Sindballe, Comerford victorious in last "Nice Distance" WC
November 21, 2006
Valyermo, CA (Slowtwitch News Service™)
In Canberra, Australia, in what is likely the final long course World Championships held over the famed “Nice Distance,” Torbjorn Sindballe from Denmark rode his way to a big lead and held on for victory. Bella Comerford (a Scot representing Great Britain) used a solid bike and run -- third and second fastest of the day -- to win the women’s race. Both winners had to hold off strong challenges in the run.
Sindballe passed up the Hawaiian Ironman and turned in a bike performance that might cause some to wish for a match-up over this distance between himself and 2-time Kona winner Normann Stadler. Like Stadler, Sindballe staked himself to an intimidating lead on the bike leg. He turned a front pack swim into a rout by posting a bike split of 3:02, compared to splits of 3:14 to 3:19 posted by his challengers. Only Kieran Doe (AUS) would keep the Sindballe’s lead honest, entering T2 six minutes off Sindballe’s torrid pace. But Doe would fade, leaving the chase to recently crowned World 70.3 champ Craig Alexander, who seemed for much of the run like he had the antidote to the big Dane.
After swimming in the same front pack, Alexander let the powerful Sindballe go, but brought 11 of Sindballe’s 12-minute lead back in the run, and with enough time to close down that final minute. But the Aussie finally ran out of gas and had to settle for second place. Marino Vanhoenacker from Belgium finished third, after a fine sixth place in Kona last month.
Comerford was simply steady throughout. Her 59:13 swim got her out of the water in seventh. After the bike ride she was chasing only Frenchwoman Joanna Daumas, who had a terrific swim and bike to enter T2 with a 4-minute lead, and Aussie Melissa Ashton. The Aussie would drop out a third of the way into the run. Comerford was simply too good on the run to be beaten, stepping out the day’s second-fastest split on route to a dominating day.
But it almost was not to be, as Italian Edith Niederfriniger held close to Comerford throughout. She came off the bike only 3 minutes back only to commence what would be the day’s fastest run. In the end, though, she fell short, by less than 2 minutes.
The race was not without its controversy. Many of the elite athletes protested the ITU’s decision to change the distance of this race to double the Olympic distance. The petition’s lead author, perennial Worlds podium finisher Jonas Colting of Sweden, said that, “just about all elites did in fact agree and sign.” The petition says, in part...
"The decision by ITU to shorten these races… is a blow to the face of all athletes truly committed to the current distances and to the ITU LD Tour… it will likely be raced by a great number of athletes specializing in the shorter races, already having a multitude of races to choose from… This decision by the ITU implies great disrespect for all long-distance athletes committed to ITU-racing.”
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Keat’s Suspension, TA’s Response a Matter of Protocol
February 15, 2005
Valyermo, CA (Slowtwitch News Service™)
Rebecca Keat, the Australian athlete provisionally suspended by Triathlon Australia (TA), is being treated by the book, say TA executives.
Stung by concerns over the slow pace in releasing her name—TA has yet to formally mention that Keat is the athlete it suspended, though in interviews they do not deny Keat is the athlete—they say it’s because they’re protecting the athlete, not his organization’s high performance plan reputation.
“Any reticence or slowness is entirely due to an anal attention to process, said Brian Hinton, acting executive director for TA, and long time TA board member. “My inability to comment is 100-percent guided by process. It's a bit frustrating for me.”
Both Hinton and high performance director Bill Davoren have been quoted as saying that any reticence in divulging more information than absolutely necessary is not stonewalling, but an attempt to keep from harming the reputation of an athlete not yet finished with the legal process.
Indeed, Keat is not the instant success indicative of drug use. Though young as Ironman athletes go—she turns 27 this week—Keat started her career in ITU World Cup racing and had distinguished results in the junior ranks. She continued to enjoy good finishes in the elite ranks of ITU World Cup events. In the 1997 ITU junior world championships, Keat finished fourth, and in the 1998 ITU junior world championships, she was a close second to eventual 2000 ITU world champion Nicole Hackett. At age 20, her splits in ITU world cup senior events were roughly a minute or two behind the overall winners and showed olympic-level promise.
