Hawai'i to host first U.S. Triathlon

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

All of Waikiki will get to watch the United States Olympic Team Trials Triathlon on April 18, 2004.

Officials associated with the event said they are hoping all of the nation will watch, too.

"We think sports is the tourism for the future," Mayor Jeremy Harris said at a press conference yesterday announcing details of the event. "It is going to be an important part of our economy in the future, and the feather in the cap is bringing an Olympic event to this city."

It is the first time that an Olympic-qualifying event will be staged in Hawai'i. The first American finishers of the men's and women's races on April 18 will earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic team (only three men and three women can represent the U.S. triathlon team at the 2004 Olympics at Athens, Greece, next August).

"The winners will get their tickets punched to Athens right here in Honolulu," said Herman Frazier, a vice president on the U.S. Olympic Committee and the athletic director at the University of Hawai'i. "That's huge for those athletes and that's huge for Hawai'i."

To showcase the event, officials would like to show off some of Hawai'i's famous sites.

The course, which is still tentative until permits and other logistics are secured, would consist of a 1,500-meter swim at Waikiki Beach, a 40-kilometer bike ride around Diamond Head (five laps), and a 10-kilometer run around Kapi'olani Park and Kalakaua Avenue (four laps).

"You could essentially sit in one of the bars or restaurants and watch the race go back and forth in front of you," said event organizer John Korff. "That makes it more appealing from a viewer's standpoint because you don't have to wait for hours to see the competitors finish. They'll be doing laps right in front of you."

Korff said NBC officials have told him that the triathlon is "on the schedule" for a delayed national broadcast. KHNL is scheduled to televise a Hawai'i broadcast.

"Our feeling is that it will look incredible on TV," Korff said. "It's one of the reasons why we wanted this to take place in Hawai'i."

A second U.S. triathlon trials will be staged in Bellingham, Wash., in June.

Honolulu and Bellingham were selected over three other finalist cities: Cleveland, Clermont, Fla., and Tempe, Ariz.

"Part of the reason why Hawai'i was selected is obvious," Korff said. "But another reason is that there is a big triathlon community here."

In conjunction with the Olympic trials, the Honolulu Triathlon will be held that same day. The Honolulu Triathlon will be open to competitors of all ages (for information, visit www.honolulutriathlon.com), and Korff said he expects more than 1,000 competitors to enter.

The Honolulu Triathlon will start at 6 a.m., followed by the women's Olympic trials around 11 a.m., and then the men's Olympic trials around 1:30 p.m.

The Olympic trials will also count for points on the International Triathlon Union (ITU), so non-American triathletes are also expected to compete. Korff said he would also like to award wild-card spots into the Olympic trials for Hawai'i triathletes.

"We're in Hawai'i, so it would be nice to have somebody from Hawai'i participate," he said. "I know there are elite triathletes here, we just have to find them."

Frazier said a successful Olympic triathlon trials in April could lead to future Olympic-related events in Hawai'i.

"These are events that bring people to Hawai'i and create exposure to the rest of the nation, the rest of the world," he said. "It's a win-win situation."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.