59.
Race officials said access to the course is permitted just once a year, on race day. Race conditions change radically from year to year and diminish the advantage to repeat competitors, officials said.
TENNIS
• Swartman wins national title: Kane'ohe's Suzi Swartman won her first national women's championship in the 55-year age division earlier this month, capturing the doubles championship at the USTA National Women's Hardcourts.
Swartman also took silver in singles, falling to former Hawai'i resident Judy Louie — the 1963 state high school champion for Kaimuki — in the final. Swartman's team defeated Louie's in doubles.
The tournament was played in Folsom, Calif.
Swartman, 57, won two "gold tennis balls" in singles and one in doubles while playing in the 50-year age division. She also has four "silver tennis balls" in singles. She was recently featured in a Newsweek magazine story on "Old and Fit."
Swartman, No. 44 in her age group in the latest international rankings, leaves with her team Tuesday to play in the U.S. Tennis Association senior team tennis nationals. Others on her team include O'ahu's Myrah Kim and Karen Hastings, Kaua'i's Sinclair Bill, No. 6 in the international 60's rankings, and Louie, who is No. 16 in the 55 rankings.
WRESTLING
• U.S. women's coach to hold clinic: Terry Steiner, coach of the U.S. Women's National wrestling team, will be holding a clinic at Punahou School's wrestling room, Nov. 14-17.
Steiner will teach wrestling techniques that are common to both freestyle and folkstyle, but will emphasize folk style, which will be used in the upcoming high school wrestling season.
The clinic costs $50, regardless of the number of sessions attended. A USAW Competitor's Card for the 2002-2003 year, normally a $30 charge, is included in the clinic cost.
For more information, contact John Robinson at 381-3048 or e-mail robinsonj001@hawaii.rr.com.
