Press and Media Center

Overend Joins Maxed-out Field

THIS WEEK:  The latest news from the Magic Isles where XTERRA legend Ned "The Lung" Overend said he'll join the maxed-out field of 500 athletes for the biggest race of the off-road multisport season.  

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WORLDS: Sunday, Oct. 23 - Nissan Xterra World Championship (Makena, Maui)

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PRESS CONFERENCE:  A kick-off press conference will be held at the lower terrace level of the Maui Prince Hotel on Thursday, October 20, at 4:00 p.m. HST.  Guests include defending pro champions Eneko Llanos and Jamie Whitmore, past champions and challengers Conrad Stoltz and Melanie McQuaid, as well as other race favorites such as Olivier Marceau and Renata Bucher.

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PRESS GUIDE:  A PDF version of the Nissan Xterra World Championship press guide, complete with a schedule of events, course description, global tour information, athlete profiles, facts, figures, and past results, is available for download at:
http://www.xterraplanet.com/news/press_media.cfm

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PRESS ROOM:  Media covering the 2005 Nissan Xterra World Championship can pick-up credentials and prepare for race day in the XTERRA Press Room located in the Ilima Room (#113) at the host hotel, the Maui Prince in Makena.  Call Trey Garman at 808-216-8606 for more details.

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PRO START LIST UPDATE:  A look at the latest tentative start list as of 10/19.  Latest additions include two-time (1999-2000) XTERRA World Champion Ned Overend, who will race for the first time in Maui since finishing fourth in 2001.  Cam Widoff, just three minutes behind Peter Reid in Kona, will give the Double title a run.  On the women's side German triathlon star Katja Schumacher - winner of Ironman Europe (1998) Ironman Florida (2001) and Ironman Germany (2002) has decided to give the Hawaiian Airlines Double competition a shot.

MEN
AUSTRALIA - Jason Chalker, Chris Legh, Andrew Noble

AUSTRIA - Alexander Fruehwirth, Robert Latschen

CANADA - Jasper Blake, Kelly Guest, Stefan Jakobsen, Geoff  Kabush, Peter Reid, Brent McMahon, Michael Simpson, Mike Vine.

CZECH - Jan Kubicek

GERMANY - Ronny Dietz, Alexander Lang, Nico Pfitzenmaier, Sascha Wingenfeld

JAPAN - Yu Yumoto

MEXICO - Francisco Serrano

NEW ZEALAND - Jon Hume, Mark Leishman

FRANCE- Nicolas LeBrun

SOUTH AFRICA - Roan Exelby, Conrad Stoltz

SPAIN - Eneko Llanos, Hektor Llanos

SWITZERLAND - Will Franc, Olivier Marceau, Ronnie Schildknecht

USA - Jimmy Archer, Jimmy Davis, Rip Esselstyne, Adam Feltz, Lars Finanger, Dominic Gillen, Ryan Ignatz, Will Kelsay, Greg Krause, Chris Lieto, Deon Lourens, Michael Lovato, Dennis Manor, Josiah Middaugh, Ned Overend, Amon Pease, Jeff Sanders, Chad Seymour, Justin Thomas, Michael Tobin, Ben Travis, Jim Vance, Cam Widoff.

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WOMEN
ARGENTINA - Jimena Florit

AUSTRALIA - Kate Major

AUSTRIA - Carina Wasle

CANADA - Heather Fuhr, Danelle Kabush, Kathy McKay, Melanie McQuaid

GERMANY - Imke Schiersch, Katja Schumacher

JAPAN - Yasuko Miyazaki, Mami Saito

NEW ZEALAND - Sonia Foote

SOUTH AFRICA - Ingrid Rolles

SWITZERLAND - Renata Bucher, Sybille Matter

USA - Candy Angle, Danelle Ballengee, Linda Gabor, Lisa Isom, Monique Merrill, Nicole Newton, Melissa Thomas, Jenny Tobin, Shonny Vanlandingham, Jamie Whitmore

