Ben Collins and Alicia Kaye Top Finishers at 2014 Panasonic New York City Triathlon

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Ben Collins (of Seattle, WA) won the male professional division in 1:43.25 and Alicia Kaye (of Clermont, FL) won the female professional division in 1:54.52 at today's 2014 Panasonic New York City Triathlon. Nearly 4,000 pro, elite, amateur and physically challenged athletes competed in the event, produced and presented by Life Time – The Healthy Way of Life Company^SM LTM.

In the male professional division, Kaleb Vanort (of Mishawaka, IN) finished second with a time of 1:44.05, followed by third-place finisher Chris Foster (of Redondo Beach, CA) with a time of 1:45.14. In the female professional division, Radka Vodickova (of Orlando, FL) finished second with a time of 1:59.16, while Jillian Petersen (of St. Louis, MO) finished third with a time of 2:01.19. 32 professional triathletes participated in the event which offered a $30,000 prize purse.

Participants swam 1.5 kilometers (.9321 miles) in the Hudson River, biked 40 kilometers (24.85 miles) on the Henry Hudson Parkway, and ran 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) in Central Park. For the third year in a row, the Accenture Challenged Athletes International Championship was held during the race and a prize purse of $7,500 was awarded to the top physically challenged triathletes. The Triathlon also hosted the Animal Medical Center 5-Mile Doggy Dash with dogs and their humans vying to be the first to cross the finish line in Central Park.

The Panasonic New York City Triathlon is part of the 2014 Life Time Tri Series, which includes 12 triathlons across the country between May and October. The race also marks the second event in the Toyota Triple Crown Series, which will award $50,000 to the top professional female or male triathlete competing in Life Time Tri Minneapolis, the Panasonic New York City Triathlon and Life Time Tri Oceanside. The Toyota Triple Crown winner will be declared at Life Time Tri Oceanside in October, using an ‘equalizer' time handicap in which men start behind women allowing each gender an equal chance of winning.

For complete results from the Panasonic New York City Triathlon visit www.nyctri.com. For more information and updates on the Life Time Tri series, visit lifetimetri.com, “Like” the Life Time Tri Facebook page or follow @lifetimetri on Twitter.

More information about Life Time Athletic Events is available at EventsByLifeTime.com, on Twitter @lifetimefitness and the Life Time Athletic Events Facebook page.

Photos from the race can be downloaded here: https://rubenstein.filetransfers.net/downloadFilePublic.php?filePassId=1e5a35642e42cb7fec40e64985292276

Photo captions:

Swim start photo:

Athletes enter the Hudson River for the start of the 2014 Panasonic New York City Triathlon on Sunday, August 3 in New York, NY. 4,000 pro, elite, amateur, and first-time triathletes competed in the race produced by Life Time – The Healthy Way of Life Company. Photo credit: MarathonFoto

Male winner photo:

Ben Collins, of Seattle, WA, crosses the finish line as the winner of the 2014 Panasonic New York City Triathlon with a time of 1:43.25, August 3 in New York, NY. 4,000 pro, elite, amateur, and first-time triathletes competed in the race produced by Life Time – The Healthy Way of Life Company. Photo credit: MarathonFoto

Female winner photo:

Alicia Kaye, of Clermont, FL, was the first female finisher of the 2014 Panasonic New York City Triathlon with a time of 1:54.52 August 3 in New York, NY. 4,000 pro, elite, amateur, and first-time triathletes competed in the race produced by Life Time – The Healthy Way of Life Company. Photo credit: MarathonFoto

Doggy Dash photo:

Murdock, a 4-year old West Highland White Terrier, crosses the finish line with owner Eric Morse, winning the 7^th Annual 5-mile Animal Medical Center Doggy Dash, part of the 2014 Panasonic New York City Triathlon, August 3 in New York, NY. The race was produced by Life Time – The Healthy Way of Life Company. Photo credit: MarathonFoto

About the Panasonic New York City Triathlon

The Panasonic New York City Triathlon is part of the 2014 Life Time Tri Series, which includes 12 triathlons across the country between May and October including: South Beach, CapTex, Trinona, Minneapolis, Maple Grove, Chicago, Tempe, Escape to Miami, and Soma. The Panasonic New York City Tri is also part of The Toyota Triple Crown Series, along with Life Time Tri Minneapolis and Life Time Tri Oceanside. The Series awards $50,000 to the top professional female or male triathlete who competes in all three Toyota Triple Crown events. The Toyota Triple Crown winner is declared at Life Time Tri Oceanside on October 26, using an ‘equalizer' time handicap in which men start behind women allowing each gender an equal chance of winning.

About Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company

Based in Newark, NJ, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company is a division of Panasonic Corporation of North America, the principal North American subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation. The company offers a wide range of consumer solutions in the U.S. including products from VIERA Smart Life+ Screen, Blu-ray players, LUMIX Digital Cameras, Camcorders, Home Audio, Cordless Phones, Home Appliances, Wellness and Personal Care products and more. In Interbrand's 2014 Annual “Best Global Green Brands” report, the Panasonic brand ranks number five, the highest ranked electronics brand in the report. To learn more about our products, visit www.panasonic.com. Follow Panasonic on Twitter @panasonicUSA; additional company information for journalists is also available at www.panasonic.com/pressroom.

About Toyota

Toyota, the world's top automaker and creator of the Prius, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through its Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands. Over the past 50 years, the company has built more than 25 million cars and trucks in North America, where Toyota operates 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ nearly 40,000 people (more than 37,000 in the U.S.). The company's 1,800 North American dealerships sold more than 2.5 million cars and trucks in 2013 – and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today. TM For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.

About Life Time Fitness, Inc.

As The Healthy Way of Life Company, Life Time Fitness LTM helps organizations, communities and individuals achieve their total health objectives, athletic aspirations and fitness goals by engaging in their areas of interest — or discovering new passions — both inside and outside of Life Time's distinctive and large sports, professional fitness, family recreation and spa destinations, most of which operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Company's Healthy Way of Life approach enables members to achieve this by providing the best programs, people and places of uncompromising quality and value. As of August 3, 2014, the Company operated 112 centers under the LIFE TIME FITNESS^® and LIFE TIME ATHLETIC^® brands in the United States and Canada. Additional information about Life Time centers, programs and services is available at lifetimefitness.com.