However, it was a rough day for favorites in the men’s elite race. Andy Potts (Princeton, N.J.) was the top U.S. finisher in 20th followed by Joe Umphenour (Bellevue, Wash.) in 21st. Australia’s Peter Robertson won the men’s elite race. Switzerland’s Reto Hug was second and Australia’s Brad Kahlefeldt was third.

Hunter Kemper (Longwood, Fla.), ranked No. 1 in the world going into the race, rode with the large lead pack on the bike but faded on the run and finished 41st. Kemper maintains his world No. 1 ranking.

Australia dominated the elite women’s race as well. Emma Snowsill ran 10k in 34 minutes, 58 seconds to win the women’s elite race in 1:58:03 and Annabel Luxford was second (1:59:43). Bennett’s third-place time was 1:59:55.

It was the third straight world medal for Bennett (North Palm Beach, Fla.), who took silver in 2003 and bronze in 2004.

“It was an awesome team effort,” Bennett said. “I would not have been on the podium without Barb (Lindquist), Sheila (Taormina) and Susan (Williams).”

Taormina (Livonia, Mich.), Lindquist (Alta, Wyo.), Bennett, Luxford and Snowsill got out of the water together and formed a lead pack on the bike. They gained a lead of more than two minutes on the chase pack, which included Williams and U.S. teammates Joanna Zeiger (Boulder, Colo.) and Becky Lavelle (Los Gatos, Calif.).

The chase pack also included many of the world’s top runners, including Portugal’s Venessa Fernandes, who moved swiftly through the pack until she was less than a minute behind Bennett.

“I knew she would make a move,” Bennett said of Fernandes. “That’s why we wanted a lead of at least two minutes on the bike. I really had to dig deep down to stay in third.”

Taormina, the defending world champion, went on to finish 12th and Zeiger was 14th. Lindquist, racing in her final world championship before retiring at the end of the year, finished 26th.

Duplinsky (Kensington, Md.) completed the 7500m swim, 20k bike and 5k run in 55 minutes, 8 seconds. His run of 15:10 sealed the deal for the young American, who was 29 seconds ahead of second-place Jonathan Zipf of Germany. Aurelien Raphael of France finished third in 15:53.

Duplinsky found himself in the second bike pack after the swim, but he bridged to the lead pack by himself and then sat in the large pack to prepare for the run.

“I knew I could ride hard (to bridge to the first pack) and I would be OK,” Duplinsky said. “I knew I could win.”

Duplinsky’s teammate Kyle Hughes (Lake Forest, Calif.) finished 27th and Duncan Hoge (Chapel Hill, N.C.) was 31st.

Complete results and photos are available at www.triathlon.org.

ITU World Triathlon Championships

Sept. 11, 2005; Gamagori, Japan

Elite Women

1.5K swim; 40K bike; 10K run

1. Emma Snowsill (Australia) 1:58:03; 2. Annabel Luxford (Australia) 1:59:42; 3. Laura Bennett (North Palm Beach, Fla.) 1:59:55; 4. Vanessa Fernandes (Portugal) 2:00:20; 5. Nadia Cortassa (Italy) 2:00:37; 6. Felicity Abram (Australia) 2:01:03; 7. Andrea Whitcombe (Great Britain) 2:01:08; 8. Liz Blatchford (Great Britain) 2:01:15; 9. Samantha McGlone (Canada) 2:01:18; 10. Michelle Dillon (Great Britain) 2:01:28

Other U.S. Finishers

12. Sheila Taormina (Livonia, Mich.); 14. Joanna Zeiger (Boulder, Colo.); 26. Barb Lindquist (Alta, Wyo.); 27. Susan Williams (Littleton, Colo.); 34. Becky Lavelle (Los Gatos, Calif.)

Junior Boys

7500m swim; 20k bike; 5k run

1. Steven Duplinsky (Kensington, Md.) 55:08; 2. Jonathan Zipf (Germany) 55:37; 3. Aurélien Raphael (France) 55:46; 4. Ivan Tutukin (Russia) 55:49; 5. Sebastian Rank (Germany) 55:53; 6. Leonardo Saucedo (Mexico) 56:10; 7. Bruno Pereira Mateus (Brazil) 56:25; 8. José Estrangeiro (Portugal) 56:29; 9. Francesco Cecchin (Italy) 56:30; 10. Oliver Freeman (Great Britain) 56:32

Other U.S. Finishers

27. Kyle Hughes (Lake Forest, Calif.); 31. Duncan Hoge (Chapel Hill, N.C.)

Elite Men

1.5k swim; 40k bike; 10k run

1. Peter Robertson (Australia) 1:49:31; 2. Reto Hug (Switzerland) 1:49:36; 3. Brad Kahlefeldt (Australia) 1:49:44; 4. Hamish Carter (New Zealand) 1:49:49; 5. Fred Belaubre (France) 1:49:55; 6. Simon Whitfield (Canada) 1:50:23; 7. Cedric Fleureton (France) 1:50:32; 8. Daniel Fontana (Italy) 1:50:40; 9. Volodymyr Polikarpenko (Ukraine) 1:50:43; 10. Samuel Pierreclaud (France) 1:50:44

U.S. Finishers

20. Andy Potts (Princeton, N.J.); 21. Joe Umphenour (Bellevue, Wash.); 41. Hunter Kemper (Longwood, Fla.); 55. Seth Wealing (Fowler, Ind.)