By 2000 Keat switched to become a mid-distance specialist of brilliant talent. In four years, she won eight half Ironman races and lost only two. She won the highly competitive Cairns (Australia) half Ironman and the Port of Tauranga (New Zealand) Half Ironman a total of six times over four years.
During this period, her splits clearly indicated the capability of turning in a 9:03 Ironman time (her time while winning Ironman Western Australia), even though this race was her Ironman debut. This is also the time frame mentioned by TA when the positive test was announced.
Hinton was unequivocal about TA’s posture in the Keat matter, both as regards the execution of due process on behalf of an athlete, and also his steadfastness in protecting his organization. “Is there any validity to talk about protecting a coach or a program from a sullied reputation?” he was asked.
“If there were a situation of protecting the coach, we'd not be in a position to protect the coach at the expense of AT,” was his reply.
Also factoring in TA’s reluctance to say much might be the substance involved. “Rebecca's positive was for nandrolone. Is that why you might be holding things close to the vest?” Hinton was asked.
“Two things. One, technically, I wouldn't know nandrolone from a bottle of Pepsi. Second, our provisional suspension is purely process.”
Several triathletes have tested positive for nandrolone only to have the results thrown out. Likewise, vehement anti-doping stalwarts like Merlene Ottey and Dieter Baumann (both top track & field competitors over long careers) have produced positive results, and have fought to clear their names. Nandrolone has been the anabolic substance many suspect of causing false positives. It is singular in that it occurs naturally in the body, and some suspect that traces of nandrolone contaminate supplements as manufacturers switch from bottling one substance to bottling another.
Sources in Australia confirm that Keat has applied for a hearing from the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland, such hearing scheduled during the next several weeks. The hearing will not actually take place in Switzerland, but in its Oceania division. It will be adjudicated in front of a single arbitrator, usually an official from Australia's legal system, such as a judge, such person not having any attachment to triathlon.
Should Keat lose her case she still has the right of an appeal to the actual court in Switzerland. In this event Keat will still probably not have to appear personally, but can have her appeal heard via teleconference.
(Timothy Carlson assisted in this story.)
Laguna Phuket establishes fund for tsunami victims
January 4, 2005, Laguna Phuket, Thailand (www.slowtwitch.com):
This popular resort, host of an equally popular triathlon, escaped the brunt of the damage caused by the Tsunami of December 26, damaging in historic proportions.
Laguna has established the Phuket Tsunami Recovery Fund as a channel for those who wish to support the venue that hosts, among other things, the triathlon held in late autumn every year. Contributors' gifts will provide direct assistance to Phuket’s local tsunami victims.
The fund is managed by Laguna Resorts & Hotels’ own organizational network and 100 percent of donations will be distributed to those most dramatically affected in Laguna’s immediate vicinity and throughout Phuket’s worst affected coastal areas.
Murphy Reinschreiber, the Laguna Phuket Triathlon's organizer, said, "The race helped bolster the area after 9/11, when travel to Phuket almost ceased. Our 500-plus athletes helped give the resorts some confidence and hope. Perhaps we can do our part to provide the same shot in the arm in 2005. Yes, they need our help and money now. But in the long term, what they really need is our bodies in their hotel rooms."
There is an auction planned, organized and funded by triathletes,. Also, Active.com should have a page up within a matter of days so that those who want to donate online can do so. As soon as the Active link is up it will appear on the Slowtwitch Forum. Meanwhile, donations for the Phuket Tsunami Recovery Fund can be sent by telegraphic transfer to:
Account Name: Phuket Tsunami Recovery Fund
Account Number: 537-2-897-028
Swift Code: SICOTHBK
Siam Commercial Bank, Phuket Branch
Checks made payable to Phuket Tsunami Recovery Fund can be posted to:
Laguna Resorts & Hotels
390/1 Moo 1, Srisoonthorn Road
Thalang, Phuket 83110
Thailand
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Lindquist powers yet again at Devonport
March 9, 2003, Devonport, Tasmania, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
American Barb Lindquist's victory at the Devonport International Triathlon in Australia, moved her into first place in the ITU world rankings. Lindquist had been No. 2 behind retired U.S. elite triathlete Siri Lindley.
