The silver swimming cap clinging to Julie Swail's head as she scrambled out of the slate-gray waves after the half-mile swim identified the former water polo player as one of the elite competitors in Sunday's Long Beach Triathlon, but it was the gold medal draped around her neck hours later that truly set her apart from the rest of the field.

The Irvine resident was the first woman to cross the finish line, earning her third consecutive win in the women's division with a time of one hour and three seconds.

``A win is never easy,'' said Swail, 31, who edged out occasional training partner Beth Carlson of Seal Beach by 38 seconds. ``But it feels great, and I reached my only goal, which was to have fun.''

``We kind of played cat-andmouse a little,'' said Carlson, 32, who led Swail by a small margin at the end of the 11-mile bicycle ride. ``It was nice just to have a respectable finish behind Julie.''

San Diego resident Kevin Bree, who finished third in last year's race, fended off a strong challenge by Kyle Hughes during the 3-mile beachfront run to capture first place in the men's division with a time of 56 minutes and 44 seconds.

``The last mile, my lead cyclist kept looking back and telling me, `He's gaining on you,' '' said Bree, 34.

Bree's time was 14 seconds off from the 2003 winning time of Marc Lees, an Australian who did not return to defend his title this year.

While Swail was certainly a fan favorite, it was one of her proteges who elicited some of the biggest cheers from the spectators lining the race course.

Talmadge Atkins of Whittier, who has cerebral palsy, completed the triathlon with the help of Dan Christensen. Atkins has been taking swimming lessons with Swail for seven years, and began com- peting in triathlons this year.

``Julie's been an inspiration to Talmadge, and my wife, Georgia,'' said Atkins' father, Ted.

``It was a blast,'' said Christensen, who pushed Talmadge Atkins across the finish line in a wheelchair. ``Just to hear them cheering for him -- it was great. It picked me up.''

Race director Jack Caress said the fact that finishing the Long Beach Triathlon is an achievable goal for people of all abilities is one of the keys to its popularity. This year's field consisted of a record 1,247 competitors from 22 states.

``It's the kind of event where people of any kind can finish,'' said Caress.

Organizer Karen Kachigan said many triathletes are also attracted by the fact that a large portion of their registration fees benefit a good cause: the Comprehensive AIDS Resource Education Program and Clinics at St. Mary Medical Center.

``We've had people do it every year because of the charity it goes to,'' said Kachigan, who founded the annual fund-raising event out of appreciation for the services the CARE program provided for her late brother, Kevin Humphreys.

CARE assistant director Andrew Signey estimated that this year's triathlon would generate $50,000 for the program, which provides full medical and dental services for people living with HIV and AIDS.

For more results, visit www.pacificsportsllc.com.