THE WORLD'S BEST ATHLETES
IN THE WORLD'S BEST CITY
See this 2007 Vancouver
BG Triathlon World Cup promo to get a
sense of this year's event and the City
of Vancouver. Promo features the inspirational
song Meant
To Fly by Kim
Kuzma & Samuel
Sixto.
2008 Vancouver BG Triathlon World Championships
June 5th to 8th, 2008
English Bay, Vancouver, BC Canada
Dear Athletes and National Federations,
On behalf of the International Triathlon Union, Triathlon Canada and the City of Vancouver we
wish you a warm welcome to enjoy the 2008 Vancouver BG Triathlon World Championships.
We are looking forward to having the World Championships in our beautiful city in June. Vancouver hosted
a number of World Cups in the early days of the International Triathlon Union and it is great to
have a major triathlon back on the beach at English Bay, the gateway to world famous Stanley Park.
We will stage four days of competition, transforming the West End of Vancouver into an exciting
triathlon festival.
Attention all National Federations: Registration for all AG and AWAD is now officially closed. With representation
from 40 nations in the AG and AWAD categories alone, this year's World Championships will showcase some of triathlon's
greatest international talent. If you have questions or concerns regarding registration, or need to alter your federation
entries, please contact Sunny Erfan at info@triathlonvancouver.com
Registration for all Age Group
athletes and AWAD will be through
an online registration system. Please check the
Registration
Section of this website and our Registration
Guide for further details. The Registration Guide
contains an overview of fees and the start package,
the course and start groups, regulations, starting
place limit, starting times, competition rules,
race briefings, medal ceremonies, procedures,
insurance policy requirements, athlete’s waiver,
accreditation and start documentation, and registration
procedures.
All Junior, U23,
and Elite athletes through their
National Federations should follow the standard
ITU policies and procedures on the ITU
Online Entry System. Please check the ‘Download’
section on the ITU website to view the qualification
criteria and start lists for Junior (30 days prior
to event), U23 (30 days prior to event), and Elite
(21 days prior to event) on the ‘event’ section
of the ITU website.
Please note:Registration
prior to 23:59 on April 15th will secure athletes
a position in the Championships. After
this date, the LOC cannot guarantee athletes a
secure spot. The final date for registration
is May 11th, 2008.
Crime Prevention Program
2008 Vancouver BG Triathlon
World Championships
Athlete Property (Bicycle) Registration Program
As part of our continued efforts to help
make your stay in Vancouver as enjoyable
as possible; the Triathlon Vancouver Organizing
Committee (TVOC) has partnered with PropertyCop
in an effort to help protect your bikes.
PropertyCop is a program endorsed by the
British Columbia Chiefs of Police Association
and has been recognized by stakeholder groups
in the cycling community and by local politicians.
In order to help prepare in advance for
bike security when you are in Vancouver,
please visit the PropertyCop website now
at https://propertycop.org
and register your bicycle(s) online for
free.
Registering your name and contact telephone number, along with any descriptive information about your bicycle (including the serial number), will aid police officers across our region in helping to get the property back to you should it be located during their investigations. With a few minutes of proactive effort before you arrive in Vancouver, you can assist us in helping to reduce property crime by pre-registering your bicycle(s) and/or other property such as laptops and more.
Propertycop will also have a presence during Race Week. The program’s volunteers will be busy affixing small Propertycop stickers to bicycles during event registration. These stickers will help police officers in the field, more quickly identify a Propertycop registered bicycle and increase the chances of it being recovered.
We would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to Mr W. David Brierley, President of Propertycop Property Registration and Recovery Society, for his support.
Training Sites Guide
The Training
Sites Guide has been created to inform all
coaches and athletes visiting Vancouver for the
2008 Vancouver BG Triathlon World Championships
of available resources and training sites. The
information in the guide regarding run, bike,
and swim training sites is provided to support
competitors in their training prior to their race
events.
The guide contains information on course familiarization
dates and times, run training and bike training
routes including detailed maps, swim training
locations including public swim times, schedules
of exclusive lane use and exclusive use swimming
pool booking forms.
