MOTI 2XU South West Series 2009 announced

The British Triathlon Federation is pleased to announce that the 2010 Edinburgh ITU Duathlon World Championships will take place in the historic city from 3 to 5 September, 2010.

The Duathlon event consists of a 10km run, 40km cycle and 5km run and is expected to attract hundreds of elite and age group competitors from around the world to the Scottish capital where they will compete around Holyrood Park, Arthur’s Seat and the Scottish Parliament.

Scotland boasts a strong tradition within duathlon, most notably through reigning ETU Duathlon European Champion Catriona Morrison from Broxburn. Morrison has five major titles to her name in the last four years including two ETU Duathlon European Championships (2007 and 2009), two ITU Long Distance Duathlon World Championships (2007 and 2008) and she was ITU Duathlon World Champion in 2006.

Dr Sarah Springman OBE, president British Triathlon Federation, Vice-President ITU, commented: “Hosting a World Championships, in duathlon, and in Scotland shows British Triathlon's commitment to the diversity that makes up the ITU portfolio of disciplines as well as to our own Home Nations. We seek to put on a world class event for world class athletes with the valuable help of our partners in the City of Edinburgh Council, Event Scotland, Triathlonscotland and our in-house events team. We are delighted to welcome the world's elite and age group duathletes and challenge them to take on the exciting course around Arthur's Seat, while exhibiting their transition skills in front of two of Edinburgh's most iconic buildings, ancient and modern, the Queen's historic Palace at Holyrood House and the Scottish Parliament.”

Paul Bush OBE, Chief Operating Officer at EventScotland, the national events agency, said: “Edinburgh has a reputation around the world as an outstanding destination for world class athletics events.  From the best ever World Cross Country Championships last year to the annual Great Edinburgh Run, the city lends itself exceptionally well to hosting elite and mass participation sports events.  The ITU Duathlon World Championships in 2010 will further strengthen Edinburgh’s reputation in this area and will add yet another fantastic event to Scotland’s ‘world championship’ portfolio.”

President of triathlonscotland, Geoff Earl added:  ““triathlonscotland is thrilled to host this World Class event in Edinburgh, allowing the opportunity to showcase the beauty of our capital, the strength of our performers and provide an important platform for the development of the sport and its volunteer workforce in such an important period in British sport.”

Marisol Casado, ITU President commented: “We are delighted to take the 21st edition of the ITU Duathlon World Championships to Edinburgh in 2010.  Great Britain has a wonderful history in Duathlon, boasting great champions like Michelle Dillon, Paul Amey, Tim Don and of course Scotland's own Catriona Morrison.  After successfully hosting the 2007 Duathlon European Championships, Edinburgh proved it was a worthy candidate to become the first British city to host the ITU Duathlon World Championships."

Councillor Steve Cardownie, Festivals & Events Champion for the City of Edinburgh, said: "Having hosted what were acclaimed in 2003 as the best-ever European Cross Country Championships, followed by a successful Duathlon European Championships in 2007 and the fantastic World Cross Country Championships in 2008, we are better placed than anywhere else to deliver this type of major sporting event.
 
"Welcoming the ITU World Duathlon Championships to the city centre in September 2010 will be a welcome boost to the economy and will put a display of top notch sport on show. I look forward to welcoming competitors, officials and spectators from all over the world."

Picture courtesy of triathlon.org.

British Triathlon can confirm that the fourth event in the British Triathlon Super Series will take place at Parc Bryn Bach on Saturday July 18. The triathlon will also double up as the British Triathlon Sprint Distance Elite Championships.

This is the third year that the Blaenau Gwent have hosted the Parc Bryn Bach Elite Triathlon and the event will be run over the sprint distance of 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run. The event will be covered by Channel 4 television and aired on August 9th at 8am.

Zara Hyde Peters, Chief Executive of British Triathlon said: “We are delighted to be heading to Parc Bryn Bach again. It is a great course in a spectacular location set in the Welsh countryside and I look forward to seeing how our elite athletes fare in what is our penultimate event of the British Triathlon Super Series.”
 
