Laura Marie Bennett (née Reback, born 25 April 1975, in North Palm Beach, Florida) is an American professional triathlete. She placed fourth in the women's triathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics. In 2012, she finished 17th at the London Olympic Games. She earned a silver medal at the World Triathlon Championships in 2003 and bronze medals in 2004, 2005, and 2007. She has also raced at the Half-Ironman distance, placing 5th at the 2009 Ironman 70.3 World Championship.

Athletic career

Early career Bennett started triathlons at age 10 and took up swimming at age 12. She attended Cardinal Newman High School where she ran track and swam. She was the Florida state champion in the mile and two mile races for two consecutive years. She attended at Southern Methodist University where she was a member of the swimming team and pursued a finance degree. In swimming she served as a co-captain, and was a member of the 1997 NCAA champion 400 medley relay. She graduated in 1997 with a BS in finance.

In 1993, she was a member of the USA Triathlon Junior National Team, and was voted the USA Triathlon and Triathlete Magazine Junior of the Year in 1994. In 1997, after completing college, she was the second U.S. amateur at the World Championship in Perth, Australia.

Professional Bennett turned pro in 1998 after placing as the second U.S. amateur at the 1997 World Championship. That same year she began competing on the International Triathlon Union (ITU) racing circuit. She earned a silver medal at the World Triathlon Championships in 2003 and bronze medals in 2004, 2005, and 2007.

Bennett first earned a spot on the Olympic team as the second alternate for the U.S. triathlon team at the 2000 Summer Olympics, and as the first alternate in the 2004 Summer Olympics. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, she was the first American to qualify for the team, by placing first American, and third overall, in the Beijing 2007 trials. At the games, she placed fourth with a time of 2:00:21.54.

In 2009, Bennett made her long distance triathlon debut at the Ironman Augusta 70.3 race in 2009. She won in a time of 4:18:36, just six seconds ahead of runner up Kelly Williamson, qualifying her for the 2009 Ironman 70.3 World Championship. Bennett placed 5th at 2009 Ironman 70.3 World Championship with a time of 4:07:39.

In 2010, the ITU first started keeping track of segment rankings to reward the best athlete in each of the three disciplines throughout the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series. Bennett ranked first in the swim rankings 2010 season. That same year she was selected as the USAT 2010 Olympic/ITU Female Athlete of the Year for her consistent performances and end of season ranking during the 2010 racing season.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Bennett placed 17th in the women's triathlon with a time of 2:02:17.

Results

ITU competitions The following list of Bennett's results is based upon the official ITU rankings and the athlete's profile Page. Unless indicated otherwise, the events are triathlons (Olympic Distance) and belong to the Elite category.

Results list Date Competition Place Rank 2001-04-15 ITU Triathlon World Cup Gamagori 1 2001-04-22 ITU Triathlon World Cup Ishigaki4 2001-04-28 ITU Triathlon World Cup St. Anthony's 6 2001-07-07 ITU Triathlon World Cup Toronto6 2002-03-31 ITU Triathlon World Cup Geelong 12 2002-04-02 ITU Triathlon World Cup St. Petersburg11 2002-06-09 ITU Triathlon World Cup Gamagori 5 2002-07-02 ITU Triathlon World Cup Edmonton14 2002-07-02 ITU Triathlon World Cup Corner Brook4 2002-09-08 ITU Triathlon World Cup Hamburg14 2002-09-29 ITU Triathlon World Cup Nice14 2002-11-09 ITU Triathlon World Championships Cancun7 2003-04-13 ITU Triathlon World Cup Ishigaki6 2003-04-03 ITU Triathlon World Cup St. Anthonys1 2003-06-03 ITU Triathlon World Cup Tongyeong1 2003-06-15 ITU Triathlon World Cup Gamagori2 2003-07-03 ITU Triathlon World Cup Edmonton3 2003-08-10 ITU Triathlon World Cup New York5 2003-10-13 ITU Triathlon World Cup Makuhari9 2003-12-07 ITU Triathlon World Championships Queenstown2 2004-05-09 ITU Triathlon World Championships Madeira3 2004-09-26 ITU Triathlon World Cup Gamagori 9 2005-04-17 ITU Triathlon World Cup Honolulu16 2005-05-15 ITU Triathlon World Cup Ishigaki8 2005-07-23 ITU Triathlon World Cup Edmonton4 2005-09-11 ITU Triathlon World Championships Gamagori3 2005-09-26 ITU Duathlon World Championships Newcastle6 2005-11-13 ITU Triathlon World Cup New Plymouth5 2006-03-03 ITU Triathlon World Cup Doha 3 2006-03-10 ITU Triathlon World Cup Aqaba3 2006-04-26 ITU Triathlon World Cup Mooloolaba11 2006-05-07 ITU Triathlon World Cup Mazatlan9 2006-06-25 ITU Triathlon Pan American Cup Long Beach4 2006-09-03 ITU Triathlon World Championships Lausanne8 2006-09-10 Triathlon World Cup Hamburg3 2006-09-24 Triathlon World Cup Beijing4 2006-10-15 ITU Triathlon Asian Cup Hong Kong1 2006-11-05 Triathlon World Cup Cancun12 2006-05-02 Triathlon World Cup New Plymouth3 2007-06-17 Triathlon World Cup Des Moines1 2007-09-02 Triathlon World Cup Hamburg3 2007-09-16 Triathlon World Cup Beijing3 2007-11-04 Triathlon World Cup Cancun5 2008-03-30 Triathlon World Cup Moolooaba4 2008-06-08 Triathlon World Championships Vancouver 22 2008-06-22 Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon World Cup Des Moines4 2008-08-19 2008 Summer Olympics Beijing 4 2008-09-20 ITU Triathlon Pan American Cup Portland4 2009-06-21 World Championship Series Washington, DC 12 2010-06-27 Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Elite Cup Des Moines 14 2009-07-26 World Championship Series Hamburg17 2010-03-28 ITU Triathlon World Cup Mooloolaba17 2010-04-11 World Championship Series Sydney14 2010-06-13 Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Elite Cup Des Moines6 2010-07-18 World Championship Series Hamburg7 2010-07-25 World Championship Series London5 2010-08-15 World Championship Series Kitzbuhel8 2010-09-12 World Championship Series, Grand Final Budapest 8 2010-09-25 Pan American Cup Tuscaloosa1 2011-04-10 World Championship Series Sydney6 2011-06-05 World Championship Series Madrid8 2011-07-19 World Championship Series Kitzbuehel 6 2011-08-07 World Championship Series London24 2011-09-11 World Championship Series, Grand Final Beijing 5

Personal life Bennett is married to Australian triathlete Greg Bennett. Laura Bennett's father, Paul, and older brothers, David and John, have also competed in triathlons.

References

External links Bennett Endurance website Laura Bennett's Twitter