American women do well at this premier Australian event, having won each of the past three years. This is Lindquist's second win—she's finished second, first, second and first over the past four years respectively. Last year's runner-up finish was to Siri Lindley.
Lindquist and Australian Loretta Harrop swam in the lead together and they worked together on the bike to put time on the chase pack, which included world champion Leanda Cave from Great Britain and compatriot Anneliese Heard.
Harrop attacked early on the run and opened up a lead. However by the 7k mark, Lindquist had fought back and then put 200 meters on Harrop. Lindquist won the Olympic distance race in 2 hours, 55 seconds.
Harrop held on to second while Australia's Melissa Ashton placed third.
Australia's Chris Hill won the men's title.
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Walton, Montgomery win in Noosa
November 5, 2002, Queensland, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
Australia's Craig Walton and Canada's Carol Montgomery took strong victories Sunday at the 20th annual Noosa Triathlon in Queensland, Australia.
Walton, who was chasing his own 1997 course record of 1:44:13, wasn't able to crack that record but did break the record on the bike course's Cooroy descent, where he was clocked going 101 kilometers an hour. The previous best: 87 kpm, according to Noosa representative Lisa Pringle.
Pringle reported that Walton was out of the water 50 meters clear of the rest of the men, a lead he continued to pad once he hit two wheels. By the time he arrived at T2 his lead had ballooned to nearly four minutes. Countryman Craig Alexander set off in pursuit off the bike and, while posting the day's fastest run split, wasn't able to catch Walton.
Walton was philosophical about missing the course record.
"I just didn't have it in my legs today, I swam well but wasn't on target during the cycle and knew I would have to run low 32's to have a crack," he said. "I am pretty happy with that performance and it's a nice way to end my international season."
The women's race saw Australia's Emma Snowsill exit the water first, trailed by Montgomery and Rina Hill. During the bike, Rebekah Keat managed move through the field and challenge Hill and Montgomery by the time they hit T2 and set out on the run.
Montgomery set out quickly, though, en route to a 36:10 10k and the overall win, with Keat second and Hill third.
The race drew some 4,500 age-groupers and also included a short-distance race (150m/4k/1.5k) that pitted Australian football and soccer players against each other, with the Brisbane Lions taking a win there.
Age-grouper Peter O'Neill became the only person to finish every Noosa Triathlon, Pringle reported. "I hope I'm around for another 20; it's a fantastic race and every year I thoroughly enjoy it," he said.
Full results are here: http://www.noosatri.com.au.
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Jackie Gallagher gains podium in Commonwealth Marathon
July 29, 2002, Manchester, England (www.slowtwitch.com):
Former triathlete and duathlete world champion Jackie Gallagher of Australia came home with the bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games marathon with a time of 2:36:38.
Gallagher was on the tail end of an Aussie sweep. Kerryn McCann, a two-time Olympian with a PR of 2:25:59, led the Australian women, finishing in 2:30:05. Krishna Stanton got the silver medal in 2:34:53.
Just making the Commonwealth Games team was Gallagher's goal when she ran her marathon debut in Boston earlier this year, finishing in 2:35:41.
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Aussie elites face off at Mooloolaba for Nat'l Champs
April 22, 2002, Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
Australia's Loretta Harrop won her second race in a row Sunday as she took the Australian championships at the ITU Mooloolaba International Triathlon. Two-time champ Nicole Hackett came home second 23 seconds later.
And France's Olivier Marceau marked a return to winning form after a year off with his first win since he triumphed at the ITU world championships in 2000. Australia's Courtney Atkinson, recent winner of the Accenture Triathlon Series, won the Australian crown in second.
The men's race saw a number of men drop out because of crashes, and Aussie Miles Stewart pulled out after the fourth lap of the bike, the victim of a virus.
Marceau exited the swim with the leaders and averaged a 5-minute-per-lap pace for the 12-lap bike. A group of ten came together that included all of the race favorites.