Event Services: 2008 Vancouver BG Triathlon World Championships
Through a continued effort by the Triathlon Vancouver
Local Organizing Committee (TVOC) to provide the
best possible information and services to the
athletes participating in the 2008 Vancouver BG
Triathlon World Championships, for your continued
training and preparation for race day, these videos
are a representation of the actual Bike Course
Routes for each competition category.
News & Announcements
Spain's
Gomez crowned new Triathlon World Champion
Vancouver, Canada (June 8, 2008) - Javier Gomez has firmly asserted himself as triathlon's best after winning his
first elite world championship today in Vancouver, Canada. He joins teammate and friend Ivan Rana as the only Spanish athletes to
win elite world titles. New Zealand's Bevan Docherty, the world champion from 2004, took the silver just ahead of Switzerland's Reto Hug.
[read more]
The Canadian crowd erupted as home favourite Simon Whitfield was first to emerge from the water. But the lead was slim as many top contenders were nipping at his heels including his own teammate Paul Tichelaar, pre-race favourite Gomez and reigning European champion Frederic Belaubre of France.
Close to 50 men cycled in the lead group for most of the 40 kilometers. In that group were several of the major players including Whitfield, Gomez, Belaubre, Matt Reed of the U.S., Hug and Docherty. The first chase pack was down by almost a minute midway through the bike but continued to lose time. When they rode into transition, the chase was down by almost two full minutes. The situation was grimmer for the second chase group who was more than five minutes behind the leaders.
As the men hit the streets of Vancouver, the world championship was still very much up for grabs. After the first of three laps, the class of the field began to emerge. It was on the second lap the Spaniard began to challenge the field with a punishing run pace. Gomez opened up a 15-second lead on Docherty and Hug. Whitifield couldn't keep up and fell back into the pack. From there it was smooth sailing for Gomez as he cruised to the finish line savouring his first elite world title. He becomes the first athlete in ITU history to hold both elite and under23 world championships.
Docherty proved once again he's a clutch performer by taking the silver. Hug, a silver medalist from 2005, held on for the bronze while South African Hendrik DeVilliers came across for fourth place. In another thrilling sprint finish, Reed edged out Whitfield for fifth place.
2008 Vancouver BG Triathlon World Championships
Elite Men - Official Results
1.5km swim, 40km swim, 10km run
Gold - Javier Gomez (ESP) 1:49:48
Silver - Bevan Docherty (NZL) 1:50:12
Bronze - Reto Hug (SUI) 1:50:17
4th - Hendrik de Villiers (RSA) 1:50:18
5th - Matthew Reed (USA) 1:50:27
6th - Simon Whitfield (CAN) 1:50:27
7th - Igor Sysoev (RUS) 1:50:28
8th - Tony Moulai (FRA) 1:50:31
9th - Paul Tichelaar (CAN) 1:50:32
10th - Ivan Vasiliev (RUS) 1:50:34
The elite races are standard Olympic distance: 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer run.
The Vancouver BG Triathlon World Championships are the 20th in ITU's history. The event began on Thursday with Glasgow's Kirsty McWilliam winning the junior women's title and France's Vincent Luis being crowned the new junior men's world champion. Age-group races were heavily affected by adverse weather conditions as strong winds and choppy waters forced officials to cancel the swim portion of more than half of the age-group Olympic distance races. Next year's triathlon world championships will be held at Australia's Gold Coast from September 11-13, 2009.
Tucker pulls shocker to win Triathlon
World Championships
Vancouver, Canada (June 8, 2008) - Great Britain's Helen Tucker pulled off one of the most shocking upsets
in recent triathlon history as she became the new triathlon world champion today in Vancouver, Canada. It was a thrilling
sprint finish between Tucker and American Sarah Haskins down the final stretch. Less than a minute later,
the fans were treated to another scintillating battle for the bronze with Samantha Warriner edging out
Australians Erin Densham and Emma Moffatt. Shockingly defending champion Vanessa Fernandes was 10th,
her worst ITU finish since a 20th place finish in 2003. [read more]
The Americans and Brits dominated out of the water holding the first five positions including Haskins and Tucker, recent silver medalist at the Madrid world cup. Heavy pre-race favourite Fernandes exited the water in seventh place 14 seconds down.
