Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist & Ironman World Champions to Race the Laguna Phuket Triathlon

2002 Commonwealth Games Triathlon gold medallist, Carol Montgomery from Canada, and 2001 Ironman Triathlon World Champion, American Tim DeBoom, are confirmed to race at the Laguna Phuket Triathlon on Saturday 30 November, 2002. Also confirmed are fellow North American stars, two-time Ironman World Champion, Peter Reid from Canada, and Nichole DeBoom, Tim's wife.

This will be Montgomery and DeBooms' first appearance at Laguna Phuket. Reid has raced in Phuket twice before but has yet to win. This strong North American contingent will attempt to break Australia's five-year winning streak at Laguna Phuket - Australians have won both the men's and women's titles every year since 1997. The 2002 Australian contingent is headlined by 2001 defending champions, Courtney Atkinson and Joanne King. King will be racing for her third consecutive win at Laguna Phuket.

Now in its ninth year, the Laguna Phuket Triathlon sponsored by Thai Airways International and the Tourism Authority of Thailand, is generally considered South East Asia's premier triathlon. This year's race will feature a US$20,000 pro purse, 2003 Ironman Australia and Japan qualifying slots plus international television coverage. Past winners of the race read like a Who's Who of triathlon - Mark Allen, Paula Newby-Fraser, Mike Pigg, Greg Welch, Karen Smyers, Michellie Jones, Jackie Gallagher and Simon Lessing, to name a few.

The race is limited to 500 entries and athletes from more than 20 countries are expected to compete. "We've already received twice as many entries as this time last year and we're ecstatic to be welcoming such a strong field of international pros to Laguna Phuket," enthused Event Manager Debbie Dionysius.

A new twist to this year's Laguna Phuket Triathlon is the introduction of a 3-person Relay Team staged simultaneously along the same race course. Team members will each complete one leg of the 1.8-kilometre swim, 55-kilometre cycle and 12-kilometre run. Team categories are based on the combined ages of team members. The Masters category applies to teams with combined ages of 120 years and over, whilst the Open category applies to 119 years and under. Teams can either be of the same or mixed sexes.

For more information about the individual triathlon or team relay event and to obtain team entry forms visit www.lagunaphukettriathlon.com. Closing date for entries is 10 November.