"I knew that if I made them work hard on the bike then maybe their legs would be tired for the run and I would have a chance," Marceau said.
Atkinson took the lead out of T2 and in the last stages of the run found himself side by side with Marceau and Kiwi Shane Reed. Marceau surged with 1k to go to seal the win.
"I am very happy to win here, and it means a lot to me as I love Australia and have been training with Col Stewart for nearly five years," said Marceau, who was part of the French team for the Sydney Olympics, where he finished seventh. "I came back here in January and have just gotten stronger every race."
"I'm stuffed; that was the hardest race I've ever done," he said. "I'm stoked to win; it's very special to me and has made me realize that I have so much more to offer as I'm only 23 and plan to be around for a long time."
In the women's race, Harrop and Hackett broke away on the swim and then added to their lead on the bike. Harrop pulled away from Hackett on the first lap of the run, crossing the finish line clear of good friend Hackett.
Harrop wound up the race walking down the finish chute to acknowledge her family at a race her brother, Luke, who died after a hit-and-run bike crash in January, had loved.
"I purposely stopped to thank the people that have been so supportive of me and my family through this painful time following Luke's death," Harrop said. "It was really hard to focus here because I really wanted to win. When I win people talk about Luke and that helps."
Harrop said she and Hackett, both part of the Australian contingent for the Commonwealth Games, plan to carry out the same strategy in Manchester.
It was the 10th anniversary of the Mooloolaba race as the Aussie championships over the Olympic distance, and entries in the age-group ranks were up 10 percent over last year, to more than 1,800 competitors. Australian and Queensland Olympic-distance championship titles were on the line for age-group athletes, too.
For elites, the race also offered ITU ranking points and a $50,000AUS prize purse. It capped off a weekend of events that began Friday with the FKP Peregian Springs Twilight 5k and included triathlons for youngsters, an ocean swim and an age-group Olympic race Sunday morning before the elite race.
After the race, Harrop's father, Russell, presented the first Luke Harrop Memorial Bursary to the race's top under-23 competitors, Jennifer Erskine and Paul Matthews. They each received a grant of $1,000. The bursary includes two of Luke Harrop's favorite races, Mooloolaba and Noosa.
Race organizers said competitors will win points at those events in 2002 and at the Luke Harrop Memorial Triathlon planned for the Gold Coast in February 2003. Overall points winners will receive $2,500.
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Chalker, Tennant take XTERRA Australia Championshps
April 22, 2002, Sydney, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
From Australia's Nick Munting come results of Saturday's Xterra Australia Championships at Panthers World of Entertainment at Penrith in Sydney.
Jason Chalker and Raeleigh Tennant, both of Canberra, took the top prizes at the championships. Chalker, racing just a week after taking third at Xterra Saipan, now is heading to the U.S. to race the Xterra series here.
For Tennant, Saturday's win was her first national championship and second Xterra victory. Tennant has excelled at Xterra, Ironman and short-course racing, and was second in the championships last year behind fellow Aussie Jody Mielke. Mielke, second last weekend in Saipan, took second at Penrith, too. Age-grouper Amanda Richards was third.
The second-place man was Guy Andrews of Australia, a three-time champ in the Uncle Tobys Super Series Ironman, a surf competition. Stuart Shaw, a new face in Xterra racing, was third.
The course took athletes over a 1.5k swim, 30k mountain bike--that included three crossings of a waist-high river--and 11k cross-country run. It was the fifth race in the Xterra Australia series, and you can learn more here: http://www.xterraplanet.com or here.
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Vine, Whitmore claim debut XTERRA Saipan
April 15, 2001, Saipan
Canada’s Mike Vine and American Jamie Whitmore were the winners in the first Xterra Saipan on Saturday.
The race, a 1.5-kilometer swim, 30-kilometer mountain bike, and 10-kilometer jungle trail run, put competitors through a testing course that included stiff climbs on the bike (on pavement, coral road, jeep trail and singletrack), a torrential rainstorm that began about two hours after the start, and a run that saw competitors making their way through World War II-era caves on the side of a ravine.
