Petr Vabrousek of Czecksovakia and Timothy Marr of the USA battled for top honors in the dual in the desert of North Central Washington at the 2006 ITU Pan American Long Distance Elite Championships -- held Saturday September 16, 2006 at Grand Columbian Triathlon held in Grand Coulee Washington USA. The championships were contested as the only ITU Triple Triathlon distance in North America at the triple triathlon distance of 4K/120K/30K. Laurie Hug of ina USA was crowned the elite women's champion.

All athletes competing in the 2006 ITU Pan American Championships were greeted with a cool desert morning, temperatures in the 50's as the sun rose over a calm Banks Lake swim at the Grand Columbian race site. In the 4K swim, Timothy Marr led everyone out of the water with a 47:58 swim, Nathum Kortuem of Colorado Springs followed at 50:42. The main pack of Felipe Bastos, Petr, Ric Rosenkranz, Cuae Suplicy followed at 53:15 and change. Laurie Hug finished the womens leg with a best 53:26.

Petr and Timothy battled for the lead over the 120K bike through the amazing vistas and wheat fields of Eastern Washington. Moderate to Strong head and side winds increased the challenge of the bike as they rode towards Grand Coulee Dam along the mesa carved by the great floods and Banks Lake. Petr made up the 4+ minute deficit for a 120K bike leg of 3:14:07. A 21 second longer transition by Petr and Timothy led the pair out of T2 by 6 seconds. Keeping the women's' race well in control Laurie finished the bike with a 3:58:48and started the run with a 6:13 lead over Alison Hayden of Boulder Colorado.

Petr and Timothy ran together during the first half of the 30K run. At the halfway point, Timothy had extended his lead to 49 seconds. Petr took control of the race after tha first half and put a 6 minute lead over Timothy to finish the run in 2:04:46 to Timothy's 2:10:35. Petr's final time was 6:14:32. Although Petr won the championship and top prize money, Timothy was named the 2006 ITU Pan American Champion as a representative of a Pan American country. Michael Gordon battled from 7th place down after the bike to take third with a best overall run time of 2:01:12 (6:31 per mile) beating Ric Rosenkranz by 1:21 with a 6:32:26. Laurie maintained a 6 minute lead over Alison throughout the run for the Championship and a final time of 7:46:17. Ruthy Vesler of Cardiff CA overcame numerous flats on the bike and stuck it out for the finish. Her 2:42:28 run was fastest women overall.

The Grand Columbian, now in its third year, was featured in Inside Triathlon Magazine as one of the 10 "must do" long distance triathlons in North America. The venue is spectacular with complete enthusiastic community support. In reviewing his race Petr stated "This is an amazing course." For complete race results go to www.thegrandcolumbian.com

2006 ITU PAN AMERICAN LOND DISTANCE TRIATHLON CHAMPIONS

Name City State Country Swim Bike Run Total
1. Petr Vabrousek Czech 53:19 3:14:07 2:04:26 6:14:32
2. Timothy Marr Mililani HI USA 47:58 3:18:46 2:10:35 6:20:15
3. Michael Gordan Seattle WA USA 59:04 3:28:42 2:01:12 6:32:26

1. Laurie Hug Philadelphia PA USA 53:26 3:58:48 2:48:51 7:46:17
2. Alison Hayden Boulder COLO USA 56:08 4:04:39 2:49:23 7:53:01
3. Ruthy Vessler Cardiff CA USA 1:00:06 4:59:35 2:42:28 8:46:25