Ironman athletes, Janus raise more than $500,000 for charity through the Janus Charity Challenge in 2001

The ending of the Ironman race season after Ironman Florida also means the wrap-up of the first year of the Janus Charity Challenge. Janus and Ironman athletes competing in Ironman North America events in the United States raised more than $500,000 in 2001 ($504,100), an impressive figure for the first year of the program.

"We are extremely excited about the results we got from the first year of the Janus Charity Challenge,"said Casey Corteste, Sponsorship Marketing Manager for Janus Mutual Funds for Janus Mutual Funds. "It was especially gratifying to see the massive increase in both funds raised and participation from the beginning of the year to the end."

The Janus Charity Challenge is a program where triathletes competing in Ironman North America events in the United States are "challenged" by Janus to use the race to raise money for charity.

The top three fund raisers at each individual event get rewarded by Janus with additional funds being donated by Janus the the charity that the athlete raced for with $5,000 to the first-place fund raiser, $3,000 for second-place and $1,500 for third place.

The program has seen a steady growth as Ironman California in May saw 11 athletes raise $76, 758, Ironman USA Lake Placid in July saw 14 athletes raise $119,606, while November¹s Janus Ironman Florida saw 34 athletes raise $178, 736.

"It¹s a great program," said Ironman North America President Graham Fraser, who participated in the program at Janus Ironman Florida. "We hope to continue to see those numbers grow over the next few years. Part of our goal at Ironman North America is to give back to communities and charities, and the Janus Charity Challenge is a perfect fit with that."

The Janus Charity Challenge program will continue in 2002 at Ironman Utah, Ironman Wisconsin, Ironman USA Lake Placid and Ironman Florida. For more information on the Janus Charity Challenge, or to register as a participant, log onto any Ironman North America web site and click on the Janus Charity Challenge link.

Breakdown of the 2001 Janus Charity Challenge Participants

Ironman California-May 19, 2001

1st Place Fund raiser: Kip Grossman raised $14,938 for Challenged Athletes Foundation
2nd Place Fund raiser: Len Lesham raised $12,516 for Special Olympics
3rd Place Fund raiser: Tie- Each athlete raised $12,000
Colin Wallis' funds will benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation
Allan Nuguid raised money to benefit The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

Other non-profit organizations benefiting from the Ironman California 2001 Janus Charity Challenge:

CARE- $1,502 raised by Andrew Delgado
Arthritis Foundation Joints in Motion- $2,200 raised by Dave Selders
Susan G. Koman Foundation- $4,500 raised by Paul Toups
Eco-Adventure Foundation- $10,000 raised by Brenda Moden
15th MEU Scholarship Fund- $5,000 raised by Captain Eric Kapitulik
Children's Miracle Networks- $2,102 raised by Matt Pahnke

TOTAL: $76,758-11 athletes

Ironman USA Lake Placid-July 28, 2001

1st place- Dirk Beveridge raised $23,400 for the Leo Foundation.
2nd place- Edwin Beusse raised $20,000 for Christadora.
3rd place- Al Lyman raised $13,600 for the Eastern Connecticut Community Foundation.

Other non-profit organizations benefiting from the Ironman USA 2001 Janus Charity Challenge:

MS Society of St. Louis- $2,000 raised by Ryan Barr
Mikey's Place- $2,400 raised by Dave Sebolt
Madi's Fund- $2,075 raised by Jon Poissant
Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research-$7,950 raised by Kimberly Pastore
Gabrielle Lincoln Bone Marrow Transplant-$2,545 raised by John Weber
St. Joseph Rehabilitation Center-$6,600 raised by Rev. Daniel Callahan
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society NC-$9,800 raised by Amy Green
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society NC-$13,465 raised by Steve Hightower
St. Mary's Children's Hospital-$5,000 raised by Larry Gillet
The V Foundation for Cancer Research-$9,171 raised by Chris Ferrone
New York City Burn Foundation-$1,600 raised by Kimberly Campbell

TOTAL: $119,606-14 athletes

Ironman Florida-November 10, 2001

1st Place- Cliff Norris Jr. raised $35,000 for the Tim & Tom Gullikson Foundation
2nd Place- Craig Van Ess raised $32,000 for Habitat for Humanity
3rd Place- William Garry raised $26,426 for the Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research, Memorial Fund for Kathy Brown

Other Non-Profit organizations benefitting from the Ironman Florida 2001 Janus Charity Challenge:

South Carolina Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Kentucky Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation
Jackson, MS Habitat for Humantiy
The Travis Roy Foundation
North Carolina Chapter of Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
American Diabetes Association
Soccer for Kids' Sake
Suncoast Chapter of Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
National Mulitple Sclerosis Society
Arthritis Foundation
Ventura County Medical Resource Foundation
Blakley Family YMCA Youth Scholarship Fund
AON Memorial Education Fund
Uniformed Firefighters & Association Widows & Orphans Fund
EMS & Rescue Workers Relief Fund
American Red Cross
September 11th Fund

Total raised: $178, 736

At the completion of the Florida program, Janus will have contributed a total of $129,000 for the year to the beneficiaries of the Janus Charity Challenge.

For Janus Charity Challenge Info and Guidelines, CLICK HERE