FITNESS

NEWS

Austin Women Tri Harder

Desiree Ficker, Jeannie Samson, Chris Kimbrough
and Phyllis Mann Help Make Austin Fit City
Story by Emily Watkins | Photo by Glennon Simmons

Over the past few years, Austin’s women tri-
athletes have continued to climb the charts nation-
wide. Although they may have started competing
for different reasons, these women all share one
common characteristic: a passion for racing.
Desiree Ficker
At age 9, Desiree Ficker began competing in the
track and field/cross country Junior Olympics. She
continued to compete in high school, and at the col-
lege level when she attended the University of Ala-
bama.
After she graduated in 1998, Ficker started train-
ing and competing in triathlons after being inspired
by the television broadcast of the Hawaii triathlon
that year. According to Ficker, she then attended her
first Masters swim practice in March 1999, bought
her first triathlon bike and qualified for the Hawaii
Ironman that summer.
“In 2001, I accepted a spot on the resident team
at the Olympic Training center, turned profes-
sional and spent a year living and training at the
center in Colorado Springs, CO. From there I went
on to live in Boulder where I trained and raced
under the tutelage of legend Dave Scott,” Ficker
describes on her website.
Now residing in Austin, Ficker has spent the last
eight years training and competing in triathlons
across the country.
As part of Team Tri Dubai in 2006, Ficker partici-
pated in the summer Kona training camp. She spent
a week in Kona running, riding and swimming with
Ironman champions Normann Stadler, Cam Brown,
Lisa Bentley and Tim DeBoom, which helped prepare
her for the Ironman run.
As a result, Ficker placed 2nd in the 2006 Ford
Ironman World Championship, which gave her in-
ternational recognition. On February 18th of this
year, she placed 2nd at the AT&T Austin Marathon
with a time of 2:40:28 – 17 minutes faster than
her previous personal best. Since then, Ficker has
also placed 3rd at the 3M Half Marathon in Austin
(1:14:07, another personal best), came in 4th place
in the Tauranga Half Ironman and placed 5th at the
St. Croix 70.3.
According to Competitor magazine, this makes
her one of the only women who has placed second
in both an Ironman, a major marathon and qualified
for the Olympic marathon trials all within just five
months.
Ficker is currently training for upcoming races,
such as the 2007 Ironman World Championships,
Timberman 70.3, Island Eighty Triathlon and the
Olympic marathon trials, which will take place on
April 20th, 2008 in Boston, MA. She will also be com-
peting in the RYKA Iron Girl Texas Triathlon – a race
she placed 1st in last summer on July 22nd.
Chris Kimbrough
Chris Kimbrough, 37, has been running for two-
and-a-half years and has already become one of the
stars of the Austin running scene. Though much of
her training is done pushing a baby jogger or run-
ning on a treadmill, “she is an amazing athlete,” ac-
cording to her coach, Masters legend Carmen Tron-
coso.
Kimbrough, a mother of four, first started rac-
ing as more of a hobby. However, she is now rising
above other Austin triathletes as she runs an aver-
age of 70 miles a week.
In January, Kimbrough placed 5th at the 3M Half
Marathon with a time of 1:15:39 and in May, she
won the Lincoln Marathon in Nebraska with a time of
2:44:57 – which qualified her for the Olympic trials.
Kimbrough will join Ficker at the trials in April 2008.

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14  austinwoman July 2007