User:Mmehnert1/Laura Bennett (Triathlete)

Mmehnert1/Laura Bennett

Bennett in the 2010 ITU World Championship in Budapest
Personal information
Born	(1975-04-25) April 25, 1975 West Palm Beach, Florida
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	130 lb (59 kg)
Sport
Country	United States
Turned pro	1999
Coached by	Greg Bennett
Medal record Representing United States Women's Triathlon USAT Elite Championships 2003 Olympic Distance 2010 Olympic Distance ITU Triathlon World Championships 2003 Elite women's race 2004 Elite women's race 2005 Elite women's race 2007 Elite women's race International Triathlon Union World Cup 2001 Gamagori Elite women's race 2003 St. Anthonys Olympic Distance 2003 Tongyeong Olympic Distance 2003 Gamagori Olympic Distance 2003 Edmonton Olympic Distance 2003 Queenstown-Championships Olympic Distance 2004 Madeira-Championships Olympic Distance 2005 Gamagori Olympic Distance 2006 Doha Olympic Distance 2006 Aqaba Olympic Distance 2006 Hamburg Olympic Distance 2006 Doha Olympic Distance 2006 Aqaba Olympic Distance 2006 Hamburg Olympic Distance 2006 New Plymouth Olympic Distance 2007 Des Moines Olympic Distance 2007 Hamburg Olympic Distance 2007 Beijing Olympic Distance |}

Laura Marie (Reback) Bennett (born 25 April 1975, in North Palm Beach, Florida) is an American professional Triathlete. She placed fourth in the women’s triathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She is currently the highest ranked American triathlete in the women's Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series Rankings.

She was an All-American swimmer for Southern Methodist University, and ran track and cross country in high school. She turned pro in 1999 after placing as the the second U.S. amateur at the 1997 World Championship. As a professional, Bennett has been racing on the ITU Olympic distance, draft legal racing circuit. She earned a silver medal at the World Triathlon Championships in 2003 and bronze medals in 2004, 2005, and 2007. She has also raced as a professional at the Half-Ironman distance, placing 5th at the 2009 Ironman 70.3 World Championship.

Education

Laura Bennett attended Cardinal Newman High School (West Palm Beach, Florida) where she ran track. For college, she attended Southern Methodist University where she swam and pursued a finance degree. She graduated in 1997 with a BS in finance.

Triathlon Career

Early Career

Bennett took up swimming at age 12, and was a distance runner in high school, where she was the Florida state champion in the mile and two mile for two years in a row. Bennett continued competitive swimming in college as a member of the swimming team at Southern Methodist University. She served as a co-captain, and was a member of the 1997 NCAA champion 400 medley relay.

In 1993, she was a member of the USA Triathlon Junior National Team, and was voted the USA Triathlon and Triathlete Magazine Junior of the Year in 1994. In 1997, after completing college, she was the second U.S. amateur at the World Championship in Perth, Australia.

Professional

Bennett has competed on the ITU racing circuit since 2001. She earned a silver medal at the World Triathlon Championships in 2003 and bronze medals in 2004, 2005, and 2007.

She first earned a spot on the Olympic team as the second alternate for the U.S. triathlon team at the 2000 Summer Olympics, and as the first alternate in the 2004 Summer Olympics. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, she was the first American to qualify for the team, by placing first in the Beijing 2007 trials. At the games, she placed fourth with a time of 2:00:21.54.

She was selected as the 2010 Olympic/ITU Female Athlete of the Year for her consistent performances and end of season ranking during the 2010 racing season.

In 2010, the ITU first started keeping track of segment rankings to reward the best athlete in each of the three disciplines throughout the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series. Bennett ranked first in the swim rankings 2010 season.

She is currently the highest ranked American triathlete in the women's Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series Rankings.

ITU Competitions

The following list of Bennett's results is based upon the official ITU rankings and the Athlete's Profile Page. Unless indicated otherwise, the events are triathlons (Olympic Distance) and belong to the Elite category.