In the men’s race, Hideo Fukui, a member of Japan’s Olympic team and a regular on the ITU circuit, was first out of the water and held his lead until about the 20k mark on the bike, when Vine went past. He then continued to lead through the run, sealing the win nearly five minutes ahead of Fukui and 10 minutes clear of Aussie Jason Chalker in third.
The women’s race saw another Japanese Olympian, Haruna Ouchi, first out of the water with Australian Jody Mielke a minute back. Mielke reeled her in and then was passed by Whitmore, who made her debut on the Xterra circuit at the end of last season.
Whitmore, a professional mountain biker and collegiate cross-country runner, came into T2 with a nine-minute lead and then added more time on the run to come home 11 minutes clear of Mielke in second.
"The run was the most difficult part of the race--very technical, like an adventure, but that’s what makes it an Xterra," Whitmore said. "For me, the harder, the better."
Mielke and Erlank, the defending Xterra world champion, came into T2 together but Mielke opened up a gap on the jungle run, coming home 11 minutes clear of Erlank.
"This is one of the hardest Xterra’s I’ve done," said Mielke, "but it was fun!"
The next stop in the 2002 Xterra World Tour is the Xterra Australia Championship next weekend in Sydney. The website is here.
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Harrop, Robertson take World Cup opener
April 15, 2002, Geelong, Victoria, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
Australia’s Loretta Harrop and Peter Robertson won the first World Cup race of the season, triumphing on home turf at Geelong, Australia.
The men’s bike ride saw a nasty pileup on the first lap of eight that knocked several athletes out of contention and sent Canada’s Simon Whitfield to hospital with two broken wrists and a broken collarbone.
Harrop was 34 seconds clear of American Barb Lindquist at the finish line after surging on the second lap of four on the run to take the lead. In third was American Siri Lindley, the world No. 1, who ran through the rest of the field to join the leaders.
Harrop, who earned her berth on Australia’s Commonwealth Games team in February, said she’s been focusing on the Geelong World Cup since then and that racing has helped ease the pain of the loss of her brother, Luke, in a cycling crash in January.
"You know, racing…it’s only physical pain, it does not rate to emotional pain," she said. "I actually quite enjoy the two hours of switching off my mind for a little while, and giving myself a bit of a hammering."
With the win, Harrop moves up to world No. 2 on the ITU rankings.
In the men’s race, Robertson was with the leaders on the swim and the bike, then opened up a gap on the run, finishing 25 seconds in front of Australia’s Courtney Atkinson. New Zealand’s Hamish Carter was third.
Australian Miles Stewart and Kiwi Shane Reed had flat tires that ended their days; a virus swamped Aussie Chris Hill’s race and he was forced to drop out.
"My transition was a shocker from bike to run," Robertson said. "I was a little overconfident at the end of the bike and I dropped my sticks in the rush. There was no Hilly, no Simon, Miles flatted and he was looking good today, and I did not expect Courtney to have such a good race because he’d been sick.
"But then early in the run, Courtney came up next to me and I thought, ‘Oh, oh I haven’t got it all my own way,’ but fortunately I was able to get away."
Robertson said he is focused on defending his world championship and attaining the world No. 1 ranking this year, and so has pared his season down to nine more races.
After the race, New Zealand’s Hamish Carter regained his world No. 1 spot among the men in the ITU rankings, with fellow Kiwi Craig Watson taking the No. 2 spot and Aussie Chris Hill, the former No. 1, relegated to No. 3. Robertson is No. 4. Complete rankings can be found here: http://www.triathlon.org.
Athletes split a $120,000AUS prize purse. The next stop on the 11-race World Cup circuit will be St. Anthony’s in Florida on April 27.
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It's Whitfield, Hackett in Geelong
April 1, 2002, Geelong, Victoria, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
Canada's Simon Whitfield and Australia's Nicole Hackett took out victories in the final race of the five-round Accenture Triathlon Series on Sunday in Geelong.
Overall series titles went to Aussie Courtney Atkinson and American Barb Lindquist, who made history by becoming the first international woman to win the series.