Welsh triathlete Rhys Jones from Rhondda, said: “I’m looking forward to racing on home soil in Bryn Bach, I race there a fair bit including next weekend, so I will have no excuses come July 18.”

Alun Ffred Jones, Sport Minister in the Welsh Assembly Government said:
"I'm very pleased that the Welsh Assembly Government has been able to support this elite triathlon in Tredegar for the third year in a row. It is a great opportunity to see top-class athletes competing in Wales, and demonstrates the Welsh Assembly Government commitment to bringing sporting events to Wales. I'm sure that the event will be a great success and I hope it will be an inspiration for spectators to get involved in sport. I wish the very best of luck to everyone taking part."

Councillor Jason Owen, Blaenau Gwent Council’s Executive Member for Leisure and Culture, said:
“Parc Bryn Bach has firmly established itself as an excellent venue for international triathlons – showing that Blaenau Gwent can now host world-class sporting events.

“The park is going from strength to strength and our staff do a great job in providing the back up for the triathlon. We are delighted to be hosting this prestigious event once again.

“Our combination of open water, closed road cycling and running routes at Parc Bryn Bach will continue to attract top sporting competition.  Events like the triathlon help promote Blaenau Gwent as an attractive destination for visitors and sports as well as a good opportunity for economic investment. Good luck to all the competitors this year.”

Entries are still open for the British and Welsh Age Group Aquathlon Championships which are also taking place ahead of the British Triathlon Super Series event on June 18th.  To enter visit www.britishtriathlon.org/aquathlonchamps.

Spectators are welcome throughout the day, with the racing getting underway from 10am in the first wave of the British and Welsh Age Group Aquathlon Championships. The British Triathlon Sprint Distance Elite Championship races will follow at 11.30am for the women and 1pm for the men. This is one of the highlights of the British Triathlon calendar and all the athletes would welcome your support on the day. For more information on travelling to the venue please visit the Blaenau Gwent website http://www.blaenau-gwent.gov.uk/5807.asp.

Please find the attached results from the Market Bosworth Aquathlon on July 18th. 

For more information about future events please visit www.eastmidlandstri.org

This weekend saw seven British athletes competing in Des Moines for the Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Elite Cup - the US leg of the ITU Triathlon World Cup circuit.

Liz Blatchford was the highest finishing British athlete in fifth place with a time of 2:02.04. Blatchford performed well coming out of the water in fourth position only 51 seconds behind the leader Sara McLarty. With a consistent bike leg, she went into the run in third position on the second lap before fading towards the end finishing 2:19 behind eventual winner, Emma Moffatt.

2008 World Champion, Helen Jenkins who was fifth at last weekend’s Dextro Energy Triathlon - ITU World Championship Series in Washington DC was tenth in Des Moines. Jenkins finished with a time of 2:03.45, having established herself in a strong bike group which included Moffatt, Andrea Hewitt, and the American duo of Sarah Haskins and Laura Bennett. The group chased down the swim leader McLarty, however as soon they hit the run it was Moffatt who put the pressure on and moved away into an unassailable lead.

The final Britain to cross the line was Kerry Lang, who finished in 22nd position recording a time of 2:07.05. Lang finished second in the British Triathlon Super Series race at Strathclyde Country Park earlier this year and has performed consistently on the international scene finishing 21st and 33rd at the 2009 Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championship Series races in Washington DC and Tongyeong respectively.

Overall in the women’s race it was the Beijing Olympic bronze medallist Emma Moffatt who powered her way through the Olympic calibre field to claim first place prize in the Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Elite Cup with a time of 1:59.06. In second was fellow Australian Emma Snowsill, 1:33 behind. The athlete in third place was Canada’s Lauren Groves another 12 seconds back. 

In the men’s event our highest placed finisher was Tim Don in eighth place with a time of 1:50:21. It was the bike leg that stood out for Don as he recorded the third fastest leg behind compatriot Stuart Hayes. Will Clarke wasn’t far behind finishing in 11th place just 19 seconds down on Don.

Stuart Hayes performed well, using all of his cycling strength to impressive effect recording the second fastest leg. Hayes lost time on the run to finish in 19th position with a time of 1:51:49. The final athlete from the British camp was Paul Amey, who finished in 44th position recording a time of 1:57:13.