Out onto the testing 40-kilometer bike course, six women made up the lead group including Fernandes. However, late in the first lap, Haskins and Tucker broke away and built a minute lead by the midway mark. On the fifth lap, the second chase group caught up to form one huge chase group of 34 women all in pursuit of the leaders Tucker and Haskins.
The bike portion was similar to last year with Haskins in a two-woman breakaway. Eventually she was reeled in late in the run by Warriner but she managed to hang on for the silver. This year, Haskins and Tucker continued to hammer it on the bike, increasing the lead to 1:40 after the sixth of eight laps, and then to 2:02 with one lap to go.
Haskins was first out of T2 with Tucker just five seconds back. A full two minutes later is when the next woman, Emma Moffatt, headed out on the flat 10-kilometer run course. Behind Moffatt was a number of strong runners including Warriner, Lisa Norden, Tanner, and Sweetland. Meanwhile Fernandes looked sluggish and was slow through transition to be one of the last in the group to get on the run course.
The two minutes was more than enough for Haskins and Tucker who ran side by side for nearly the entire ten kilometers until the final turn when Tucker powered ahead to become the second British woman to win an elite world championship. Haskins took the silver for her first ever world championship medal. Up against strong sprinters Moffatt and Densham, it was the guts of Warriner that proved to be the difference as she nipped Densham at the line in a photo finish. It was Warriner's first ever world championship medal. The Aussies went 4-5-6 with Felicity Abram coming across the line after Moffatt.
2008 Vancouver BG Triathlon World Championships
Elite Women - Unofficial Results
1.5km swim, 40km swim, 10km run
Gold - Helen Tucker (GBR) 2:01:37
Silver - Sarah Haskins (USA) 2:01:41
Bronze - Samantha Warriner (NZL) 2:02:32.85
4th - Erin Densham (AUS) 2:02:32.96
5th - Emma Moffatt (AUS) 2:02:34
6th - Felicity Abram (AUS) 2:03:35
7th - Sarah Groff (USA) 2:04:09
8th - Kate Allen (AUT) 2:04:14
9th - Debbie Tanner (NZL) 2:04:24
10th - Vanessa Fernandes (POR) 2:04:35
The elite races are standard Olympic distance: 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer run.
The Vancouver BG Triathlon World Championships are the 20th in ITU's history. The event began on Thursday with Glasgow's Kirsty McWilliam winning the junior women's title and France's Vincent Luis being crowned the new junior men's world champion. Age-group races were heavily affected by adverse weather conditions as strong winds and choppy waters forced officials to cancel the swim portion of more than half of the age-group Olympic distance races. Next year's triathlon world championships will be held at Australia's Gold Coast from September 11-13, 2009.
Swiss Ryf, Brit Brownlee new Under23 Triathlon
World Champions
Vancouver, Canada (June 8, 2008) - Swiss Daniela Ryf and Great Britain's Alistair Brownlee were crowned the new under23 triathlon world championships today in frigid conditions in Vancouver, Canada. [read more]
Ryf becomes the first Swiss triathlon world champion since 2001 and adds the world title to an already impressive breakthrough season in which she has climbed to number three in the world after her first career world cup podium in Madrid two weeks ago. American Jasmine Oeinck took silver for the second straight year while South Africa's Mari Rabie made triathlon history. With the bronze, Rabie became the first athlete from Africa to ever win a triathlon world championship medal.
"It was a great race, I'm so happy. It was amazing but it was so hard. It was a really hard race," said Ryf at the finish line.
Leading the women out of the water was Rabie, the reigning African champion, following closely by Oeinck, Inna Tsyganok of the Ukraine and Ryf. In the first of eight laps on the 40-kilometer bike course, Ryf, Rabie and Oeinck surged to a 49-second lead after the first lap. After the 15 kilometers, the gap ballooned to 2:09, and then swelled to almost three minutes after the fifth lap. By the end of the bike, three chase packs came together in pursuit of the leaders.
