Outstanding lineup of professionals to compete in North America’s only Olympic qualifying event this year

WEST DES MOINES, IA – The world’s top triathletes will be vying for the sport’s richest purse and valuable Olympic qualifying points when they take to the starting line at next month’s Hy-Vee Triathlon.

A total of 68 men and 56 women, representing 28 nations, will compete in the Hy-Vee ITU Elite Cup races on Sunday, June 13 at Raccoon River Park in West Des Moines. The event features a record single-day prize purse of $1 million, with the top men’s and women’s finishers each taking home $200,000. [Complete, up-to-date start lists for elite men and women are posted on the ITU website at www.triathlon.org.]

The 2010 Hy-Vee ITU Elite Cup is one of this year’s eight World Cup events – and the only one in the United States – sanctioned by the International Triathlon Union, the world governing body for the Olympic sport of triathlon. The 2010 Hy-Vee event comes at the start of the qualifying season for the 2012 Olympic Games and has the distinction of being the only Olympic qualifying event being held in North America this year.

The record purse, opportunity to earn Olympic qualifying points and outstanding hospitality provided by the Des Moines community have propelled the four-year-old Hy-Vee ITU Elite Cup to a coveted position among the world’s premier triathlons. As such, the event draws a stellar field of international athletes. The top six male triathletes in the world (as determined by current ITU World Championship rankings) and 14 of the top 20 are in the field, as are the top four female elites and 10 of the top 20. This year’s Hy-Vee Triathlon also boasts five of the six triathlon medalists from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing; the only one missing is women’s silver medalist Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal, who is injured. View our Athletes to Watch section. The elite men’s field also includes two special invitees from the Des Moines area: professional triathletes Nathan White (last year’s Hy-Vee Triathlon winner) and T.J. Tollakson.

The Hy-Vee ITU Elite Cup races will wrap up two days of action at the 2010 Hy-Vee Triathlon, presented by PepsiCo:

• The event kicks off Saturday, June 12 with the youngest competitors. The Hy-Vee Junior Triathlon for competitors ages 16-17 begins at 7 a.m., followed by the Youth Triathlon for ages 13-15 at 8:30. Both the Junior and Youth events are sponsored by Sara Lee. The Hy-Vee Kids Triathlon for ages 5-12, sponsored by Dole, starts at 9:30 a.m. and runs through early afternoon.
• On Sunday, June 13, some 1,600 amateur triathletes from 15 states will take to the course beginning at 6 a.m. for the Hy-Vee Triathlon age-group event.
• The Hy-Vee ITU Elite Cup race for women begins at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, with the men’s Elite Cup event following at 3:30 p.m.

These exciting races are only part of the draw at this year’s triathlon. Organizers have doubled the size of the Family Fun Zone and included a host of free rides, games and attractions to entertain kids of all ages. Spectators can check out the exhibit booths in the Expo village, watch live entertainment on the PepsiCo stage and enjoy a variety of food and beverage options. Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Shawn Johnson will be at the Kids Triathlon on Saturday and will be signing autographs Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

Admission to the Hy-Vee Triathlon is free. Spectators may park at the Wells Fargo campus at Jordan Creek Parkway and Mills Civic Parkway in West Des Moines and take one of the free shuttles running every 15 minutes to Raccoon River Park. For more information on parking, shuttles and other spectator amenities, click here for all available maps.

Proceeds from the weekend events help support Variety – The Children’s Charity, the official charity partner of the Hy-Vee Triathlon.

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Hy-Vee, Inc. is an employee-owned corporation operating 228 retail stores in eight Midwestern states. For 2009 the company recorded total sales of $6.4 billion, ranking it among the top 30 supermarket chains and the top 50 private companies in the United States. Visit the company’s website at www.hy-vee.com