Whitfield, the Olympic gold medalist, outsprinted current world champion Peter Robertson of Australia in the last 500 meters to seal his win by eight seconds. Robertson's second-place finish assured him of a spot on Australia's Commonwealth Games team along with Chris McCormack, who finished 21st on the day but whose ranking on the Triathlon Australia national performance table gave him the edge in the end. World no. 1 Chris Hill of Australia was fourth in the race; he would have needed to finish second to secure a place on the team and is listed as the reserve member of the team.
Reports from the race say that the pace on the multi-loop Olympic distance course was hot from the starting gun. The first break on the bike came from Australia's Greg Bennett and France's Olivier Marceau, with a large pack behind them. McCormack, in the main field, countered repeatedly to bring Bennett back in.
Robertson, who returned to competition in mid-February after a knee injury, took the lead out of T2 but was caught in the final straight by a fast-closing Whitfield.
"I came into this race really confident," Robertson said. "But you can never write off the Olympic champion; he didn't win it by fluke, he has an amazing run on him."
Atkinson, who dominated the series with three wins, finished 14th on the day but managed to take out the series title on points.
In the women's race, Hackett took her first win of the series in a sprint ahead of fellow Aussie Loretta Harrop. Lindquist was third another 30 seconds back. American Siri Lindley, a late announcement on the start list, was fourth, with Australia's Michellie Jones in fifth. Jones and Hackett secured their berths on the Commonwealth Games team with their performances Sunday; on the reserve list is Emma Carney, who finished 10th on the day.
Hackett, Harrop, Lindquist and American Laura Reback came out of the swim together and worked on the bike to build up a lead of 2:50 on the chase pack by T2. By the last lap of the run, it was Harrop and Hackett dueling for the line while Lindley closed the gap to two minutes at the finish but couldn't reel in the top three.
Series winners each received a new Hyundai Santa Fe; athletes also divided an $80,000AUS prize purse. In addition to the Commonwealth Games spots, the race offered four places on the Australian world championships team for men and women.
The Commonwealth Games will be held in Manchester, England in July and August, with triathlon contested August 4, the final day of competition. Miles Stewart and Harrop secured their places on the team by winning last month's Accenture series stop in Canberra.
Triathlon Australia president David Burt said athletes on the squad will head to training camp near Manchester July 22 to prepare. Triathlon will be contested as a medal sport for the first time; 12 years ago at the Commonwealth Games in Auckland, N.Z., Stewart and Jones were on the Aussie team that raced when triathlon was a demonstration sport.
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Lindley, Krnavek victorious at Devonport
March 18, 2002, Devonport, Tasmania, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
American Siri Lindley made a fine start to her 2002 race season with a win at Sunday's ITU Devonport International Triathlon. The Czech Republic's Martin Krnavek, with two World Cup wins to his name last year, took his first ITU points win of the new season.
The men's race was an incredibly close one, with 43 seconds separating the top five finishers. Malcolm Wells, media director of the Devonport ITU International Triathlon, reported that the close quarters started early, with a pack of 25 entering T1 together. That was whittled down to a group of 18 on the bike ride. Gael Mainard of France made a late breakaway that was quickly recaptured on the run. With about 2k to go, Krnavek surged and opened up a slight gap that he was able to maintain despite a furious chase behind him led by Aussie Miles Stewart.
Wells reported that the women's race saw American Barb Lindquist take the swim out hard and come ashore about 50 meters clear of a chase pack that included Lindley and most of the eventual top five. She set a quick pace on the bike, at one point opening up a gap of 1:20 on the chase pack that was eventually narrowed to 45 seconds by T2. Lindley caught Lindquist on the run and cemented her lead on the last of the three-lap 10k.
Competitors divided a $50,000AUS prize purse in the race, the fifth in the seven-race Accenture Triathlon Series. The World Cup series kicks off April 14 with the Geelong ITU World Cup in Geelong, Australia.
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It's Carney over King at Supersprint
March 12, 2002, Portarlington, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
The battle of world champions in Portarlington, Australia on Sunday went to 1997 champ Emma Carney, who defeated 1998 champ Joanne King in a test over the sprint distance at the Gatorade Supersprint.