Rabie was first onto the 10-kilometer run course with a slim 6-second lead on Ryf. Oeinck struggled in T2 and left transition 22 seconds back of Rabie. But Ryf immediately took command and opened a 23-second lead and cruised to the finish line to win by a convincing 31-second margin of victory. Rabie was feeling pressure from Olesya Prystayko of the Ukraine but the South African managed to hang on for the final spot on the podium. In all it was a tough day for the women's field as only 19 women finished the race. At the start of the race the water temperature was a frosty 11.2 degrees Celsius with the air temperature at 10 degrees.
2008 Vancouver BG Triathlon World
Championships
Under23 Women - Official Results
1.5km swim, 40km swim, 10km run
Gold - Daniela Ryf (SUI) 2:09:30
Silver - Jasmine Oeinck (USA) 2:10:02
Bronze - Mari Rabie (RSA) 2:11:35
4th - Olesya Prystayko (UKR) 2:12:51
5th - Barbara Riveros Diaz (CHI) 2:13:02
6th - Justine Whipple (USA) 2:13:08
7th - Yuliya Sapunova (UKR) 2:13:32
8th - Renata Koch (HUN) 2:13:55
9th - Sarah Fladung (GER) 2:14:25
10th - Kerry Spearing (CAN) 2:14:57
Three days after he watched his brother take bronze in the junior race, Alistair Brownlee today was crowned under23 men's world champion. The Brownlees are the first brothers in ITU history to medal at the same world championships. Brownlee also becomes just the second triathlete in ITU history to win both junior and under23 world titles. Last year's under23 world champion Gregor Buchholz of Germany showed off his strong finishing kick to edge out New Zealand's Martin Van Barneveld for the silver.
"I'm absolutely delighted, it's brilliant to be world champion again," said Brownlee, who won the junior world championships in Lausanne in 2006.
Last year's junior world champion Aurelien Raphael of France was first out of the water but was followed by Brownlee and Russian Alexander Brukhankov among others. After the first of eight laps on the 40-kilometer bike course, the lead pack contained 25 men, all riding within six seconds of each other. Defending champion Gregor Buchholz of Germany was in the first chase pack, about 20 seconds behind.
German Nils Frommhold was first onto the 10-kilometer run course but he was quickly reeled in by the stronger runner Brownlee. Brukhankov trailed by 11 seconds while another four, including Buchholz, were a further six seconds back.
As he took the bell lap, Brownlee distanced himself even further as he owned a 26-second lead. Brukhankov fell off the pace, fading to fifth place while being passed by New Zealand's Martin Van Barneveld and Buchholz, who was putting up a strong fight in defence of his title. But amidst difficult conditions, it was Brownlee who rose to the challenge, coasting to the finish line carrying the Yorkshire flag of his home county.
Just like last year, Bucholz won the sprint down the final stretch to get on the podium for the second straight year. Van Barneveld becomes the first New Zealand man to win an under23 world championship medal.
2008 Vancouver BG Triathlon World
Championships
Under23 Men - Unofficial Results
1.5km swim, 40km swim, 10km run
Gold - Alistair Brownlee (GBR) 1:54:38
Silver - Gregor Buchholz (GER) 1:54:57
Bronze - Martin Van Barneveld (NZL) 1:54:59
4th - Todd Leckie (GBR) 1:55:13
5th - Alexander Brukhankov (RUS) 1:55:37
6th - Lukas Salvisberg (SUI) 1:55:46
7th - Nils Frommhold (GER) 1:55:57
8th - Alberto Casadei (ITA) 1:55:59
9th - Joshua Maeder (AUS) 1:56:09
10th - Tony Dodds (NZL) 1:56:10.63
The under23 race is standard Olympic distance: 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer run. The under23 category was first introduced in 2002 and was designed to assist juniors transition to the elite level.
