Posted at 12:50 p.m., Sunday, September 16, 2007
Triathlon: Shoemaker, Bennett earn U.S. Olympic spots
Associated Press
BEIJING — Jarrod Shoemaker and Laura Bennett earned spots on the 2008 U.S. Olympic triathlon team.The 25-year-old Shoemaker, from Sudbury, Mass., was timed in 1 hour, 49 minutes, 44 seconds, good for 11th in the qualifying event at the ITU BG Beijing World Cup today. The 32-year-old Bennet, from North Palm Beach, Fla., was third in 2:02:06 in the 1.5-kilometer swim, 40K bike ride and 10K run.
Javier Gomez of Spain won the men's event in 1:48:41. He was followed by Courtney Atkinson of Australia (1:49:03) and Bevan Docherty of New Zealand (1:49:08).
Shoemaker held off two-time Olympian Hunter Kemper of Longwood, Fla., by 13 seconds and 2004 Olympian Andy Potts of Princeton, N.J., another 22 seconds back.
Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal won the women's event in 2:00:36, followed by Emma Snowsill of Australia (2:01:51).
Beijing was the first of three Olympic qualifying races for U.S. athletes over the next nine months.
