Penn State Honor Student Prepares To Compete In
2000 Ironman Triathlon World Championship In Hawaii
October 6, 2000
University Park, Pa. – It’s easy to understand why Penn State student Ben Haldeman is anxiously awaiting his upcoming trip to Hawaii. For months, he has visualized swimming in crystal blue waters, bicycling through winding island roads, and long runs through the tropical paradise.

Sound like a dream vacation? For Haldeman, it is a dream – but certainly no vacation. A junior in the University’s Schreyer Honors College, Haldeman has been invited to the islands to compete in the 2000 Ironman Triathlon World Championship on Sunday, October 14.

He will be one of only 40 athletes in the 24-and-under age bracket that will compete in the grueling 140.6-mile test of human endurance. The triathlon begins with a 2.4 mile ocean swim, followed immediately by a 112-mile bicycle race, and concluded with a full 26.2-mile marathon.

Haldeman qualified for the event based on his finish in Ironman Canada in August, which featured an international field of 1,800 participants, including 50 professionals. He completed the race in nine hours and 57 minutes, good enough to earn 74^th place overall and one of three berths in his age bracket into the world championship.

"Ironman Canada has been the greatest accomplishment of my life so far," said Haldeman. "The race tested me not only physically, but mentally. After racing for more than six hours, it is very difficult to keep your body going as you start a 26-mile run."

To prepare for the Hawaii ironman, Haldeman has been training 25 to 30 hours per week with the Penn State triathlon club and cycling club. He manages to do this while carrying a 14-credit academic load in mechanical engineering and maintaining a 3.8 grade point average.

"Hawaii will be a much tougher race – the most competitive ironman triathlon in the world," said Haldeman, who will become the first known Penn State student to compete in the sport’s premier event. "The heat will be horrible, with temperatures up to 120 degrees in the lava fields."

Haldeman, a native of Malvern, Pa., began endurance racing as a cross country runner in high school, and competed in both the Philadelphia and Boston marathons during his senior year. As a freshman at Penn State, he joined the triathlon club to find people to run with, but got hooked on triathlon competition.

Now, Haldeman is a mainstay on the triathlon circuit, earning either overall or age-group podium finishes in all five events in which he competed this summer.

Contact: Tysen Kendig, Department of Public Information, (814) 865-7517 or .