http://astc.triathlon.org/news en office@astc.triathlon.org Copyright 2012 2012-02-15T05:43:55+00:00 http://astc.triathlon.org/news/article/london_2012_olympic_qualifying_update_after_san_diego/ http://astc.triathlon.org/news/article/london_2012_olympic_qualifying_update_after_san_diego/#When:02:21:06Z The two-year ITU Olympic Qualification Period is almost at an end after the penultimate race in the city where triathlon was invented. The ITU World Triathlon San Diego held plenty of hopes and dreams, some were realised, some were not. Here is the updated Olympic simulation, which is a guide to what the London field what look like if qualification finished tomorrow, and an early look at the Madrid round of the ITU World Triathlon Series. Elite Women’s Simulation As the final automatic qualification event for USA Triathlon, a key focus was on who would join Gwen Jorgensen and Sarah Groff in London. The top contenders were Laura Bennett and Sarah Haskins, who both represented the USA in Beijing and that battle was on right from the start. Both are strong swimmers and both emerged within a lead group of eight that included Helen Jenkins and Erin Densham. While Haskins tried a few times to break off the front in the bike, she didn’t, and they came in T2 together. Bennett flew through in 20 seconds, while Haskins took 28, and that ended-up being a defining moment. While Haskins did almost catch Bennett in the run, the 37-year-old pulled away and went on to bronze – her first series medal and her second Olympic team. In other individual selection news, Netherlands’ Rachel Klamer met her national federation’s qualification criteria with a 12th place finish. This acted as a confirmation result for her early pre-selection in 2011. Maaike Caelers also put herself into contention with 11th, enough to move herself onto the Olympic simulation. Lisa Mensink had held down a second place for the Netherlands, but her day finished early with a crash leaving T1. That crash also ended her own hopes of competing in London, she sustained a fractured shoulder, however Caelers result was enough to keep the Netherlands with two spots for now. In other important results, Lydia Waldmuller moved Austria into the picture, taking over the European new flag spot from Finland’s Kaisa Lehtonen, while Hungary moved from two places to one. A week after collapsing before the finish line in Huatulco, Vendula Frintova recovered and put the Czech Rebublic back in with a chance to send two women. So far Frintova and Radka Vodickova hold down those two places. Claudia Rivas also met the Mexican Triathlon Federation’s qualification criteria to confirm her place in London. The competition to see who can field the maximum three athletes in London didn’t change after San Diego, except for... Events, World Championship Series, Olympics, Olympic Tab Player, Regions, Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania 2012-05-16T02:21:06+00:00 http://astc.triathlon.org/news/article/stoltz_and_mcquaid_aim_to_defend_their_titles_at_itu_cross_triathlon_world_/ http://astc.triathlon.org/news/article/stoltz_and_mcquaid_aim_to_defend_their_titles_at_itu_cross_triathlon_world_/#When:05:12:47Z Last year was a historic one for Cross Triathlon, after four years of continental championships ITU hosted its first world titles in Extremadura, Spain. Over 400 athletes competed across the elite, junior, age-group and paratriathlon categories in the swim, mountain bike and cross-country run discipline. This year, the sport takes another step forward as ITU partners with XTERRA for the second edition for the 2012 Shelby County ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships and XTERRA Southeast Championships. Oak Mountain State Park, located in the southernmost part of the Appalachian Chain, boasts a trail praised by competitors as one of the most fun, fast, scenic and difficult with credit attributed to the work of Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers (BUMP) along with Alabama’s DCNR State Park Division, Shelby County and the City of Pelham. BUMP has spent more than 100,000 hours in design and construction of new trails over the past 20 years. The event will feature $20,000 USD in prize money for elite athletes, who will compete over a 1.5km swim, 30km mountain bike and 10km trail run. Elite Women’s Preview Canada’s Melanie McQuaid took out the first ITU Cross Triathlon world title in Spain last year, and will return to defend it in Alabama as will the two other women who finished on the podium with her in Extremadura, the USA’s Shonny Vanlandingham and Emma Garrard. However, it’s a tough field to pick a favourite, as McQuaid, Vanlandingham, Switzerland’s