On July 20, New York City Sports Commissioner Kenneth J. Podziba and New York City Department of Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe will welcome the 8th annual Nautica New York City Triathlon presented by Toyota. The race consists of a 1.5K swim in the Hudson River, a 40K bicycle ride along the West Side Highway and a 10K run through Central Park. The Nautica New York City Triathlon is one of the five largest Olympic distance triathlons in the United States. The first racers will take off at 5:50am at the swim start.

"The Nautica New York City Triathlon Presented by Toyota is an extraordinary test of endurance, agility and versatility," said Commissioner Podziba. "I am continually amazed by the athleticism and determination displayed by all of the participants from the world-class able bodied and physically challenged professionals to the everyday weekend warriors. Each of these competitors pushes their own limits and achieves feats they never before thought were possible and it is a privilege to witness these truly remarkable triathletes in action."

"Once again, New York City's parks and waterways will host the Nautica New York City Triathlon, in which thousands of athletes from around the country will test their mettle in swimming, bicycling and running," said Commissioner Benepe. "The rigorous training regimen that these triathletes have endured is an inspiration to all New Yorkers to get outdoors and be active this summer. And there's no better way to get in shape than by taking advantage of the many parks, pools, beaches and bike paths that our City has to offer."

Participating in the race will be 3,000 athletes from 49 states and 23 countries, including 40 Ironman and Olympic professionals. Greg Bennett of Australia will look to clinch his third consecutive New York City Triathlon in the men's professional race. Other notable competitors in the men's race include Canada's Simon Whitfield, the triathlon gold medal winner in the 2000 Summer Olympics, and top American challenger Andy Potts. Competing in the women's race will be fellow Aussie Pip Taylor and the American sister duo of Rebeccah and Laurel Wassner. A total prize purse of $30,000 will be awarded to the professional racers, split evenly between the men's and women's events. The winners will be awarded $8,000 each.

"Selling out this race in less than 8 hours shows that New York is becoming a hot spot for triathlons," said organizing committee race director John Korff. "It is hard to rival the intensity and atmosphere that New York City has to offer."

In addition to professional races, the Elite Age Group races for both men and women will feature the best of the amateur competitors. They will be followed by the general age division races, which will be sent off every three minutes in waves beginning shortly before 6:00am, with the last wave set to hit the water just before 8:00am.

The Nautica New York City Triathlon will also host USA Triathlon's Physically Challenged National Championship sponsored by Accenture. There will be 70 disabled athletes competing in six divisions, with awards presented to the top three male and female finishers in each category. Five-time world record holder Aaron Scheidies will attempt to break the record for physically challenged athletes, which currently stands at 1:59:38. Also participating will be three-time NYC Triathlon champion Amy Winters, who will compete in the below-knee amputee category. Winters, who hails from Hicksville, NY, is also the below-knee amputee marathon world record holder. New York City native April Coughlin, a two-time NYC and National Triathlon wheelchair champion, and defending above-knee US National and NYC Champion Scout Bassett will also compete. Bassett has also won her age group competing against able-body women under 19 years old.

Racers will hit the water for the 1.5K swim in the Hudson River at 98th street and will exit near the 79th Street Boat Basin. The 40K bike begins at Riverside Park near 79th street and continues north along the Henry Hudson Parkway, making at u-turn at Gunhill Road in the Bronx and again at 57th street, before exiting the Parkway again at 79th street at the transition area. The 10K run will begin at Riverside Park at 72nd street and will finish on Dead Road, just west of the bandshell on the 72nd Street Transverse in Central Park.

For additional information and viewing locations, please visit the race Web site at www.nyctri.com.

For more information on the Life Time Fitness Triathlon Series, please visit www.ltftriathlonseries.com.

The Nautica New York City Triathlon is the second in a series of five major United States triathlons that comprise the Life Time Fitness Triathlon Series. This summer-long competition links the top four triathlons in the country--Minneapolis, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles--as runners compete for a portion of $1.5 million in total prize money. The series concludes October 5 at the Toyota U.S. Open Triathlon in Dallas, where the cumulative standings from all five races are finalized. In the first leg of the Life Time Fitness Triathlon Series in Minneapolis, Simon Whitfield (1:48:01) won the men's division, while Emma Snowsill (1:58:04) led all women.

Parks & Recreation is the steward of more than 29,000 acres of land - 14 percent of New York City - including more than 4,000 individual properties ranging from Yankee Stadium and Central Park to community gardens and Greenstreets. We operate more than 800 athletic fields and nearly 1,000 playgrounds; we manage four major stadia, 550 tennis courts, 54 public pools, 48 recreational facilities, 17 nature centers, 13 golf courses, and 14 miles of beaches; we care for 1,200 monuments and 22 historic house museums; we look after 600,000 street trees, and two million more in parks. We are New York City's principal provider of athletic facilities. We are home to free concerts, world-class sports events, and cultural festivals. For more information about Parks, visit: www.nyc.gov/parks.

The New York City Sports Commission is the mayoral agency charged with attracting, facilitating and promoting professional, amateur and scholastic sports events in New York City. In recent years, the Sports Commission has played a role in creating or developing many new sporting events, including the NFL Kickoff Live from Times Square, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series™ Champions Week, the BMC Software NYC Cycling Championship, the AVP Brooklyn Open, the NAUTICA NYC Triathlon, the NYC Half-Marathon, the Union Square Street Sessions presented by Jeep®, the Wild Onion Urban Adventure Race and the Men's Health Urbanathlon.