The men’s race was won by Simon Whitfield whose renowned sprint finish didn’t let him down.  In what seemed like a replay from the Beijing Olympic Games, the four men came into the finishing straight together side by side: Whitfield, Germany’s Jan Frodeno, Australia’s Brad Kahlefeldt and New Zealand’s Kris Gemmell. Unlike Beijing however, Whitfield would cross the line first with an elated roar one second ahead of his chasers in a time of 1:49.43. After a photo finish review, the third of the season, it was determined Australia’s Brad Kahlefeldt just nipped the tall German at the line for second with Frodeno in third. 

For complete results please visit the ITU website, www.triathlon.org.

On Sunday the ITU showcased its latest World Championship race with the first running of the Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Team World Championships. The event brought together some of the world's top triathlon nations as their teams of two women and two men battled it out over the 250m swim, 7km cycle, 1.8km run.

Switzerland was winner of the inaugural ITU event with a time of 1:20.56 seconds. The Swiss were only nine seconds ahead of race favourites Australia who came second and 35 seconds ahead of Canada who finished third.

Unfortunately the team from Great Britain which had hoped to compete in the event had to withdraw. 

Zara Hyde-Peters added: “We are disappointed not to have been able to field a team at the inaugural ITU Triathlon Team World Championships and were keen to support this new event.  We recognise that the ITU had made every attempt to make this competition attractive offering generous prize money as well as the honour of contesting a world team title.  However, when the programme plan was put together for this year, the ETU European Championships and the ITU World Championships Series were identified as the primary performance focus which meant that athletes who may have travelled to the Des Moines World Cup in other circumstances are getting ready for Holten.   We entered a GB team based on athletes who were able to contest the relay race based on their planned race programme, so when injury hit one of the women selected and all viable options for a replacement were exhausted we had to make the decision to not start a team this time. “
 

Seven elite British athletes have travelled to Des Moines this weekend to compete at the Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Elite Cup - the US leg of the ITU Triathlon World Cup circuit on Saturday 27 June. 

The female elite athletes which have made the journey to Iowa are Liz Blatchford, Helen Jenkins and Kerry Lang. They will be joined by compatriots Tim Don, Stuart Hayes, Will Clarke and Paul Amey from the men’s camp.

The event is one of the most sought after and exciting competitions on the calendar for spectators and athletes alike with each athlete who tops the podium receiving an incredible $200,000. Despite a number of the British athletes being in top form particularly on the domestic calendar and putting in some impressive results in the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series events – this event will be tough. 

Athletes will first have to acclimatise to the heat with temperatures likely to peak in the mid-thirties on race day. If they can stand the high temperatures they will then need to contend with a hugely impressive field of competitors. The men's race draws in the Olympic medallists, Jan Frodeno from Germany, Simon Whitfield from Canada and New Zealand's Bevan Docherty. Although neither Whitfield nor Docherty made the finish line at last weekend’s big race in the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series event in Washington DC both will be looking to avoid such a scenario this time around.

With the absence of our very own Alistair Brownlee, winner of the last two Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series events in Madrid and Washington; 2008 world champion Javier Gomez from Spain will be one of the favourites to go one better than Washington and clinch the gold.

In the women's race Jenkins, Lang and Blatchford will be going head to head with the inform athletes from Australia as Emma Moffatt looks to beat compatriot and Olympic gold medallist Emma Snowsill for the second weekend in a row.

Jenkins finished in fifth place at last weekend’s Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series in Washingotn DC and if she can swim like she did last week, she may have a chance to unsettle the favourites.

The ITU showcases its latest World Championship race on Sunday with the running of the Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Team World Championships. The event will bring together some of the world's top triathlon nations as their teams of two women and two men battle it out over the 250m swim, 7km cycle, 1.8km run.

An action packed weekend will ensue and you can keep up with all the action on the ITU’s website www.triathlon.org. This will be a landmark event for the ITU who believe this is a format of racing that can introduce a new generation to the sport and are currently lobbying for this race format to be contested at the London Olympic Games in 2012.