Renata Bucher and Great Britain’s Lesley Paterson all have good form on the course in Shelby County. Last year, McQuaid bettered Vanlandingham and Bucher in the podium 1-2-3, but in 2010 it was Vanlandingham who beat McQuaid to the title as Paterson claimed bronze. McQuaid won in 2009, with Paterson collecting silver, while Vanlandingham won in 2008, where Paterson finished third. Adding to the competition is that Bucher and Paterson, who took out last year’s XTERRA world title, had to have a photo to decide who won in Las Vegas just last week, showing that the battle for the podium is set to be a thrilling one here. Vanlandingham, the 2010 XTERRA World Champion who is making her return from an ACL injury in this race, said earlier this year it was no surprise that a strong women’s field was competing. “I’ve raced all over the world, and I just love coming back to Oak Mountain every year. It is perhaps the best course in the nation,” she said. Others to watch include Canada’s Danelle Kabush and Austria’s... Media Centre, Event Release, Multisports, Cross Triathlon, Regions, Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania 2012-05-15T05:12:47+00:00 http://astc.triathlon.org/news/article/jonathan_brownlee_starts_season_2012_with_dominating_win_in_san_diego/ http://astc.triathlon.org/news/article/jonathan_brownlee_starts_season_2012_with_dominating_win_in_san_diego/#When:00:33:58Z Great Britain’s Jonathan Brownlee kicked off his Olympic season with a dominant performance in San Diego, winning his second ITU World Triathlon Series event ahead of Switzerland’s Sven Riederer and South Africa’s Richard Murray. In the race that had a huge impact on the Olympic picture, Brownlee was part of a small break at the start of the bike. However that didn’t last long, as a huge pack of over 50 athletes hit T2 together. From there it came down to the run, and Brownlee and Murray charged to the front on the first lap. They went toe to toe for almost half of the 10km run, before Brownlee laid down the trademark family kick to win in 1 hour 48 minutes and 47 seconds, his first race in almost seven months. “For me it was the first race of the season, I didn’t really know what to expect,” Brownlee said. “Seven months is a long time out, I was in a bit of shock at the race briefing thinking wow, ‘It’s been a long long time since I’ve been in one of these,’ I went into the race very relaxed really because I knew I didn’t have to do anything, I didn’t have to finish top nine, top four or anything, I just had to race my own race, and yeah, I was pleased.” “The swim and the bike were good, I wasn’t sure what to expect on that, but I have been running well all winter and my cross country races have been good. I felt good on the run. I felt a bit tired towards the end, I think I lacked a bit of racing there. Sven Riederer is a tough guy, he’s chased me down a few times before, in Beijing he chased me down down and he never gives up. Someone offered me a Yorkshire flag towards the end and I was to tired to take it, I thought I’m not going for that in case I blew up towards the end, I thought that would look a bit silly. It was a good race, I’m pleased to win, it shows that the training has gone well over the winter and I’m looking forward to the next race really.” Behind him, Riederer and Spain’s Mario Mola were catching Murray, and Riederer eventually passed Murray to stamp another series medal onto his resume. It was enough for 2004 Athens Olympics bronze medallist to confirm his London 2012 Olympics spot, and also means he is now the equal most successful man in series history without a win. Riederer now has five medals, three bronze and two silver, alongside Alexander Bryukhankov. Riederer said his race strategy came off perfectly. “I tried to save my energy on the bike, I was riding at the end of the pack and then in the end I was pushing for... Events, World Championship Series, Media Centre, Event Release, Regions, Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania 2012-05-13T00:33:58+00:00 http://astc.triathlon.org/news/article/helen_jenkins_dominates_as_triathlon_returns_to_san_diego/ http://astc.triathlon.org/news/article/helen_jenkins_dominates_as_triathlon_returns_to_san_diego/#When:23:41:37Z Great Britain’s Helen Jenkins continued her brilliant start to 2012 with a dominating run to crush the field in San Diego, in a race that had a huge impact on London Olympic qualification. After an eight-women bike breakaway put 2 minutes and 30 seconds on the first chase group coming out of T2, Jenkins and Australia’s Erin Densham went to the lead into the first lap of the 10km run. In see-sawing battle between the Australian