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 • Dillon puts Britain back on gold standard |
Dillon puts Britain back on gold standard June 23, 2001, Carlsbad, Czech Republic––Special to Triathlonlive.com, from ETU––(www.slowtwitch.com): When the British federation arrived here last week with far more men than women for the various races in the ETU European Championships schedule, the reason given was two words: “More depth”. But it was the British women who ended up with the medals, when Michelle Dillon’s gold in the senior race matched the junior gold by Jodie Swallow earlier on Saturday. Annie Emmerson added bronze to the British medal tally when she beat Holland’s Wieke Hoogzaad in the race for podium spots. Belgium’s Kathleen Smet, last year’s European champion, placed second this time. The course, and its seven climbs up the dreaded, dramatic Cobblestone Hill with its 24 percent grade, might have favoured the cyclists. But the medals, at least among the Brits, fell to two extremely strong runners whose positions were decided in the final mile. Dillon, once a Commonwealth Games 10,000-metre finalist for Australia, where she grew up, won in 2hr 20min 56sec to beat Smet by five seconds. Dillon posted the fastest split time for the run––which had a severe hill of its own, to be ascended and descended three times––of 41:18. But when Dillon made her break from Emmerson, the second-fastest runner on the day, Emmerson let Smet get by her, too. “I got a bit of a break at the bottom of the hill,” Dillon said. “And when you get that, you’ve got to grit your teeth and go for it.” Dillon’s gold marks a return to Britain’s glory days for its women within European triathlon: It is Britain’s first senior championship gold since Sarah Springman won in 1988. It also signals the arrival of Dillon, 28, as a true Brit who has made a graceful adjustment to European triathlon in the last two and a half years after finding only frustration trying to compete on the highest levels of the Australian scene. This was her third time in the European Championships, after dropping out with a puncture in 1999 and taking ninth last year. Dillon had only the 28th best swim behind early leader Joelle Franzmann of Germany, who pushed her way around the bike course with Leanda Cave, another Brit, in second. The pair arrived at the second transition 1:20 ahead of a chase pack of Smet, Belgian teammate Mieke Suys, Hoogzaad and Russia’s Nina Anisimova. Behind them came a second chasing pack that included the run specialists Dillon, Emmerson and Steph Forrester, a Scot racing on the British squad. By the end of the first of the three run laps, with Franzmann hanging to her tentative lead, Britons were fillling the first four places, as Cave was dropping back. Franzmann, 22, who had the distinction last September of being the youngest Olympic triathlete, later said she knew she would likely lose her lead. “The race is not just the ride; it’s the run, too,” Franzmann said. “I tried my best, and sixth place is not bad.” Smet’s return to the podium was not unexpected, given her form of late. Emmerson is also in the form of her life, holding off Hoogzaad––herself the winner of two major races in the last three weeks––to gain her first European medal, finishing between the last two European champions. Sunday’s races include the team time trial events, but the British women aren’t starting a team in either the junior or senior races. They may not have depth, but they are top-heavy. And two of them delivered medals in the senior race. “Hopefully,” Dillon said with a smile, “this is the first of many for me.” (RESULTS) --- Ospaly surprised big names with a gold for Czech Republic June 23, 2001, Carlsbad, Czech Republic––Special to Triathlonlive.com, from ETU––(www.slowtwitch.com): Filip Ospaly gave the host nation golden glory here in Carlsbad on Saturday, when he became the first Czech to win the ETU European triathlon title after a gruelling and thrilling battle. Gallant runner-up was Ivan Rana, a past European junior champion from Spain, who made a bold bid for glory on the run, while the bronze medal went to Eric van den Linden, of the Netherlands, for the second successive year. Before the swim start, one of the race officials - celebrating his wedding anniversary - had approached his friend Ospaly and asked for "a good present". "Will first place be good enough?" Ospaly, recent winner of the Prague Triathlon, asked prophetically. As expected, it was the Carlsbad hills that determined the race outcome – although the turning point in the race came on a stretch of downhill late in the run. Uniquely, this Carlsbad course is one with a hill of sorts on all three disciplines: the cycle, the run and even the 1,500-metre swim, which required the triathletes to exit the water at the end of each of three laps around Lake Rolava and run a short loop in front of the watching crowds. For once in this week of racing, the Carlsbad cobbles were dry, but it still did not stop some struggling on the hill. Surprisingly, Spencer Smith, who only a year ago was competing as a pro cyclist, clunked his gears on the first climb of the 24 per cent incline of Cobblestone Hill, having led virtually the entire field of 50 on to the hill in the town centre on the first lap. But Smith was not the only race leader to suffer on the hill – when Spain’s Xavier Llobet led up the hill for the third time, he