TRIATHLON

Olympians and Pro Triathletes Set to Compete in Philadelphia Escape Triathlon On June 25

By DeeDee Taft

Rio Olympians Ben Kanute and Greg Billington, Olympian Jarrod Shoemaker and More Round Out Pro Field

PHILADELPHIA – (May 31, 2017) Premier Event Management, America’s preeminent multi-sport race director and organizer, today announced an elite field of professional athletes will return to compete in the 2017 Philadelphia Escape Triathlon, taking place on Sunday, June 25. This year marks the return of professional athletes as well as a $20,000 prize purse, the first since 2013. The field of 31 professional triathletes includes 2016 Rio Olympian Ben Kanute, 2016 Rio Olympian Greg Billington, 2008 Beijing Olympian Jarrod Shoemaker, 2016 Philadelphia Triathlon Champion Cecilia Davis-Hayes, four-time Philadelphia Triathlon Champion Cameron Dye and more.

The pros will join more than 2,500 triathletes ranging in age from 18 to 80 years of age for the 13th year of this annual event. New this year, the Philadelphia Triathlon will serve as a qualifying race for the 2018 Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. The top three finishers per age group will receive coveted entry slots into the iconic San Francisco race. First place finishers in each age group will also win a complimentary race entry.

"I am excited to race the Philadelphia Escape Triathlon as part of the new Escape Triathlon Series,” said four-time Philadelphia Triathlon Champion Cameron Dye. “It is one of my favorite races because Philly puts on a great show and Fairmount Park is such a challenging venue. I am really looking forward to racing in the City of Brotherly Love again and trying to come away with a fifth win."

Professional triathletes set to compete in the 2017 Philadelphia Escape Triathlon include:
Men:
Casey Bateman
Olympian Greg Billington
Sean Daugherty
Brian Duffy, Jr.
Robert Duncan
Cameron Dye (Four-time Philadelphia Triathlon Champion)
Daniel Feeney
David Hopton
Olympian Ben Kanute
Garrick Loewen
Alex Libin
Andrew Mueller
Michael Phinney
Tim Russell
Drew Scott
Olympian Jarrod Shoemaker
Nicholas Vandermolen
Jason West
Timothy Winslow
Matthew Wisthoff
Women:
Holly A Benner
Cecilia Davis-Hayes (2016 Philadelphia Triathlon Champion)
Kaitlin Donner
Alicia Kaye
Lindsey Jerdonek
Carly Johann
Kristen Marchant
Rebeccah Wassner
Laurel Wassner
Caroline Shannon

Fairmount Park will host the scenic, challenging 2017 Philadelphia Escape Triathlon course, which takes participants on a 1.5k swim in the picturesque Schuylkill River, a 40k bike ride through historic sections of Philadelphia and on a 10k run through past the iconic Philadelphia Museum of Art “Rocky Steps” made famous in the Oscar-winning film Rocky. The Philadelphia Escape Triathlon is recognized as one of the premier triathlon festival weekends in the country, featuring two days of activities including Olympic, sprint and Aquabike races, as well as a multisport expo.

The Escape Triathlon Series consists of the following races: Philadelphia Escape Triathlon -- June 24-25, Des Moines Escape Triathlon -- September 2-3, Nation’s Triathlon – September 10, Lake Geneva Escape Triathlon – September 23 and New Orleans Escape Triathlon – October 1. Each race serves as a qualifier for the 2018 Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. The race series boasts an Escape Series Leaderboard which will be updated regularly on the official Escape Series website
(www.EscapeSeriesTri.com), tracking the progress of the pros via a point system, as they vie for the 18 professional men and 18 professional women race slots. A total prize purse of $180,000 will be awarded to race winners throughout the Escape Series.

The Philadelphia Escape Triathlon is owned and produced by Premier Event Management. For additional information, visit www.escapeseriestri/philadelphia-escape or follow on www.facebook.com/EscapeSeriesTri and @escapeseriestri on Instagram and Twitter.

CONTACT:
DeeDee Taft, deedee@spinpr.com
Shelbi Okumura, shelbi@spinpr.com
Spin Communications
415/380-8390