Olympic hopeful and Jenkins, Densham pulled away to almost 10 metres in front in second lap before Jenkins stunningly reeled in the difference and turned the tables. In an incredible second half, she went ahead to record a time of 1 hour 58 minutes and 21 seconds, over a minute ahead of Densham’s time of 1:59:26. The USA’s Laura Bennett claimed third, her first series podium, and with it her second consecutive Olympic Games berth. Jenkins said it had been hard, but the support on the run had helped her through. “It was just such a good race, we really had to work really hard for that. I really pushed the swim and we really worked hard on the bike and that was hard all the way,” Jenkins said. “I really enjoyed the run course, it was really cool, there was so many people out there supporting…it was awesome.” Densham’s third consecutive major podium for 2012 was a huge boost for her own Olympic selection hopes. Densham was the first Australian, with Emma Moffatt finishing ninth, Ashleigh Gentle 10th, Emma Jackson 14th and Emma Snowsill 17th. So far, only Moffatt has been named in the Australian team for London. “I was hurting out there, I just hope I’ve done enough. Ideally I would have taken a break after Sydney and not raced here, but I’ve had to push through and I really do hope that’s enough,” Densham said. In the nail biting race for the third USA women’s spot, Bennett chose the perfect time to record her first series podium. Given that Gwen Jorgensen and Sarah Groff both qualified their places in London last year, the battle for the third women’s spot was expected to come down to Bennett and another Beijing Olympian Sarah Haskins. It turned out to be exactly that, as both were in metres of each other for almost the entire race. It was only in the final lap of the run that Bennett knew she had claimed her second consecutive Olympic Games spot, after she finished fourth at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. “It’s tough when you have go up against a good friend,” Bennett said. “I put a lot of pressure on this day, last year in... Events, World Championship Series, Media Centre, Event Release, Regions, Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania 2012-05-11T23:41:37+00:00 http://astc.triathlon.org/news/article/itu_completes_final_london_2012_site_visit/ http://astc.triathlon.org/news/article/itu_completes_final_london_2012_site_visit/#When:04:28:48Z The International Triathlon Union (ITU) recently completed its final site visit before the rapidly approaching London 2012 Olympic Games. ITU Technical Delegates for London, Thanos Nikopoulos, ITU Senior Manager - Technical Operations and Leslie Buchanan, ITU Anti-doping Director, were welcomed by John Lunt, Triathlon Competition Manager and a number of key London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) members. Andrew Taylor, Triathlon Technical Operations Manager and Robert Puestow, Triathlon Field of Play Manager along with Jasmine Flatters, Triathlon Services Manager and Anna Price, Training Venue Manager were all on hand to discuss the final details of the upcoming two day competition in London. Nikopoulos and Buchanan took the opportunity to finalise all sport aspects with Lunt as well as meet with the other functional areas including venue operations, overlay, photo operations and look. As the final site visit before the Games, Nikopoulos and Buchanan were pleased with the high level of cooperation between ITU and LOCOG and are confident of a spectacular and successful triathlon competition this summer. “We are really pleased with the excellent level of preparation by the LOCOG triathlon competition management and operational areas,” said Buchanan. “During this last visit we were able to agree upon the final issues and are very much looking forward to an outstanding triathlon competition in London and welcoming the triathlon family with exceptional facilities and services.” Triathlon at the London 2012 Olympic Games takes place in Hyde Park in central London. Competition begins with a 1.5km swim in the Serpentine before the bike leg leads past several major London landmarks such as Buckingham Palace, Wellington Arch, Hyde Park Corner and Constitution Hill and back into Hyde Park, where athletes complete the run. The elite women’s race will take place at 9:00am on 4 August, with the elite men competing at 11:30am on 7 August. Click here for the ITU Olympic website Events, Major Games, Olympics, Olympic Tab Player, Regions, Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania, Technical 2012-05-11T04:28:48+00:00 http://astc.triathlon.org/news/article/san_diego_pre-race_press_conference_highlights/ http://astc.triathlon.org/news/article/san_diego_pre-race_press_conference_highlights/#When:02:37:56Z On the eve of the women’s race at the ITU World Triathlon San Diego, four of the sport’s biggest names met with the media at the event’s official pre-race press conference.  