The Vancouver BG Triathlon World Championships are the 20th in ITU's history. The event began on Thursday with Glasgow's Kirsty McWilliam winning the junior women's title and France's Vincent Luis being crowned the new junior men's world champion. Age-group races were heavily affected by adverse weather conditions as strong winds and choppy waters forced officials to cancel the swim portion of more than half of the age-group Olympic distance races. Next year's triathlon world championships will be held at Australia's Gold Coast from September 11-13, 2009.
Elite & Under23 Triathlon World Championships on Sunday
The ones to watch
Vancouver, Canada (June 7, 2008) - The 20th triathlon world championships will go Sunday at Vancouver's English Bay. The under23 women open the final race day of the BG Triathlon World Championships as they start at 7am and the under23 men follow at 10am. The under23 category was designed to assist juniors transition to the elite ranks better. It was first introduced at the 2002 world championships and has been an early indicator for elite success as past champions include Javier Gomez (ESP), Andrea Hewitt (NZL) and Brad Kahlefeldt (AUS).
Under23 Women - Ones to Watch
Daniela Ryf (SUI) - current world #3
Jasmine Oeinck (USA) - 2007 under23 world championships silver medalist
Mari Rabie (RSA) - 2008 African champion
Flora Duffy (BER) - 2006 junior world championships silver medalist Click
here for complete under23 women start list
Under23 Men - Ones to Watch
Alistair Brownlee (GBR) - 2006 junior world champion
Alexander Brukhankov (RUS) - 3 career world cup medals
Aurélien Raphael (FRA) - 2007 junior world champion
Gregor Buchholz (GER) - 2007 under23 world champion Click
here for complete under23 men start list
For the elite women and men, this is the final ITU event with Olympic qualifying points at stake. Portugal's Vanessa Fernandes defends her world championship against a tough women's field that includes strong contingents from New Zealand, Australia, the United States and Canada. Athletes will vie for precious Olympic points, a $250,000 total prize purse and the coveted title of world champion.
Elite Women - Ones to Watch
Vanessa Fernandes (POR) - 2007 world champion, all-time world cup wins leader (20)
Samantha Warriner (NZL) - 6 world cup wins including Vancouver 2007
Laura Bennett (USA) - 4-time world championships medalist
Emma Moffatt (AUS) - 2007 overall world cup series runner-up
Kirsten Sweetland (CAN) - 2006 junior world champion Click
here for complete elite women start list
Elite Men - Ones to Watch
Javier Gomez (ESP) - 2007 world championships silver medalist, 10 world cups wins
Bevan Docherty (NZL) - 2004 world champion, 2004 Olympics silver medalist
Simon Whitfield (CAN) - 2000 Olympic gold medalist, 11 world cup wins
Greg Bennett (AUS) - 2002 & 2003 overall world cup series
Frederic Belaubre (FRA) - 3-time European champion Click
here for complete elite men start list
The race will be standard Olympic distance:
1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer
run. Live video and timing will be available
online at triathlon.org.
Start Times:
Under23 Women - 7:00am on Sunday June 8 (Pacific Daylight Time; UTC/GMT -7)
Under23 Men - 10:00am on Sunday June 8 (Pacific Daylight Time; UTC/GMT -7) Click
here for start times in your area
Elite Women - 1:00pm on Sunday June 8 (Pacific Daylight Time; UTC/GMT -7)
Elite Men - 4:00pm on Sunday June 8 (Pacific Daylight Time; UTC/GMT -7) Click
here for start times in your area
Age-group & AWAD Olympic Distance World Championships
Vancouver, Canada (June 7, 2008) - Close to 2000 age-group athletes began Saturday expecting to tackle a tough 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike and 10-kilometer run at the 2008 age-group world championships. But even before the first wave started, race officials shortened the swim to 1100 meters as the water temperature was measured at a cool 12.5 degrees Celsius.
First up were the Corporate Challenge teams who started bright at early at 6:30am. A number of local companies entered athletes in the individual and team relays events. Once the corporate teams were off, the men’s and women’s athletes with a disability (AWAD) took to the course.