Athletes faced an 800m bay swim, 26k bike and 8k run in the fifth race of the six-race series. King has logged wins in early-season racing at the Forster-Tuncurry Half-Ironman and Laguna Phuket Triathlon as she gears up for her first Ironman of the year at Forster-Tuncurry next month. Carney, meanwhile, has been racing short-course events as she prepares for an attempt to make the Commonwealth Games team at the Accenture Triathlon Series race March 31 at Geelong.
Carney took the lead on the bike ride and never lost it, while King moved into second on the ride and came smoothly to the finish more than two minutes in arrears. Third-place Heather Evans, who'd led out of the water, was just 13 secnds back.
Defending series champ Craig McKenzie took out his first win of the series, defeating current series leader Kristian McCartney and Tim Bentley. The race for second, third and fourth was much tighter, with less than 30 seconds separating those three places.
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Robertson, Carney win in Elwood
February 26, 2002, Elwood, Victoria, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
Former world champion Emma Carney and current world champion Peter Robertson triumphed Sunday in the fourth race in the Gatorade Triathlon Series in Elwood, Victoria, Australia.
The sprint series, at this stop a 600m/20k/6k affair, also had an age-group field of more than 1,700 athletes. The day starts with a Brooks Fun Triathlon that is half the distance.
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Harrop, Stewart claim Accenture race,
win berths on Commonwealth Games squad
February 18, 2001, Canberra, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
Aussies Loretta Harrop and Miles Stewart claimed the fourth round in the Accenture Triathlon Series in Canberra in thrilling sprint finishes that also won them prized berths on Australia's Commonwealth Games and world championships team.
Sunday's Olympic-distance race was staged on what would have been the 25th birthday of Harrop's brother and Stewart's good friend, Luke Harrop. Luke Harrop was killed five weeks ago in a hit-and-run bike crash while training.
Loretta Harrop crossed the finish line two seconds clear of American Barb Lindquist, pounding her heart and running to the competitor tent, where she broke down.
Harrop was said to have been underprepared for the race, due not only to the tragic death of her brother but also to an early-season calf injury.
Lindquist, meanwhile, had been three-for-three on the series. Aussies Nicole Hackett came third, Michellie Jones fourth and Pip Taylor fifth.
Harrop, Lindquist and Hackett worked together on the bike, building up a nearly three-minute lead by the time they'd reached the transition area. Lindquist and Harrop dropped Hackett within the first 2.5k of the run, then battled neck and neck for the rest of the 10k.
"I don't know what to say," Harrop said after the race. "It has been really tough. It's hard being Luke's birthday, but then it's never going to be easy again."
She said the Commonwealth Games spot wasn't really on her mind during the race.
"I was racing for a different reason," she said. "Gee whiz, triathlon, it all seems kind of irrelevant."
Harrop said she wasn't feeling confident going into the race: "I just have this fire in the belly, and that is hard to beat. It doesn't matter if I am fit or not; in fact, my training has been so erratic. When I race people talk about Luke, and it makes it easier.
"I have had to learn to switch off and my coach worked with me on that before the race," she said. "During the race I can't afford to think about Luke, I just have to stay focused, listen to familiar voices in the crowd, concentrate on Barb and Nikki."
Sunday's race was an emotional one for Stewart, the first person to reach Luke after the accident, as well. He crossed the finish line with his arms raised, and fingers shaped in an L for Luke.
Series dominator Courtney Atkinson was second just nine seconds back, and Kiwi Hamish Carter third. Aussies Chris Hill, the current world No. 1, and reigning world champion Peter Robertson came home fourth and fifth.
With the win, Stewart secured his 14th consecutive world championship berth.
Stewart was in the lead bunch on the bike with Atkinson, Carter, Benny Bucholtz and Brisbane's Levi Maxwell. But the run came down to a 100m sprint between Stewart and Atkinson, and Stewart kept alive his perfect record of sprint-finish wins.
"It was Luke's birthday today," Stewart said. "He used to tell me that this was the race he would beat me at. So this one is for him.
"It was a nice way to say thank you. So he knows that we are thinking about him on his birthday, that he will never be forgotten."