Reigning World Champion Helen Jenkins and double Olympic medallist Bevan Docherty were joined by two of America’s brightest stars, Gwen Jorgensen and Jarrod Shoemaker.  After opening addresses from ITU President Marisol Casado and USA Triathlon CEO Rob Urbach, the athletes talked about their goals for this weekend, their paths to San Diego and of course, the Olympic Games. Helen Jenkins (GBR) “It’s really exciting just to know the Olympics are going to be in your own country. At the same time I’m trying not to get too excited this far out from the Games.” “I’m just trying to keep everything simple and it’s more about getting the training in and doing the work because this year is the important year. I’m trying to keep that in perspective and that’s my goal - try to get to London in the best possible shape.” Gwen Jorgensen (USA) “Honestly, I’m so new to the sport that I don’t really have a favourite type of course. I know it’s beautiful, and it will be great for spectators. I think there will be lots of spectators out there. I think it will be exciting, good for the experience of the race; I’m excited about it.” “I am just blessed to have people supporting me. Everyone has been great, my teammates, some from other countries. Everyone has been helpful, teaching me so much.” Bevan Docherty (NZL) “The key word there is maturity. I’m getting older now and I can only peak so many times a year. In an Olympic campaign, there is only one race that counts. It’s still a journey to get to the Olympics but if you play your cards right and are smart about it, you put yourself in the best possible position come August.” “I don’t think I’m a great runner, I just think I’m a great all-around triathlete. In just a straight-out run, I don’t think I’m all that great. London is going to be very fast so in terms of a test event, I suppose this venue will be great.” Jarrod Shoemaker (USA) “The goal for all of us is to race as hard as we can because you never know what happens in one of these races. It’s about putting yourself in a position to succeed. My goal is to go out and have fun, enjoy and race as fast as I can. Catch Jenkins, Jorgensen and the rest of the elite women at 14:00 PST on Friday 11 May live at triathlonlive.tv.  While Docherty, Shoemaker the elite men begins at... Events, World Championship Series, Regions, Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania 2012-05-11T02:37:56+00:00 http://astc.triathlon.org/news/article/london_2012_olympic_flame_lit_at_olympia/ http://astc.triathlon.org/news/article/london_2012_olympic_flame_lit_at_olympia/#When:17:28:00Z With only 78 days until the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the Olympic flame was today lit at Olympia during a ceremony organised by the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC). The lighting symbolically marks the beginning of the Torch Relay that will bring the flame to the Olympic Stadium in London on 27 July. In line with tradition, the flame was lit, following the time-honoured ritual of using the sun’s rays and a parabolic mirror, by a High Priestess - Ino Menegaki - at the Temple of Hera in Ancient Olympia. The priestess then entered the Ancient Olympic Stadium, in a procession choreographed by Artemis Ignatiou, and used the flame to ignite the torch of the first runner of the Relay, Spyros Gianniotis. A British-born Greek open water swimming world champion and three-time Olympian, Gianniotis then transferred the flame to Alex Loukos, one of London 2012’s young ambassadors in Singapore in 2005, who has Greek heritage and lives in the London borough of Newham.  The Olympic flame will now begin an eight-day journey across Greece, travelling to the island of Crete before going to Piraeus, Thessalonica, Xanthi and Larissa among other areas before arriving in the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, on 17 May for the official Olympic Flame Handover Ceremony. The Olympic flame will then be flown by plane to RNAS Culdrose in Great Britain on 18 May before the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay – presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung - gets underway at Land’s End on 19 May. The flame will visit more than 1,000 villages, towns and cities in the UK during its journey, covering some 8,000 miles over 70 days, as it is carried by 8,000 inspirational torchbearers. The flame will end its journey at the Olympic Stadium on 27 July for the lighting of the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony, signifying the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games.  