was unable to cope with the severe gradient, and was forced to dismount, losing ground on the gradually reducing lead pack of about 20, which included Smith, defending champion Andrew Johns, Switzerland’s Reto Hug and Didier Brocard, Daniel Unger, from Germany, van der Linden and Rana, last year's fifth placer at the Olympic Games. Into the run, Rana quickly built up a seemingly commanding 100-metre lead over Osplay and van den Linden, with Tim Don putting in an early charge, ahead of the pair of past winners, Johns and Hug. But this was a race with a twist at every corner, and halfway through the run, with 1hr 48min on the clock, the quad-crunching downhill caught up with the young Spaniard, who was forced to stop to stretch his thighs. The Czech and Dutchman smelt blood, and the gap started to close quickly. Down the final hill, Ospaly, roared on by the locals, pounced. Rana, determined, was not finished, and he tried to comeback, forcing the Czech into a frantic sprint for the line after more than two hours of lung-bursting racing. Rana ran himself to a standstill, as Ospaly was able to leap for joy across the line. It was a great finish to a great race. “I knew as I ran down the final hill that if I could catch Rana and pass him, then I could win,” 26-year-old Ospaly said. “I saw Rana stop with cramp––but I had cramp in my legs too. “The gold medal is thanks to all the crowd out on the course who supported me. I could not have won it without them. “Now I want to go to Edmonton and win the world title there,” Ospaly said. --- Jodie Swallow again dominates junior race June 23, 2001, Carlsbad, Czech Republic––Special to Triathlonlive.com, from ETU––(www.slowtwitch.com): Gaining time on the field on every lap of the swim, bike and run, Britain’s Jodie Swallow turned in a stunning performance here on Saturday to repeat as junior women’s champion in the ETU European Championships. Racing confidently on a cool morning over the course in old Carlsbad, where three times up the steep, Cobblestone Hill reduced some of the racers to pushing their bikes in a walk, Swallow had no difficulties over the 750-metre swim, 20km bike and 5km run. Her winning time, 1hr 09min 39sec, was nearly three minutes up on Switzerland’s Nicola Spirig, the 1999 European junior champion, and Germany’s bronze medal-winner, Ricarda Lisk. Swallow had time to grab a British flag as she raced down the chute, thrilled at having defended her title in such unchallenged fashion. The win came on the 20th birthday of the Loughborough University sports science student from Essex, confirming her as the absolute favorite to win the world junior title on July 22 in Edmonton, Canada. The race was just Swallow’s third triathlon this season – and only her eighth in a triathlon career which began less than 18 months ago. She is a former English Schools’ champion as both a swimmer and a runner, who turned to triathlon only in February 2000. Feeling that her better chance for international medals lay in triathlon, Swallow has quickly taken European junior competition to new levels. “My aim today was to win, although it’s always hard to predict how a race will go,” Swallow said. “I felt good the whole way. It was a great course, and a fantastic atmosphere.” While Swallow had time to soak up the charm of the 17th Century buildings that lined the hills on both the bike and the run, the women behind her were focusing only on their races for places. Runner-up Spirig, herself a teenaged Swiss sensation, was delighted with her second place, eight seconds ahead of Lisk. “When I won the title two years ago, the field was not so strong,” Spirig, 19, said. “Now, just look at the depth. It’s very hard. My aim today was just to get a medal, so I am happy. I’m better than I was two years ago, but Jodie Swallow is just incredible.” Swallow’s swim time was 31 seconds faster than that of Anneliese Heard, her British teammate who is also the two-time world junior champion. By the time Swallow arrived at the town centre, before cycling the hill for the first time, she had 56 seconds on Heard and the rest. But Heard–– everyone’s co-favourite with Swallow––was caught on the bike and faded badly on the run, eventually finishing ninth. Swallow, meanwhile, powered away from all opposition, even adding more time to her lead on the run against Spirig, a Swiss cross-country international. (RESULTS) --- Euro champs remain a big deal June 21, 2001, Carlsbad, Czech Republic (www.slowtwitch.com): Luc van Lierde, Belgium’s former European champion, has signed on to start the European Championships in triathlon this weekend. The race, to be held in Carlsbad, in the Czech Republic, will be a homecoming of sorts for Van Lierde. No, he was never a Karlsbad native. But he has won a Euro championship race before, the same year the short-turned-long course racer won Ironman Hawaii in his debut race, back in 1996. Van Lierde is again in short course form, having won races against tough competition in Zundert and Kapelle in the past three weeks. Van Lierde’s rivals on Saturday should include Stephan Vuckovic, the Olympic silver medal-winner from Germany, defending champion Andrew Johns, who is building towards his own Ironman debut later this year, and double world title-winner, Spencer Smith. Johns is in stellar run form, having just outsprinted Smith at the PepsiMax Royal Windsor race in London. The European Championships has been