The first age-group Olympic distance wave was the 18-19 women and 20-24 women who raced into the chilly waters of English Bay. A few more age categories were started before the winds picked up, creating extremely choppy conditions. Race organizers, technical delegates for the event, and in consultation with the event medical director, made the decision to cancel the swim portion for the remaining waves. The safety of the athletes is paramount and race officials were not willing to compromise the health and well-being of the athletes.
The final age-group wave to enter the water was the 45-49 women and 50-54 women. Every wave after that was turned into a duathlon consisting of a 3-kilometer run, 40-kilometer bike and 10-kilometer run. The affected waves were all women over 55 and all men.
In all, 672 athletes entered the water while the remaining 1030 completed the Duathlon. As of now, there are no announced changes to tomorrow’s under23 and elite races. If there are any changes to the race distance, they will be race day decisions. As this is a world championship and the final event with Olympic qualifying points at stake, organizers will endeavour to keep the elite race unchanged. However, the safety of the athletes is critical and will not be undermined. Cold weather has been the story of the event since racing began on Thursday morning. A number of hypothermia cases were reported yesterday and extra medical facilities were put in place yesterday in anticipation for this weekend’s race.
Vancouver, Canada (June 6, 2008) - It was a cold and wet day on Canada’s west coast today as close to 600 age-group athletes brave the tough conditions at the 2008 Vancouver BG Triathlon World Championships.
The first wave ran into the chilly waters of English Bay in Vancouver at 6:30am. After a point-to-point swim over to Second Beach, athletes then rode through the city’s iconic Stanley Park. After the 5-kilometer run through the streets of Vancouver’s west end, the wet but elated athletes trickled across the finish line. Among today’s finishers was Loreen Barnett, executive director of the International Triathlon Union, who finished fourth in the women’s 60-64 age category. Barnett admitted she was tempted to quit early in the swim after the shock of the cold water. But she hung in there and finished strong, posting a 28-minute run split.
Vancouver, Canada (June 6, 2008)
- Some of triathlon’s biggest stars came
out to today’s official pre-race press conference
for the 2008 Vancouver BG Triathlon World
Championships. Defending world champion
Vanessa Fernandes and Spain’s
Javier Gomez, last year’s
silver medalist, joined Canadians Simon
Whitfield, Lauren Groves,
Kathy Tremblay and Paul
Tichelaar to talk about Sunday’s
world championship race. The athletes not
only spoke about what the event means to
them but also how the cold temperatures
will affect the outcome of the races.
“I’ve been racing in cold places all the time. I hope it’s a nice day but if it rains, it will be the same for everyone,” said Gomez. “I’m training and thinking for the Olympic Games but of course this is a world championship and I’m so motivated. I’ve never won this so I will try to give my best on Sunday and we’ll see what happens.”
“I think the big (opponent) for Sunday won’t be the athletes but the weather. I don’t like to compete in cold but I have to do everything for it to be good because it will equal for everyone so I have to do only my best and respect everything. I will try for another podium but it’s not easy to get another medal in another year but I will try,” said Fernandes, who this year set the ITU all-time record for most world cup wins.
Canadian hopes lie with the country’s golden boy, Simon Whitfield. The Olympic champion from 2000 has never won a world championship, nor a world championship medal. A win here on Sunday would make him the only triathlete to hold both world and Olympic gold medals but he knows it will not be an easy task.
“Of course this is a big race that I would love to win but there’s a list of guys that goes ten deep that could win this race and I think you’re going to see a fantastic and fast race on Sunday to claim that world title,” said Whitfield. “To be so close to home is definitely an advantage and I don’t know there’s much pressure involved with that.”
Whitfield has already qualified for the Canadian Olympic team and will be joined by Vancouver’s own Lauren Groves, the only woman on the team so far. As the only Vancouver native on the elite national team team, Groves is used to the unpredictable weather of the west coast.
“You can only focus on yourself and do your best and I think we’re all looking into different strategies to keep warm on the day if it is raining, like putting on extra layers, taking that extra two seconds to put gloves on,” said Groves. “We just have to be ready for a cold race and I think the mental approach is often more important or as important as what physically is going on.”
