Sunday, June 22, 2008 | 4:51 p.m.
Former UNLV assistant swimming coach Andy Potts missed qualifying for his second consecutive Olympic triathlon by 28 seconds Sunday.
In Des Moines, Iowa, he finished the Hy-Vee Triathlon in eighth place in 1 hour, 55 minutes and 26 seconds.
Fellow American Hunter Kemper had finished the 1 1/ 2-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike race and 10-kilometer run in 1:54:58.
By beating Potts, Kemper secured the third and final U.S. spot for the Beijing Olympics in August, and it also will be Kemper's third Olympics.
Jarrod Shoemaker and Matt Reed had claimed the first two berths, but the U.S. triathletes had to produce some sterling finishes in recent weeks just to become one of eight countries allowed to send three athletes to China.
When that happened, Potts, 31, needed to beat Kemper. Didn’t happen for the man who assisted Rebels swimming coach Jim Reitz for a season after graduating from the University of Michigan eight years ago.
Rasmus Henning of Denmark won the Hy-Vee, in 1:54:21, and took home a $200,000 first prize. Second-place finisher Bevan Docherty won $40,000.
Kemper won $10,000 and Potts got $7,000.
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