On a picture-perfect day in San Francisco, records fell by the dozens at the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon on Sunday. Great Britain's Simon Lessing and Australia's Michellie Jones won the professional races, setting course records in the process, and nearly every age group had a course record as well. The usually testing swim conditions were nowhere to be found as the day dawned bright and calm. Athletes jumped off a huge cruise liner near the fabled Alcatraz Island and swam the 1.5 miles to shore, beaching in lightning-fast times as a strong current propelled them to the finish. Blowing away the existing swim-course record were Lessing and Aussie Craig Walton, who came ashore in 20:45. Americans Greg Remaly and Matt Kowalski were 14 seconds back, the recently naturalized American Matt Reed was 27 seconds behind, and Aussie Chris McCormack was 42 seconds out. Of the professional men, the slowest swim time was 29:39, which would have been a very fast time in years past. Jones, meanwhile, came out of the water in deficit to American Joanna Zeiger, who cruised into the half-mile "warmup run" after only 21:08 in the water. Aussie Melanie Mitchell was 21 seconds back, with fellow Aussie Liz Blatchford (22:05) and Jones (22:18) in hot pursuit. Lessing and Walton stayed together on the hilly 18-mile bike ride through the famous city's Presidio and Golden Gate Park, and Walton actually led out of T2 by a slender four seconds. Reed and McCormack were fighting it out for third place at that point, coming into transition with a deficit of more than a minute. The women's race became a one-woman story on the bike, as Jones, who had won the race seven times in the past, distanced herself from the field, coming into T2 with a comfortable lead. The rolling and rocking eight-mile run has some hills near the turnaround, including the infamous "Sand Ladder," and it was on those hills that Lessing made his move. Walton couldn't respond, and Lessing pulled away to victory. McCormack and Reed both moved past Walton on the run, and the gallant Aussie eventually finished sixth. Lessing's victory, his third at Alcatraz, came in a time of 1:54:41, a course record by more than five full minutes. The top eight men finished under the existing course record. Jones cruised on into victory in a record time as well, 2:08:54, again about five minutes off the course record. Of the 24 years that the race has existed, Jones has won it eight times, a remarkable record of dominance. Blatchford actually clocked a faster run split, and came in at 2:09:17, with Zeiger in third. Young Aussie Kate Major, with a busy spring that has included a second at Wildflower and third at Ironman Australia, was fourth. Each of the top five women broke the existing course record. Records were set in age groups as well, in nearly every category. The six-mile-an-hour current, with no hampering winds, took swimmers to shore in record times, and the bike and run legs were virtually windless—except for the tailwind that greeted runners at the run turnaround. Notes: Bill Bell, 81 and still going strong, finished, again. Racing with a wisecrack and a smile, he did ask runners as he headed out onto the run if an escalator had been installed at the Sand Ladder yet. A host of challenged athletes completed the tough, technical course. Included in this list were five blind athletes, including the famous Heidi Musser, and five other physically challenged athletes, including Sarah Reinertsen and "One-Arm Willie" Stewart, whose time of 2:20:06 would have netted him fourth in his age group--the always tough 40-44 division. A new division, the celebrity relay division, included actor Robin Williams. He did the bike leg on a team that included 1994 Escape from Alcatraz champion and multiple Ironman winner Sian Welch. Full results are here. RESULTS Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon San Francisco; Sunday, June 6, 2004 (1.5m/18m/8m) WOMEN 1. Michellie Jones (AUS) 2:08:54 (22:18/51:48/49:48) 2. Liz Blatchford (AUS) 2:09:17 (22:05/52:24/49:41) 3. Joanna Zeiger (USA) 2:11:36 (21:08/52:40/52:20) 4. Kate Major (AUS) 2:13:15 (23:42/52:46/50:58) 5. Melanie Mitchell (AUS) 2:13:32 (21:29/53:00/53:41) MEN 1. Simon Lessing (GBR) 1:54:41 (20:45/46:01/43:09) 2. Chris McCormack (AUS) 1:56:23 (21:27/46:47/43:49) 3. Matthew Reed 1:57:06 (21:12/46:46/44:34) 4. Craig Alexander (AUS) 1:57:53 (21:28/48:33/43:29) 5. Levi Maxwell (AUS) 1:58:17 (21:09/47:36/44:58)