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HAWAIIAN AIRLINES DOUBLE:  The Hawaiian Airlines "Double" Purse is awarded to the pro man and woman with the fastest combined 2005 Nissan Xterra World Championship and Ironman Hawaii Championship time, a feat reserved for the world's leading endurance athletes as the two events are held only eight days apart.  "The Double" has become a sought-after title by both pro and amateur competitors.  Hawaiian Airlines pays $2,500 to both the top man and woman professionals with the fastest times and in addition, will present the amateur winners with round trip tickets for two from the West Coast to Hawaii.
LAST YEAR
  Canada's Peter Reid, who placed second at the Ironman Championship, placed 16th at XTERRA to win his fifth Hawaiian Airlines "Double" Award in seven years (including the last three).  His combined time was 11:27:59 (8:43:40 in Kona and 2:44:19 in Maui).  Another Canadian, Heather Fuhr, placed 3rd at Ironman and won the women's pro double in 13:18:17 (9:56:19 and 3:21:58).  It was the second straight Double title for Fuhr.

  In the amateur division Giuseppe Solla from Quartu Santelana, Italy and Claudia Frank from Vauey, Germany took home top honors.  

  Paul Martin became the first challenged athlete to ever complete the double in 1999. In 2000, local boy (Pukalani, Maui) Joel Sampson, a below-knee amputee, completed the feat.  Last year "one-arm Willie Stewart" survived the Double.

Past Hawaiian Airlines Pro Double Winners
2004:    Peter Reid (11:27:59), Heather Fuhr (13:18:17)

2003:    Peter Reid (11:03:50), Heather Fuhr (12:42:03)

2002:    Peter Reid (11:18:23), Arianne Gutknecht (13:30:26)

2001:    Cam Widoff (11:54:30), Wendy Ingraham (13:37:04)

2000:    Peter Reid (11:05:07), Beth Zinkland (13:15:26)

1999:    Olivier Bernhart (11:05:09), Uli Blank (13:09:57)

1998:    Peter Reid (10:59:49), Wendy Ingraham (12:58:32)

THIS YEAR'S DOUBLERS (40 Total, as of 10/19)                                                
PRO MEN
Name - Age (Hometown) Ironman Time
Peter Reid - 36 (Victoria, B.C., Canada) 8:20:04

Cam Widoff - 36 (Boulder, CO) 8:23:01

Chris Lieto - 32 (Danville, CA) 8:41:34

Alexander Lang - 37 (Freiburg, Germany) 8:54:36

Alexander Fruehwirth - 36 (Kirchberg, Austria) 8:59:55

Lars Finanger - 25 (Boulder, CO) 9:20:00

Ben Travis - 33 (Palm Springs, CA) 9:46:29

Michael Lovato - 32 (Austin, TX) 10:03:06

PRO WOMEN
Name - Age (Hometown) Ironman Time
Kate Major - 27 (Sydney, Australia) 9:12:39

Katja Schumacher - 37 (Heidelberg, Germany) 9:27:54

Imke Schiersch - 34 (Nuernberg, Germany) 10:18:43

Yasuko Miyazaki - 28 (Setagaya-Ku, Japan) 10:28:11

 
AMATEUR MEN
Name - Age (Hometown) Division - Ironman Time
Ryland Garnett - 28 (Seaford, Australia) Men 25-29 - 8:55:20

