Local News in Brief : Port Triathlon Canceled

Less than four months before it was scheduled to stage a much-touted international triathlon in the harbor area, the Port of Los Angeles has unceremoniously dumped the event because it lacks corporate sponsors.

The port announced that the Oct. 2 triathlon, an endurance race that involves swimming, bicycling and running, was canceled because fund raisers mustered just $40,000 toward the $200,000 in private donations needed to stage the competition.

Fund raisers had also collected $85,000 in non-monetary donations, but port officials said they needed cash. All of the contributions will be returned, they said.

Last August, the port set up a nonprofit corporation to run the event and contributed $100,000 as “seed money.” At that time, port officials predicted the event would become one of the premier triathlons in the world and would attract international attention to Los Angeles and lure more customers to the port.