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Andy Potts Wins Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon For 4th Time

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- More than 2,000 amateur and professional athletes competed in the 2011 Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon on Sunday, with professional triathlete Andy Potts from Colorado Springs, Colo. winning the event for the fourth time.

First time participant and professional triathlete Nicky Samuels from New Zealand was the top finisher among the females.

Featuring a 1.5 mile swim from Alcatraz Island to the shore, an 18-mile bike ride and an eight-mile run through San Francisco, the race is considered one of the most difficult triathlons in the world.

"The Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon is my all-time favorite race and I am thrilled to return for my fourth win," said Potts. "To win this prestigious race one time was great but to win it four times, tying the most ever wins is the best feeling ever. This race features so many different challenges unique to San Francisco, from the swim from Alcatraz, the hilly bike ride and the run up the infamous sand steps; it is like no other race on the circuit."

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved.)

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