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Wildflower Triathlon coming to Lake San Antonio May 1-3 

A photo from last year's event. Courtesy of Tri-California Events.

A photo from last year’s event. Courtesy of Tri-California Events.

This May athletes will return to Central Coast for the 33rd annual Wildflower Triathlon

Known for its hilly and challenging course, The Wildflower Triathlon, hosted at Lake San Antonio on May 1-3, is one of the largest triathlon events in the world, normally attracting up to 7,500 athletes and 30,000 spectators.

Last year’s Wildflower champion, Jesse Thomas, returns to the field again to try to earn a fifth win. Thomas said that he welcomes the unique challenge this alternate “drought tolerant” course presents and testifies that he always has “a blast” completing it.

Joining Thomas this year is an elite group of male triathletes, including Brian Fleischmann of Colorado Springs, Colorado, whose career highlights include a second-place finish at the 2001 USA Triathlon Elite Nationals. His wins include the 2006 ITU Team Sprint Championships in Lausanne with teammates Andy Potts and Matt Reed, the 2007 Tri- California Series and the 2009 Triathlon at Pacific Grove. Reed also will compete in the Wildflower male elite field this year, as well as Matt Lieto and Jordan Rapp. With his victory last year, Thomas, a former 3000-meter hurdler for Stanford University, matched four-time world champion Chris McCormack’s four wins.

Triathalon bike

A photo from last year’s event. Courtesy of Tri-California Events.

Among the elites in the women’s field will be defending Wildflower female champion Heather Jackson. Jackson, a former NCAA Division I hockey player for Princeton University will be competing to win her fourth race. Jackson will be joined by Emily Cocks of Napa, California, who was a former swimmer for the University of Michigan. Cocks gained notice with her 2006 top American female finish at the ITU Long Course World Championship. Twins, Laurel and Rebeccah Wassner, of New York City, also are among the female elites. Rebeccah is a three-time winner of the Nautica New York City Triathlon, while Laurel is the first cancer-survivor-turned-professional triathlete. In 2010, she took second in the Nautica New York City Triathlon, finishing just two minutes behind Rebeccah.

“We’re thrilled with the elite competitors joining us this year, and most of them are no strangers to the Wildflower Triathlons, one of the toughest and most beautiful long courses in the world,” said Colleen Bousman, president of Tri-California Events. “Even with another year of challenge in modifying the course due to drought, we’re confident our amateur competitors will be excited about the prospect of competing on the same course with some of the world’s best triathletes and wildflower legends. It’ll be an exciting field.”

The Wildflower Triathlons’ classic long course race includes a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike leg, and a cross-country, paved 13.1-mile run.

In addition to the Wildflower Triathlons’ classic long course, the three-day triathlon festival also includes a mountain bike sprint race and an Olympic distance race. To learn more about these triathlons, please visit www.tricalifornia.com.

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The news staff of the Paso Robles Daily News wrote or edited this story from local contributors and press releases. The news staff can be reached at info@pasoroblesdailynews.com.