The Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon (PHLYTRI), one of the featured events in the Life Time Triathlon Series Race to the Toyota Cup, has announced a new partnership for 2011 with Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), a world leader in empowering physically challenged athletes to find success in sport – and in life.
Established in 1997, Challenged Athletes Foundation provides opportunities and support to people with physical disabilities so they can pursue active lifestyles through physical fitness and competitive athletics.
PHLYTRI athletes who register to join Team CAF receive a race entry and VIP benefits including a CAF triathlon uniform, training t-shirt, race belt, water bottle, access to a VIP hospitality tent hosted by Philadelphia Insurance Companies and more.
Team CAF will field a team of ambassador athletes at the PHLYTRI led by Sarah Reinertsen, 2009 ITU Paratriathlete World Champion and the first woman on a prosthetic leg to finish the Ironman World Championship in Kona.
Reinertsen, who also starred in CBS’s Emmy award winning TV series ‘The Amazing Race’, will be joined in Philadelphia by other CAF athletes including Scout Bassett, Willie Stewart and Nick Roumonada.
“Along with our title sponsor, Philadelphia Insurance Companies, a long-time CAF supporter, PHLYTRI is proud to welcome Challenged Athletes Foundation as one of our charitable partners for 2011,” said Richard Adler, CEO of Philadelphia Triathlon LLC.
“As one of the top triathlons in the country, PHLYTRI encourages our athletes to join Team CAF and support their mission of providing physically challenged athletes every opportunity to compete in the sports they love.”
Timothy Maguire, Senior Vice President, Philadelphia Insurance Companies and Member, CAF Board of Directors added, “The first time I witnessed challenged athletes competing in a triathlon was at CAF’s San Diego Triathlon Challenge ten years ago. I was blown away and moved to tears.
“It inspired me so much that I felt that I needed to come back and share this with my office and the employees at PHLY Insurance. Many of us who are able-bodied tend to take our healthy bodies for granted, but for the physically challenged individuals that are able to get out there and participate in the sports they love brings so much joy to their lives.
“CAF helps make these opportunities possible. When I see what challenged athletes have accomplished, it inspires me to push harder to achieve my goals and get others to do the same.”
Team CAF joins long-standing PHLYTRI charitable partners, The Cancer Center at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, which benefits greatly from the Karr Barth CHOP Charity Challenge, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training program and the American Cancer Society’s DetermiNation endurance program.
In 2011 PHLYTRI is also expanding its Philadelphia area community partnerships to include the Fairmount Park Conservancy and The Cadence Cycling Foundation.
Founded in 2005, the Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon is one of the largest and most popular triathlons in the US. Held in the city’s historic Fairmount Park, the race was named a top-five triathlon in the United States by Outside Magazine, was lauded as one of the top big city triathlons by Inside Triathlon Magazine, and named one of the ‘10 Greenest Races’ by Triathlete Magazine.
As part of the Life Time Triathlon Series, PHLYTRI is included within the oldest and most prominent series of international-distance triathlon events in the United States.
The main event of the Life Time Series is the premier Race to the Toyota Cup, which challenges the world’s top professional triathletes to battle for points and a chance to win the coveted Toyota Cup. The 2011 Series consists of seven events, including stops in Miami, Austin, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Chicago, Los Angeles and Dallas.
www.PhillyTri.com
www.challengedathletes.org
www.racetothetoyotacup.com