Eric Grimes - 31 (Portland, OR) Men 30-34 - 9:28:20

Stefan Hachul - 32 (Kerpen, Germany) Men 30-34 - 9:31:25

Xabi Lekue - (Trintxerpe, Spain) Men 35-39 - 9:37:36

Carmen Monks - 40 (Belmont, MA) Men 40-44 - 9:50:39

Petr Kucera - 33 (Otrokovice, Czech) Men 30-34 - 10:05:11

Mark Geoghegan - 41 (Honolulu, HI) Men 40-44 - 10:06:25

John Duquette - 27 (Seattle, WA) Men 25-29 - 10:06:57

Dennis Villavicencio - (Carlsbad, CA) Men 35-39 - 10:12:46

Reinhold Garnitschnig - 47 (Klagenfurt, Austria) Men 45-49 - 10:15:50

Vinu Malik - 37 (Barrington, RI) Men 35-39 - 10:21:17

Gregor Hoefelmaier - 41 (Dachau, Germany) Men 40-44 - 10:27:28

Jan Havlicek - 47 (Zdar Nad Sazavou, Czech) Men 45-49 - 10:31:30

Nick Kensington - 33 (Auckland, New Zealand) Men 30-34 - 10:42:25

Yoshiki Nishiyama - 43 (Nakatsukawashi, Japan) Men 40-44 - 11:04:48

Beate Kleindienst - 39 (Dachau, Germany) Men 35-39 - 11:09:52

Jordan Cantwell - 34 (San Francisco, CA) Men 30-34 - 11:11:10

Bill Darrah - 38 (Pukalani, HI) Men 35-39 - 11:25:41

Scott Witthoff - 39 (San Francisco, CA) Men 35-39 - 11:31:11

Stephen Dewald - 37 (Mililani, HI) Men 35-39 - 11:57:33

Christian Rendl - 42 (Vienna, Austria) Men 40-44 - 12:28:46

Jim Leissler - 36 (Portland, OR) Men 35-39 - 13:28:25

AMATEUR WOMEN
Name - Age (Hometown) Division - Ironman Time
Amber Monforte - 26 (Reno, NV) Women 25-29 - 10:41:07

Maria Raether - 45 (Weinheim, Germany) Women 45-59 - 10:43:44

Lucinda Leslie - 29 (Jan Juc, Australia) Women 25-29 - 10:59:31

Hunsuke Nishiyama (Japan) Women 40-44 - 11:04:58

Mimi Ford - 45 (Tucson, AZ) Women 45-59 - 11:46:56

Wendy Minor - 60 (Honolulu, HI) Women 60+ - 13:50:17

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THE PERFECT FIVE, GOING FOR 10:  In the inaugural race of 1996 there were 123 competitors.  Of that group, a few dozen will be doing it again on Sunday, and the five guys listed below are the only competitors that can claim to have done (and finished) all nine XTERRA's in Maui.  

Steve Fisher, 44, Lahaina, Maui

Gerry Clark, 44, Lahaina, Maui

Steve Tarpinian, 43, Wantagh, New York

Paul Davis, 41, Haiku, Maui (now Vail, CO)

Joe Alueta, 36, Wailuku, Maui  

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COMPETITOR STATS:  The Nissan Xterra World Championship is truly a global affair that has reached athletes both young and old from all over the world.  Here's a look at the numbers.
 
  Countries represented: 24

Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Argentina, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Africa, Germany, Austria, France, Czech Republic, Spain, Mexico, Slovakia, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Denmark, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Russia, UK.

  States represented: 35

Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Saipan, No Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, So Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin.

  By Age Group:  

Men 15-19: 4

Men 20-24: 15

Men 25-29: 45

Men 30-34: 46

Men 35-39: 67

Men 40-44: 66

Men 45-49: 42

Men 50-54: 18

Men 55-59: 8

Men 60-64: 13

Pro Men: 50

Total Men: 380
 

Women 15-19: 3

Women 20-24: 8

Women 25-29: 18

Women 30-34: 21

Women 35-39: 16

Women 40-44: 15

Women 45-49: 11

Women 50-54: 3

Women 55-59: 2

Women 60-64: 1

Pro Women: 23

Total Women: 125
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"Oldest" Man: Ed Hudcovic, 64    

"Oldest" Woman: Wendy Minor, 60

Youngest Man: Keenan Tydingco, 16                

Youngest Woman: Kalyn English, 18  

Birthday Racers: Vicki Klinger, turns 48, Rafael Melges, turns 26, Conrad Stoltz, turns 32

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TELEVISION NOTE: The Nissan Xterra World Championship was televised on ESPN for the first four years (1996-1999) until CBS took notice - and took over.  The show has found a home on CBS on the unforgettable date of Super Bowl Sunday, February 5, 2006 @ 12 noon EST.