snubbed by triathon’s world governing body, the International Triathlon Union. This has always been the race in which prestigious ITU points are awarded. But an ongoing battle between the regional sanctioning organization––the European Triathlon Union––and the ITU resulted in the points going to a recently held race in Seville, Spain. That hasn’t placed a damper on the Carlsbad race, however. Not only is a top field expected, but this will be the first triathlon to receive live coverage on the pan-European sports channel, Eurosport, since the Olympic Games in Sydney last year. The men’s and women’s races in Carlsbad will also both be distributed by the European Broadcasting Union. Czech TV will be showing the event live. ----- Next European Champs set for June 24, 2001 August 24, Carlsbad, Czech Republic (www.slowtwitch.com): The 2001 European Triathlon Championships will be staged on June 24 -- one week earlier than when the ETU ordinary holds its triathlon championships. The date was announced earlier this week, after organizers made arrangements to avoid conflicting with a major film festival that takes over the town for the first two weeks of each July. The venue -- Carlsbad -- was announced at the ETU Congress last month, but the specific date had not yet been confirmed, at that time. European Championships are usually conducted the first weekend of July. The 2000 event, in Stein, Netherlands, was also moved forward (to the July 7-8 weekend) to give it from breathing space apart from Europe's early-July obsession with the Euro 2000 football finals -- also staged in the Netherlands. Moving the 2001 Champs forward again would put it in conflict with the July 21-22 ITU World Triathlon Championships in Edmonton, Canada. Moving back to the last weekend in June also avoids a repeat the conflict that occurred this year, when the ITU announced a World Cup for Toronto on the same day as the long-schedule Europeans. ----- Czech Chroustovsky wins ETU Cup at home July 29, Carlsbad, Czech Republic (www.slowtwitch.com): The baroque city of Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), site of the fourth ETU Triathlon Cup race, is known for its healthy spas, and Saturday, the Czech men used the chance to show off their healthy depth. Only New Zealand's Bevan Docherty could separate the three men, finishing as runner-up to Stepan Chroustovsky, the race winner in 2:06:00. Rene Milichovsky and Martin Matula finished third and fourth. Swiss junior Nicola Spirig was the class of the women's field on the course that will host the European Championships next year. It proved a most difficult course by any standards. It includes an ascent as tough as 24 percent on cobblestones -- repeated seven times on the bike. On the run, triathletes must go up to the Bristol palace three times. Belgium's Mieke Suys, who was last year's winner here, managed a one-minute lead out of Lake Rolava, followed by Russia's Nina Anisimova, Czech Lucie Zelenkova and Germany's Katja Wollschlaeger. But even with her lead, it wasn't Suys' day, as she later dropped out. Spirig, who had won just two weeks ago over an equally tough climbing course at Schliersee, showed her grit again, challenged only briefly on the bike by England's Annie Emmerson. For the men's race, a Czech victory at home was hoped for, but few expected it to go to Chroutovsky, best known as the 1996 ITU World Duathlon Championships silver medallist. Russia's Evgueni Morozov (17:54) led out the swim before Docherty took over the lead on the bike. Docherty sped out of transition with a 50-second lead, but Chroustovsky put in the fastest 10k run (35:48) to assume the lead at 8 kilometers. (RESULTS) ----- Duathlon's Peterkova qualifies for Olympic 10,000m July 19, Pizen, Czech Republic (www.slowtwitch.com): The Czech Republic's Alena Peterkova, one of the world's most competitive duathletes, has used much of 2000 to focus on her running. Last weekend, she ran an Olympic-qualifying time for 10,000 meters, 32:27.68, on the track at Pizen -- best known as the town where Pilsner Beer is brewed. She also won a second national title, the 5000m, when she ran 16:00.78. That time is not fast enough for Olympic selection. Peterkova has already qualified to represent Czech Republic in the marathon. she was second overall (first Czech) in the Prague International Marathon six weeks ago (May 27th) at 2:31:08. ----- Peterkova makes the Olympic marathon mark in Prague June 4, Prague, Czech Republic (www.slowtwitch.com): The Czech Republic's Alena Peterkova, known as a frequent duathlon winner around Europe since she came to the sport in 1997, is back to focusing on the marathon. And she should, for on May 21, she achieved her goal of running sub-2:33:00, the Olympic standard, and gained Olympic qualification in the marathon. She finished second overall, and as first Czech, in the Prague International Marathon that doubled as the Czech Championship. Her time was 2:31:08 -- not bad for a 40-year-old. It was Peterkova's third marathon since March. She had run a disappointing 2:39:11 in the Nagoya Ladies' Marathon in Japan in March for 26th place, followed by a win -- but still not-fast-enough 2:34:22 in the Debno Marathon in Poland in April. Two weeks earlier, on April 9, she was mixing her sports again: She was the winner of the Powerman Jersey duathlon in the Channel Islands.
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