For other Canadians, this Sunday is a massive race as their 2008 Olympic dreams will be decided on what happens this weekend. Paul Tichelaar and Kathy Tremblay are both the highest ranked Canadians going into the race but they need top-8 finishes to earn automatic spots on the Canadian Olympic team.
“It’s my life’s work on the line this weekend,” said Tichelaar. “This is a big race for me, it’s the biggest race of my life, the biggest race of the year so there’s a lot on the time and I think I’ve prepared very well for it so I’m looking forward to it.”
“Like Paul said, this is also the race of my life,” said Tremblay. “This is almost more important as the Olympics because if you don’t make it here, you’re not going there. I’m more prepared this year than I was last year and I think I developed the training I needed to be prepared here and have all the confidence to meet the (Olympic) criteria. I think we also know it’s going to be cold temperatures so you just get ready for it. It’s Quebec temperature, it’s Canadian temperatures but I’m prepared.”
The elite women will start at 1pm on Sunday while the elite men start at 4pm.
France's Luis wins Triathlon Junior World Championship
Vancouver, Canada (June 5, 2008) - One month after winning the junior European championships in Lisbon, Frenchman Vincent Luis capped off his junior career by winning today's world championships. He overcame cold and wet conditions to win his first world title. Russian Denis Vasiliev took the silver while Great Britain's Jonathon Brownlee came from behind to take bronze.
Water temperature was measured at a chilly 13 degrees as the junior men took the start line at the English Bay beach. Luis and Vasiliev were among the leaders as they exited the water while Brownlee was almost 20 seconds behind. A lead group of three that included Luis and Vasiliev, along with Australian Joshua Amberger, quickly formed and began to put distance between their chasers. As the three men took the bell lap they were up by a full minute and ten seconds.
Luis was first out of T2 and immediately set the pace on the 5-kilometer run course. The French teenager from Paris took command and wouldn't relinquish the lead, becoming the fourth Frenchman to be crowned junior world champion. Vasiliev managed to hold onto silver while Brownlee completed an impressive comeback during the run to secure the final spot on the podium.
2008 Vancouver BG Triathlon World Championships Junior Men - Unofficial Results
1 Vincent Luis - France 0:57:06
2 Denis Vasiliev - Russia 0:57:36
3 Jonathon Brownlee - Great Britain 0:57:43
4 Joshua Amberger - Australia 0:57:52
5 Rodrigo Gonzalez - Mexico 0:58:19
6 Franz Loeschke - Germany 0:58:24
7 Min Ho Heo - Korea 0:58:26
8 Igor Polyanskiy - Russia 0:58:35
9 Tom Davison - New Zealand 0:58:39
10 David Obozil - France 0:58:40
The Vancouver BG Triathlon World Championships will be the 20th in ITU's history. Close to 3,000 athletes from more than 60 countries will compete in junior, under23, elite and age-group categories. It will be the biggest sporting event to hit Vancouver before the 2010 Winter Olympic Games and will be the final qualifier event in ITU's two-year Olympic qualifying period.
The junior race is standard sprint distance:
750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike, 5-kilometer
run. Live coverage will be available online
at triathlon.org. Click
here for more event information
Glasgow's McWilliam crowned Triathlon Junior World Champion
Vancouver, Canada (June 5, 2008) - For the second straight year Great Britain won the junior women's world championship. Kirsty McWilliam of Glasgow, Scotland overcame cold and wet conditions in Vancouver, Canada to win today's triathlon junior world title.
"It was freezing out there this morning but I'm from Scotland so I'm very used to it," said McWilliam.
Ashleigh Gentle of Australia took the silver while Hungarian Zsofia Toth won the bronze. It was the second straight year Gentle has won silver at the junior world championships.
McWilliam was down by more than 20 seconds after the swim but quickly bridged up to the leaders on the second lap of the bike. After entering the second transition even with German Alena Stawczynski, McWilliam began to take control of the race. Midway through the 5-kilometer run, the Scot had built an insurmountable 39-second lead. Carrying the British and Scottish flags, McWilliam crossed the line in tears as she was crowed the 2008 junior world champion. Last year McWilliam finished 7th, a race won by her countrywoman Hollie Avil.
