FORMER COLLEGIATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYER 
READY FOR A NEW "TRI"

POINT-GUARD SCORES SELECTION TO INAUGURAL 
INSIDE TRIATHLON MAGAZINE AGE-GROUP TEAM

May 20, 2005, San Francisco, Calif. –  Leading the University of the Pacific (U.O.P.) women’s basketball team to back-to-back Big West Conference championship game appearances during her junior and senior years, being a former member of the Greek junior basketball national team, and trying out for the Sr. National Greek Olympic Team in 2004, apparently was not enough of an athletic career for Tina Miteko, U.O.P.'s former starting point-guard from Greece.

In her quest to make the Greek National women’s basketball team that was going to compete at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, she discovered the sport of triathlon…by total coincidence.

She was looking into running groups in the San Francisco Bay area to train with for the basketball tryouts that took place last May in Athens, Greece. An acquaintance sent her an email about a running group that regularly met in San Francisco. She showed up to the meeting only to find out that this was a triathlon team. “My first reaction was… a Tri-what team? I had no idea what a triathlon was other than it comes from Greek words, which means 3-sports,” said Miteko. Triathlon sports include swim, bike, run in respective order and vary in distance from Sprint, Olympic (also known as the international distance), Half-Ironman, and Ironman, the toughest one of all, which involves 2.4 miles swim, 112 miles on the bike, and 26.2 miles run.

Ms. Miteko was not the usual professional athlete that had the opportunity to train full-time to make the basketball Olympic team, or the financial assistance from sponsors and endorsement deals. While most of the other members of the Greek national team focused primarily on their playing careers, Ms. Miteko who has an M.B.A. from University of San Francisco maintained a full-time job running the marketing department of a technology company. “It was a very tough schedule but the opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games in my home country was too good to give up. I had to work my training schedule around my work schedule, while trying to maintain some kind of a balance in my life.” Ms. Miteko was one of the final 18 players that were invited to the basketball tryouts and competed for one of the final 12 spots within the Greek National Olympic Team. While she did not make the final team, she felt honored to have been a part of the experience.

During her training for the Olympic Games, the more she ran with her triathlon group, the more she was intrigued by triathlons. “My first impression was that triathlon as a sport would be boring because you are on your own. I came from a team sport and triathlon seemed very lonely. I soon discovered that it was a very pleasant, positive, and supportive environment. Triathletes come from all sorts of backgrounds and have very inspiring stories” said Miteko.

Her inquisitiveness turned to the completion of 4 triathlon races during her first year of involvement with the sport. At the time of her first race, she did not own a bike. She borrowed a mountain bike from a friend two days before the race to be able to compete. She had never been coached in swimming (although she knew how to swim), biking, or long distance running.

Her determination and original story as to how she got into triathlons attracted the interest of the Inside Triathlon magazine, who chose Tina Miteko as one of the 31-member (15 of which are females) inaugural Age-Group Team out of a pool of over 1,000 candidates. As a team member, Ms. Miteko will receive a subscription to TrainingPeaks.com coaching software, PowerBar products for the entire season, including bars, gels and drinks, CrankBrother's new road pedal, the Quatro, Rudy Project sunglasses and helmet, Syntace clip-on aero bars, Fuel Belt hydration systems, a Louis Garneau custom tri-top and shorts, and various other items throughout the season. “I am very excited and honored to be a part of the Inside Triathlon’s inaugural team and these equally talented and determined individuals. I am looking forward to working with the staff, team members, and sponsors to promote the wonderful sport of triathlon.”

Ms. Miteko's 2005 race schedule includes the challenging Wildflower Olympic distance in Lake San Antonio, CA in May, Escape from Alcatraz in San Francisco, and San Jose International in San Jose, CA in June.

For more information on Tina Miteko, visit www.TinaMiteko.com

Contact Information:
Tina Miteko
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