Tinley Seeks His Third County Triathlon Title Today

Scott Tinley is one of the leading competitors in today’s Orange County Performing Arts Center Triathlon, which he has won twice in three years.

Today’s triathlon begins at 7 a.m. with a 1.5-kilometer swim (nine-tenths of a mile) in Lake Mission Viejo starting from North Beach, followed by a 40-kilometer bike race (24.8 miles) and 10-kilometer run (6.2 miles) over the hills surrounding the lake.

Among the other men expected to compete are Danny Banks of Pasadena; Rubin Chapins, a former UCLA student who at 38 is one of Hawaii’s best triathletes, and Tom Gallager of Los Angeles, who finished the 1987 Ironman despite having to carry his wrecked bicycle to the start of the running race after he was hit by a taxi.

Among the women are Kristen Frost of Oregon, who placed in the top five of every race she entered last year except one in which a pedal fell off her bicycle three times; Sue Latshaw, a 28-year-old plant pathologist who three years ago won the first triathlon she attempted; Julie Olson, a long-distance specialist from Wisconsin, and Laurie Samuelson of Carlsbad, a strong swimmer.

First-place prize money is $2,000, with $1,500 for second, $1,000 for third and continuing to $100 for seventh place.