Athletes swim, bike, run their way through New York City Triathlon

NEW YORK (WABC) -- 4,000 top athletes hit the water, then the pavement Sunday as part of this year's Panasonic New York City Triathlon.[br /][br /]Participants dove into the Hudson River for the 1.5 kilometer swim.[br /][br /]They then got on bicycles and headed up the Henry Hudson Parkway before running across the finish line in Central Park.[br /][br /]The athletes raised for more than 50 charities.[br /][br /]Ben Collins of Seattle won the male professional division in 1:43.25 and Alicia Kaye of Clermont, Fla. won the female professional division in 1:54.52.[br /][br /]32 professional triathletes participated in the event which offered a $30,000 prize purse.[br /][br /]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.[br /][br /]The northbound lanes of the Henry Hudson Parkway leading to the Bronx-bound Henry Hudson Bridge were closed for the biking portion of the triathlon. [br /][br /]Bicyclists travelled up the Henry Hudson Parkway from 79th Street, crossed the Henry Hudson Bridge, exit at Moshulu Parkway, made a U-turn at West Gun Hill Road and returned southbound along the same route. [br /][br /]For information about the event follow this link: [url HREF="http://www.nyctri.com.[br /]" TARGET="http://www.nyctri.com.[br /]" REL="http://www.nyctri.com.[br /]"]http://www.nyctri.com.[br /][/url][br /]