Gentle and Toth came down ran together for most of the run but Gentle showed off her strong final finishing kick to outsprint Toth to the line. Zimbabwe's Ashley Finaughty finished in fourth place while Aussie Emma Jackson rounded out the top five. Canadian hopeful Paula Findlay finished in 9th place.
2008 Vancouver BG Triathlon World
Championships
Junior Women - Unofficial Results
Gold - Kirsty McWilliam - Great Britain 1:04:05.03
Silver - Ashleigh Gentle - Australia 1:04:43.40
Bronze - Zsofia Toth - Hungary 1:04:47.15
4th - Ashley Finaughty - Zimbabwe 1:05:07.80
5th - Emma Jackson - Australia 1:05:18.56
6th - Alena Stawczynski - Germany 1:05:22.88
7th - Claudia Rivas - Mexico 1:05:23.70
8th - Maaike Caelers - Netherlands 1:05:27.19
9th - Paula Findlay - Canada 1:05:28.01
10th - Nataliya Efremova - Russia 1:05:32.57
The Vancouver BG Triathlon World Championships will be the 20th in ITU's history. Close to 3,000 athletes from more than 60 countries will compete in junior, under23, elite and age-group categories. It will be the biggest sporting event to hit Vancouver before the 2010 Winter Olympic Games and will be the final qualifier event in ITU's two-year Olympic qualifying period.
The junior race is standard sprint distance:
750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike, 5-kilometer
run. Live coverage will be available online
at triathlon.org. Click
here for more event information
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IMPORTANT NOTICE
Team Information Required for 2008 World Championships
March 18, 2008
To all National Federations,
In order to properly prepare for registration, the Vancouver LOC would like to ask a representative from each Federation to send us the following information as soon as possible:
1. Estimated number of athletes per event
2. Date and time of arrival in Vancouver
3. Accommodations in Vancouver
4. Mode of transportation in Vancouver
This information is crucial in planning your team's registration, accreditation, etc. Please provide this information by e-mail to info@triathlonvancouver.com as soon as possible.
Explanation of Registration Fees
We have had a couple of inquiries from age-groupers competitors about the $300 entry fee for the
Triathlon Vancouver World Championships because there was a resolution passed at the 2006 ITU Congress
that stated, "world championship entry fees will not exceed $200 USD". The background
information is that the Triathlon Vancouver Organizing Committee (TVOC) applied to ITU to waive the resolution because of the huge impact that the decline of the U.S. dollar has had on the Canadian dollar.
A year ago ITU switched its currency to the Euro because of the decline in the dollar and the Executive Board's sense was that the $300 CAD entry fee is within the 200 Euros, which was closer to the U.S. dollar in 2006.
As well, the cost of road closures, traffic control and policing in Vancouver is much higher than any other city in the world where ITU has had events. Their conditions for safety are also very high, which makes the cost of staging the event very high.
We are making history in Vancouver with three days of competition in Stanley Park and the closure of Beach Avenue at Morten's Triangle for a week. We are working very closely with all of the stakeholders in the Park to ensure that when the event is over everyone will feel satisfied with the experience and they will look forward to using this venue for many years to come.
TVOC would like be extremely clear about the event expenses connected with the entry fee in that not one penny of the age group entry fee is going to finance the prize money for the elite athletes. TVOC will ensure that every penny of age-group entry fees goes to the experience of each and every competitor. This includes:
a very safe event on one of the most spectacular venues in the world - English Bay and Stanley Park
an opening ceremony, parade of nations on Beach Avenue / English Bay
an opening ceremony meal at the Vancouver Aquarium which will be an experience that will add a signature to the World Championships
a closing ceremony and award banquet that will try to match the fun-filled experience in Hamburg.
TVOC is confident the competitors will feel that they got very good value for their money on Monday, June 9th.
Unique,
Useful Training Tips from Vancouver Local Organizing
Committee
June 1st
66 kb
PDF