Date	Competition	Place	Rank
2001-04-15	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Gamagori	1
2001-04-22	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Ishigaki	4
2001-04-28	ITU Triathlon World Cup	St. Anthony's	6
2001-07-07	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Toronto	6
2002-03-31	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Geelong	12
2002-04-02	ITU Triathlon World Cup	St. Petersburg	11
2002-06-09	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Gamagori	5
2002-07-02	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Edmonton	14
2002-07-02	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Corner Brook	4
2002-09-08	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Hamburg	14
2002-09-29	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Nice	14
2002-11-09	ITU Triathlon World Championships	Cancun	7
2003-04-13	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Ishigaki	6
2003-04-03	ITU Triathlon World Cup	St. Anthonys	1
2003-06-03	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Tongyeong	1
2003-06-15	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Gamagori	2
2003-07-03	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Edmonton	3
2003-08-10	ITU Triathlon World Cup	New York	5
2003-10-13	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Makuhari	9
2003-12-07	ITU Triathlon World Championships	Queenstown	2
2004-05-09	ITU Triathlon World Championships	Madeira	3
2004-09-26	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Gamagori	9
2005-04-17	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Honolulu	16
2005-05-15	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Ishigaki	8
2005-07-23	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Edmonton	4
2005-09-11	ITU Triathlon World Championships	Gamagori	3
2005-09-26	ITU Duathlon World Championships	Newcastle	6
2005-11-13	ITU Triathlon World Cup	New Plymouth	5
2006-03-03	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Doha	3
2006-03-10	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Aqaba	3
2006-04-26	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Mooloolaba	11
2006-05-07	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Mazatlan	9
2006-06-25	ITU Triathlon Pan American Cup	Long Beach	4
2006-09-03	ITU Triathlon World Championships	Lausanne	8
2006-09-10	BG Triathlon World Cup	Hamburg	3
2006-09-24	BG Triathlon World Cup	Beijing	4
2006-10-15	ITU Triathlon Asian Cup	Hong Kong	1
2006-11-05	BG Triathlon World Cup	Cancun	12
2006-05-02	BG Triathlon World Cup	New Plymouth	3
2007-06-17	BG Triathlon World Cup	Des Moines	1
2007-09-02	BG Triathlon World Cup	Hamburg	3
2007-09-16	BG Triathlon World Cup	Beijing	3
2007-11-04	BG Triathlon World Cup	Cancun	5
2008-03-30	BG Triathlon World Cup	Moolooaba	4
2008-06-08	BG Triathlon World Championships	Vancouver	22
2008-06-22	Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon World Cup	Des Moines	4
2008-08-19	2008 Summer Olympics	Beijing	4
2008-09-20	ITU Triathlon Premium Pan American Cup	Portland	4
2009-06-21	Dextro Energy World Championship Series	Washington, DC	12
2010-06-27	Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Elite Cup	Des Moines	14
2009-07-26	Dextro Energy World Championship Series	Hamburg	17
2010-03-28	ITU Triathlon World Cup	Mooloolaba	17
2010-04-11	Dextro Energy World Championship Series	Sydney	14
2010-06-13	Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Elite Cup	Des Moines	6
2010-07-18	Dextro Energy World Championship Series	Hamburg	7
2010-07-25	Dextro Energy World Championship Series	London	5
2010-08-15	Dextro Energy World Championship Series	Kitzbuhel	8
2010-09-12	Dextro Energy World Championship Series, Grand Final	Budapest	8
2010-09-25	Premium Pan American Cup	Tuscaloosa	1
2011-04-10	Dextro Energy World Championship Series	Sydney	6

Half Ironman

Laura and her husband Greg both made their Half-Ironman debuts together at the Augusta 70.3 race in 2009. Laura won in a time of 4:18:36, just six seconds ahead of runner up Kelly Williamson, qualifying her for the 2009 Ironman 70.3 World Championship. Bennett placed 5th at 2009 Ironman 70.3 World Championship with a time of 4:07:39.

Personal

Laura Bennett is married to Australian triathlete Greg Bennett (triathlete). Laura's father, Paul, and older brothers, David and John, have also competed in triathlons.

External links

• Bennett Endurance website
• Laura Bennett's Twitter