Jennie Finch finishes first triathlon in under three hours

As the early morning sun rose over the New York skyline Sunday, over 3,000 men and women jumped into the Hudson River and began the grueling Aquaphor New York City Triathlon. Participants — which included professionals, amateurs and the physically-challenged — all took the plunge to begin the 1.5 kilometer swim in the Hudson, a 40 kilometer bike ride along the river and finish with a 10K run through Central Park.

In the midst of the splashing athletes of various skill levels was the gold-medal winning Olympic softball pitcher Jennie Finch making her triathlon debut.

The Aquaphor spokeswoman put her money where her mouth is and — after training with swimming,  biking and running sprints to build up her endurance —the 6-foot-2 beauty finished New York City's only triathlon with a more than respectable time of 2:51:15.

Photos by Tony Mangia

After Sunday's race, a beaming Finch — holding her ANYCT medal — admitted she has already entertained the notion of competing in the even more difficult Ironman competition but added that she just "wanted to enjoy the experience of finishing today."

Jordan Jones of Golden, CO won the men's division with a time of 1:49:05, and Jenna Parker of Santa Monica, CA the women's with a time of 2:01:50.  They were the winning pro triathletes at the 13^th annual event.

Kyle Leto of Boulder, CO was second with a time of 1:50:55; and Dan McIntosh, of Westminster, CO finishing at 1:52:13, came in third.  In the women’s pro race, Amy Bevilacqua of Wilton, CT came in second, with a time of 2:03:49, followed by Julie Patterson of Richmond, VA with a time of 2:07:31.

Athletes came from from 48 states and 30 countries, including Argentina, Japan, Israel, Vietnam and New Zealand. A total of $31,000 in prize money was awarded to the winners in the male and female pro categories. More than 700 of the athletes who participated raised money for over 60 charities, including Race2Rebuild, Team In Training, and the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

Finch — wearing No. 1835 in the race— may have broken her own kind of endurance record this weekend.

After the triathlon, she was headed up to Citi Fied to pitch in the Legends & Celebrities Softball Game Sunday afternoon and that comes on the heels of a whirlwind tour of Manhattan making guest appearances at various locations on Friday and Saturday.

Sounds like the Ironman shouldn't be a problem.

Laila Ali goes distance in New York City Triathlon

Over 3,000 people took a dip in the Hudson River early Sunday morning and it wasn't to escape the sweltering heat that has held New York City hostage over the past week.

The throngs of swimmers donning Lycra shorts and colored bathing caps were athletes competing in  the 12th Annual Aquaphor New York City Triathlon.

The world class event has grown from 683 triathletes in its first year to a lottery-based system to try and accommodate all the requests to participate.

One of this year's most well-known competitors in the Olympic-class distances of swimming, bicycling and running was the female boxing great Laila Ali.

The undefeated Ali— who retired in 2007— said it was her first time attempting a Triathlon —the 1.5-K swim, 40-K bike ride topped off with a 10-K run around Central Park— anywhere.  She had been working with a trainer with help from Aquaphor.

The daughter of boxing legend Muhammad Ali didn't disappoint and finished near the top of her class (Female 35-39 year-old) with a time of 3:06:22.

The Men's Champion was American Jordan Jones, 31, with a record time of 1:45:04 and the Women's Champion was another American Amy Bevilacqua, 34, with a time of 2:02:29.

The weather was more cooperative during this year's event.  The near-record temperatures— in the mid-nineties over the past few days— dipped and a late Saturday night thunderstorm passed by taking most of the humidity with it.

Last year, two competitors suffered heart attacks during the swimming phase of the competition and more precautions like additional re-hydration stations were notable.

Athletes from 44 states and 10 countries participated in the event— the only Olympic-distance Triathlon in New York City— and includes Pros, Para Triathletes (physically-challenged) and age groups from 18-77.

After the race, Ali said it was harder than she thought it would be but was "glad she did it."