In the presence of the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Mr Spyros Capralos;  the Chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, Sebastian Coe; the Mayor of Ancient Olympia, Efthymios Kotzas; and the Chairman of the HOC’s Olympic Torch Relay Commission, Spyros Zannias, IOC President Jacques Rogge said in his speech: “With this ceremony, we begin the final countdown to a dream that came to life seven years ago in Singapore, when London was selected to host the 2012 Games. The energy that passes from the sun to the... Events, Major Games, Olympics, Olympic Tab Player, Regions, Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania 2012-05-10T17:28:00+00:00 http://astc.triathlon.org/news/article/london_olympic_qualifying_update_after_huatulco_before_san_diego/ http://astc.triathlon.org/news/article/london_olympic_qualifying_update_after_huatulco_before_san_diego/#When:05:53:51Z As the third race left in the official Olympic qualification period, the Huatulco ITU Triathlon World Cup always had the potential to impact the Olympic simulation in a major way. And while it didn’t have a dramatic impact on the battle between the NOCs looking to field the maximum three athletes, the results did have a huge affect on some individual athletes rankings. It’s time to delve into the Olympic simulation to see what Huatulco meant, and what to watch for this weekend in San Diego. Click here to read the Olympic Qualification 101. Women’s Olympic Simulation The swim played a crucial part in the elite women’s race in Huatulco, and it was a group of seven athletes who managed to make a break.  Together Flora Duffy (BER), Pamela Oliveira (BRA), Claudia Rivas (MEX), Alexandra Razarenova (RUS), Line Jensen (DEN), Yuko Takahaski (JPN) and Margit Vanek (HUN) worked to stretch their lead each lap in the bike to build a lead of three and a half minutes over the rest of the field. But their intense work rate to make that gap wasn’t surprising when looking at the Olympic simulation before Huatulco, six of them were sandwiched close together and a good result would help them get to London. For the winner, Duffy, the points earned helped her rocket up 16 spots in the simulation and is now in 39th spot, and all but secured a spot for Bermuda. Rivas sits one spot behind her in #40, Jensen in #42 and Oliveira in #47. Razarenova also further improved her position, to #37 on the ranking. While it means they all still need to race well in San Diego and Madrid, they are all now in better position to qualify a spot for their NOC in London. Same for Ukraine’s Yuliya Yelistratova and Slovenia’s Mateja Simic, who finished seventh and eighth respectively in Huatulco. Looking ahead to Friday’s race in San Diego, keep an eye on the European new flag, Kaisa Lehtonen now holds that for Finland, but just is just 30 points ahead of Austria’s Lisa Perterer. It’s also an automatic selection race for the USA, and a top-9 finish for any U.S. women - outside of the already qualified Sarah Groff or Gwen Jorgensen - will get them to London. In the battle to decide which NOCs can send three athletes, nothing much changed in Huatulco but Daniela Ryf will be looking to put herself and Switzerland back in contention on Friday to field the maximum. Ryf is Switzerland’s third woman, and they are currently sitting in ninth, which means right now only two spots are qualified. But if... Athletes, Athletes in Profile, Features, Olympics, Olympic Tab Player, Regions, Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania 2012-05-10T05:53:51+00:00 http://astc.triathlon.org/news/article/san_diego_-_the_birthplace_of_triathlon/ http://astc.triathlon.org/news/article/san_diego_-_the_birthplace_of_triathlon/#When:22:21:28Z This weekend presents a rare opportunity to witness history in the making as triathlon returns to its roots in San Diego. The second ITU World Triathlon Series event of 2012 offers the perfect chance to reflect upon just how far the sport has come from its humble origins. Triathletes in San Diego this weekend will compete just metres away from the site of the very first modern triathlon competition held on 25 September in 1974. As an alternative to a track workout, at 5:45pm 46 members of the San Diego Mission Bay Track Club completed a 5.3-mile run, a proportion of which ran barefoot over grass and sand, followed by a 5-mile cycle and a 600-yard swim in Mission Bay. History of Triathlon 1974: first ever triathlon - San Diego, USA 1989: ITU formed - Avignon, France 1989: first ITU World Championships - Avignon, France 1995: triathlon included in Pan American Games – Buenos Aires, Argentina 2000: triathlon makes its Olympic debut – Sydney, Australia 2002: gained Commonwealth Games sport status – Manchester, Great Britain 2006: triathlon debuts at Asian Games – Doha, Qatar 2010: triathlon opens the inaugural Youth Olympic Games - Singapore 2014: mixed relay to debut at the Commonwealth Games – Glasgow, Great Britain 2014: mixed relay to debut at the Asian Games – Incheon, Korea 2016: paratriathlon to makes its Paralympic debut – Rio, Brazil The sport quickly gained popularity and within a matter of years became one of the fastest growing sports in the world. Fifteen years after the landmark race in 1974, the International Triathlon Union (ITU) was formed in 1989. ITU now has over 140 affiliated National Federations on five continents and is the youngest International Federation in the Olympic Games. A regular host of the ITU World Triathlon Series, Sydney is where triathlon made its Olympic debut in 2000 and over the years triathlon has developed on a global scale, now featuring in the Asian Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games.   Paratriathlon has now been accepted into the Paralympic Games and will make its Paralympic debut in Rio 2016. In addition ITU has Olympic programme aspirations for the Triathlon Mixed Relay with this new event voted into the Commonwealth Games programme and recently added into the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, four years earlier than anticipated. It is truly incredible to see the rise of triathlon over the course of its short history. It is fitting then, that the sport should return in this Olympic year... Events, World Championship Series, Features, Regions, Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania 2012-05-09T22:21:28+00:00 http://astc.triathlon.org/news/article/team_itu_completes_part_of_olympic_puzzle_in_huatulco/ http://astc.triathlon.org/news/article/team_itu_completes_part_of_olympic_puzzle_in_huatulco/#When:20:59:41Z The final Team ITU event of 2012 was designed to help its athletes push towards the London 2012 Olympics, and while they did just that, they know the battle is not just over yet. Huatulco was the final World Cup in the London Olympic Qualification Criteria and therefore the final chance for Team ITU to achieve it’s aim: helping athletes who have the potential to compete at the Olympics at a World Cup level. The team gathered included Mateja Simic (SLO), Elizabeth Bravo (ECU), Fabienne St Louis (MRI), Yuliya Yelistratova (UKR), Leonardo Chacon (CRC), Ognjen Stojanovic (SRB), Michel Gonzalez (CUB), Dan Alterman (ISR), Jason Wilson (BAR) and Carlos Javier Quinchara Forero (COL), athletes from NOCs who could make history. So far, no athlete from Costa Rica, Cuba, Israel, Serbia, Barbados, Slovenia, Ecuador or Mauritius has qualified for an Olympic Games in triathlon before. In the elite women’s race, Yelistratova posted the fastest run of the day 36 minutes and 58 seconds - to cut into a three minute lead from T2 and claim seventh place, with Simic just behind her. The points for both were enough to not just hold on for the Olympic simulation, but move further ahead. For Simic, it was a nice symmetry that Huatulco might seal her Olympic spot, as its where she first entered the Olympics simulation picture last year. But the journey to make the Olympics isn’t quite over yet. “Last year after Huatulco I came into Olympic rankings and I held that the whole winter, but because I was only racing the second year of Olympic ranking, I didn’t know if I could get there in the European new flag spot,” Simic said. “Now after this result in Huatulco, I have am a chance to be in the Olympic qualification points list, but I still must race well in Madrid and San Diego.” It was a sentiment echoed by Quinchara Forero, Colombia’s top ranked male athlete. Colombia have had female athletes qualify for the Olympics before, but Forero would be the first male if he qualified for London. He finished fifth, his equal highest World Cup result, but it wasn’t quite enough to reel in Gonzalo Tellechea, who knocked the Colombian out of the American new flag spot with bronze in Ishigaki. “My process start last year, when I finished ninth in Monterrey and that gave me a real chance at qualifying for the Olympics in the Americas new flag. Then I finished fifth in Guatape, then I thought I was really close but then I got an injury and I couldn’t race and I lost the Americas new flag,”... Events, World Cup, Features, Media Centre, Event Release, Regions, Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Sport Development 2012-05-09T20:59:41+00:00