WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Wrapped in an American flag, Hunter Kemper broke down in tears even before he crossed the finish line.

Kemper was headed for the Olympics in the triathlon – for the third time.

The 32-year-old athlete from Colorado Springs, Colo., earned the last of three berths on the U.S. team by finishing well ahead of his top rival for that spot, Andy Potts, at the Hy-Vee Triathlon on Sunday.

“It’s tremendous,” Kemper said. “This is what we live for. I’m a very blessed boy.”

Sarah Haskins beat Sarah Groff to earn the final spot on the U.S. women’s team for the Beijing Games.

Denmark’s Rasmus Henning won the men’s race for the second straight year, while three-time world champion Emma Snowsill of Australia won the women’s race. Each received $200,000 in the world’s richest one-day triathlon, which was marred by the death of a 46-year-old man during the swimming portion of the amateur race earlier in the day.

Because the two other Americans who had an outside chance to make the men’s team, Doug Friman and Brian Fleischman, were well back in the pack, Kemper only had to beat Potts to claim his spot. Kemper and Potts were even following the 1,500-meter swim and 40-kilometer bike ride. Kemper then pulled away steadily during the 10-kilometer run to finish sixth overall.

“There was a lot more on my plate today than trying to get on the podium,” said Kemper, who competed in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. “I was trying to get there, but I wanted to get back and make the Olympic team. It’s tough when you kind of have two races within a race itself. It makes it hard to really let loose and get after it.”

The two other U.S. team members, Jarrod Shoemaker and Matthew Reed, earned their spots earlier. Getting back on the team was all the more gratifying for Kemper because he was slowed by a lower back problem last year and has been dealing with a hernia this year.

Haskins earned a berth in her first Olympics by finishing sixth and beating the other contender, Sarah Groff, by more than 3 minutes. Groff had to be the first American in the race to qualify. If that didn’t happen, Haskins would get the berth, even if she didn’t finish the race.

Defending champion Laura Bennett was the top American, finishing fourth in 2:05.30. Haskins finished in 2:05.45. “It’s amazing,” said Haskins, who taught grade school in St. Louis for a year before becoming a full-time triathlete in 2004.

“It’s something I’ve dreamed about since I was a little girl, to be able to go there and be able to have the opportunity to compete.”

Bennett and Julie Ertel already had qualified for the U.S. team. Ertel finished seventh in Sunday’s event.

Haskins came out of the swim a step ahead of Groff and they were side by side on their bikes at the start of that segment. Haskins led her rival starting the run and stayed ahead the rest of the way.

“The biggest challenge for me was trying to tactically get away on the bike,” said Haskins, the silver medalist at the world championships two weeks ago.

“The wind made that tough. Just the rolling course, I couldn’t quite do that. But I got on the run first and it all came together in the end.”

For Groff, however, it all fell apart. Shortly into the run, she knew her bid to make the team was over.

“That (imaginary) sound 1K into the run, that big crack, that was the end of my race, breaking my spirit and shattering my dreams in 2008,” Groff said. “But it’s about the journey. I have no one to blame but myself.”

“I choked,” she added.

AP-ES-06-22-08 2039EDT