Equality Takes a Beating Australian Harrop wins Life Time Fitness Triathlon as the women win for a third consecutive year. July 19, 2004 • The head start of 11 minutes, 9 seconds given women in the Life Time Fitness Triathlon might as well have been an anvil tethered to the men's ankles, and it was ladies first at the finish line for a third straight year in the sport's richest prize-money race. Unlike the past two years, however, when U.S. Olympian and No. 1-ranked female triathlete Barb Lindquist took control, it was Australian Olympian Loretta Harrop who produced a dominant performance on a warm, windless and sunny morning at Lake Nokomis. Harrop, celebrating her 29th birthday, wrested the lead from Lindquist at the beginning of the 10-kilometer running segment and forged such a gap that she was able to come to a complete halt 20 yards from the finish line and high-five and shake the hands of spectators. After looking back a few times to make sure no one was closing on her, she strolled to the line and instead of breaking the finish banner, she simply grabbed it and held it high over her head in the NBC-televised event. It was the same way she grabbed control of the race, and when it was over she grabbed $250,000 in prize money. Harrop simply squashed those behind her. "I definitely went flat-out from start to finish," she said. "I got beat by a better athlete today," said Lindquist, who led by a narrow margin through the swim and bike portions of the race but finished third. "Loretta was on fire." Lindquist, 35, and Harrop left the water nearly together after a 1.5-kilometer swim, but the defending champion inched back in front through 40 kilometers along the river roads and the Minneapolis parkway system during the bike ride. They arrived at the transition area nearly together, but Harrop took off on the run as if shot from a cannon. By the time they crossed a grassy area and reached the roadway circling Nokomis, Harrop led by 50 yards. "I knew it would come down to the run," she said. "She just took off," Lindquist said. "I didn't have that sort of speed today." Harrop, who missed the Life Time Fitness Triathlon a year ago because of a stress fracture in her foot, said she has been wanting to compete in the race, which dispenses $500,000 in prize money. She ran like a scared jack-rabbit, going through the final leg -- the 10K -- in 35 minutes, 7 seconds. David Thompson, 22, of St. Paul made his pro triathlon debut and finished in 1:56:59, 17th among the men. In the elite amateur devision, Duluth native Brent Loberg, 23, of Minneapolis was 34th in 2:15:29. Back to Articles Page

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