The Games of the XXVIII Olympiad took place in from 13-29 August 2004 with The Paralympic Games taking place 17-28 September 2004.

 

Womens Race - 25 August 2004

Amid the stunning beauty of Athens, Triathlon exploded onto the Olympic stage for the second time in the sport’s history and the result was equally spectacular.  Again an established Aussie was predicted to win but was upset in shocking and spectacular sprint finish.

The women’s race started as generally predicted with Loretta Harrop of Australia and Americans Sheila Taormina and Barbara Lindquist leading the swim from early on.
As has been the case in many ITU World Cup races, Taormina and Harrop quickly consolidated their lead on the bike, leaving Barb Lindquist on her own early in lap one of the gruelling 40-kilometer bike course.  Lindquist was not alone for long, however, as she was soon joined by teammate Susan Williams who had a great swim and was working her incredible bike skills to perfection to make up time on the leaders.  Over 30 seconds behind, a large chase group formed including the reigning Olympic champion, Brigitte McMahon of Switzerland, Germany’s top threat, Anja Dittmer, Julie Dibens from Great Britain, Belgian Kathleen Smet and a host of other top contenders.

Through most of the race, Harrop and Taormina continued to work well in the lead while Williams and Lindquist fought hard to stick with the pace and further back, Smet made a break from the main chase pack in pursuit of the leaders.  By the final lap, Harrop managed to break away from Taormina, who then dropped back to join her teammates. By the second transition, Harrop took off on the run with a 20-second lead, ahead of the three Americans – Taormina, Lindquist and Williams.  Smet was a further 57 seconds back and was off on the run in fourth position. By the time the main chase pack entered the second transition they were two and a half minutes in arrears of the leaders and faced a challenging three-lap 10-kilometer run ahead.  Leading the chase out of transition was Kate Allen from Austria with Brit Michelle Dillon, Dittmer and Ana Burgos of Spain, followed by a stream of others. Out on the course, Harrop continued to look comfortable despite the 30 degree heat and maintained her lead through to the final lap. Behind her the American women were trading off positions with Taormina and Williams moving ahead of Lindquist and then Taormina eventually falling off the pace.  Meanwhile Smet was making a move in fourth and running well but the story of the run came from the chase pack where Allen and Italian Nadia Cortassa were running their way through the field.

By the closing stages of the run it looked like the gold medal would certainly go to Australia’s Harrop but Allen had other plans as she blasted her way through Smet and the faltering American team in the final few kilometres.  In a jaw-dropping turn of events, Harrop had the finish line in sight but the unstoppable Allen blew past the exhausted Aussie to steal the gold by seven seconds.  Coming across in the bronze medal position was an ecstatic Williams from the United States.

After the race, an awestruck Allen put her race and finish into words, "This was the best feeling of my career. I concentrated on one race in my whole career and this was it. I tapered for three weeks….I had no idea where I was [after the bike]. I thought there were maybe five girls in front of me. I was running for a place. It's sensational I have the gold."

Silver medallist Harrop, who lead the race from the start all the way to the closing few metres was satisfied with her result on the day despite not getting the gold, "I was very fast in all of the three sports and that's why the others are disappointed, but I am not. I am very happy.”   The Australian also made an emotional dedication after receiving her medal, “I dedicate this medal to my whole family, and especially to my brother." Harrop lost her brother, also a triathlete, in a training accident in the spring of 2002.

Photo Gallery available here.

For full women’s results click here.

 

Men's Race - 26 August 2004

The men’s Olympic triathlon in Athens was an exciting conclusion to two amazing days of racing with New Zealand’s Hamish Carter winning the gold medal and earning sweet redemption after finishing a disappointing 26th in Sydney four years earlier.

Conditions for racing were perfect with temperatures hovering around 30 degrees and a slight wind cooling the athletes throughout the race.  The day started as anticipated with the top swimmers in the field leading the 49 athletes in the 1.5-kilometer opening stage.
Andy Potts from the United States was the fastest in the water with Marco Albert from Estonia, current world champion Bevan Docherty of New Zealand and Hamish Carter all close behind.  Despite the best efforts of the top swimmers to make a clear gap, the bulk of the field remained in touch with the lead through the first stage of the race.   A large group of athletes took off onto the 40-kilometer bike stage within seconds of each another.

Midway through the difficult 5-lap bike course a decisive breakaway group including the two New Zealand athletes, Bevan Docherty and Hamish Carter, two Swiss athletes, Oliver Marceau and Sven Riederer, Frenchman Frederic Belaubre and Brit Andrew Johns all managed to split the field and pull away from the main pack.  This powerful pack worked well together and built a significant gap of 30 seconds over the chase pack.  In the chase a front group, including the two Australians Greg Bennett and Peter Robertson, last year’s winner on this course, Rasmus Henning of Denmark, Andreas Raelert of Germany and others sat 30 seconds back.

Meanwhile a further 25 seconds off the lead the second chase pack, including the reigning Olympic champion Simon Whitfield of Canada, the 2002 World Champion, Ivan Rana of Spain and American Hunter Kemper, struggled to hold the pace, losing precious seconds on every lap.

By the second transition the leading six athletes had a 30-second advantage heading onto the 10-kilometer run.  With the 30 degree heat and 65% humidity, they were going to need every second of their lead.  The main chase group blew into transition and were off on the run with the two Australians Bennett and Robertson leading the field.  A further 50 seconds back, the third chase pack finally entered the transition area, including Whitfield who now faced a deficit of 80 seconds to make up on the final 10-kilometer run in order to defend his gold medal.

Throughout the run, Carter, Docherty and Riederer ran shoulder to shoulder – taking up the top three positions while Johns, Marceau and Belaubre fell back.  But the fastest runner on course was Aussie Greg Bennett who flew through transition in the first chase pack and was making up seconds on every lap. Further back Whitfield, Kemper and Rana were moving through the field but not fast enough to gain ground on the leaders.  In the closing stages of the race, the two Kiwi competitors pulled away from Riederer and as they approached the finish chute Carter kicked into the lead, leaving a spent Docherty trailing in his wake.  An elated Carter broke the tape to grab the gold, anchoring a 1-2 Kiwi finish with teammate Docherty taking the silver. Swiss Sven Riederer held on for bronze, just ahead of a charging Greg Bennett from Australia who finished fourth.

For full men’s results click here.

Photo Gallery available here.

Event Details are available here.

You can review the archive ITU Athens site here.

 

 

Please visit the Official Site of the Olympic Movement www.olympic.org.