Stewart and Atkinson also claimed the first two Aussie world champs berths today, and Harrop and Hackett claimed them for the women.
The fifth and final Accenture stop, at Geelong on March 31, will select the second Commonwealth Games spots and the third and fourth world championship places.
Lindquist still holds the lead in the Accenture series standings, followed by Hackett and Jones. Atkinson still tops the men's standings, followed by Stewart and Kiwi Shane Reed.
Australia can send three men and three women to the Commonwealth Games, and six men and six women to ITU worlds.
The Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England will mark triathlon's debut as a full medal sport. Triathlon was a demonstration sport at the 1990 Games in Auckland.
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Australian Luke Harrop killed, police make arrest
January 15, 2001, Surfer's Paradise, QLD, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
World-class Australian triathlete Luke Harrop died Sunday after being struck by a hit-and-run driver while on a training ride on Australia’s Gold Coast.
Harrop, younger brother of 1999 ITU world champion Loretta Harrop, was 24. On Saturday, he was riding in a group of about 20 riders, members of coach Col Stewart’s training group, when he and teammate Craig O’Connell were struck. Harrop was thrown over a concrete barrier, sustaining severe head injuries. O’Connell suffered a back injury but was expected to make a full recovery, according to news reports.
"Luke was highly talented and very, very smart," Stewart said. "I train the world’s leading triathletes, and he was right up there in the very top echelon." Stewart’s younger son, Lincoln, was riding with the front pack at the time of the accident but had eased off the pace moments before the car struck Harrop and O’Connell, who was carried 20 meters on the car’s hood before rolling off.
Harrop was to race at Sunday’s Accenture Triathlon in Surfers Paradise. Courtney Atkinson, winner of that race, dedicated the victory to him, and athletes took a lap of honor before the men’s race for Harrop. They were told he’d succumbed to his injuries moments after the men’s race had finished. Many broke into tears at the news.
"Everyone was going out there to win for him," Atkinson told the Sydney Morning Herald. "I don't think it mattered who it was--they were going to win for him. It's a very sorry day for the sport."
Harrop had a strong early triathlon career as a junior, and 2001 saw him moving up in the rankings, logging top-10 performances in both ITU World Cup events and Australia’s popular Formula 1 Triathlon Series. He was widely seen as a contender for a spot on Australia’s team for the Commonwealth Games.
"In the last two days, Luke has been surrounded by family, friends and the triathlon community," his family said in a statement. "Luke’s injuries were unfortunately so severe that not even his determination and strength could overcome them. Luke is remembered to all as a son, a brother and a friend. His laughter and zest for life touched everyone around him."
Police in Australia have charged a 41-year-old woman in connection with Luke Harrop's death, according to news reports. The woman was arrested early Tuesday morning in Brisbane, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Funeral services are set for 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Oliver Plunkett Church in Brisbane.
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Sorrow shadows second Accenture Series race
January 14, 2002, Surfers Paradise, QLD, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
American Barb Lindquist and Australian Courtney Atkinson stretched their series of wins in the Accenture Triathlon Series race to two apiece in racing shaded in sorrow Sunday.
Moments after the conclusion of the race, athletes were told of the passing of Australian triathlete Luke Harrop, who was to have been among the starters at the Surfers Paradise event. Harrop succumbed on Sunday to injuries sustained when he was struck by a car on a training ride Saturday. He died at Gold Coast Hospital as athletes were taking a lap of honor for him before the start of the men’s race.
Australia’s Chris Hill, one of Harrop’s roommates and the current world No. 1, withdrew from the race, as did Harrop’s sister Loretta, and Harrop’s girlfriend, Emma Snowsill.
The race, held in the "sprint eliminator" format, featured a 350-meter swim, 10-kilometer bike ride and 2.5-kilometer run, done twice. Only the top 10 in the first women’s race advance to the second round, 15 for the men.
Atkinson was six seconds ahead of fellow Aussie Simon Thompson, with Shane Reed of New Zealand, another roommate of Harrop, in third.
In the women’s race, Lindquist came home nearly 30 seconds ahead of Australia’s Nicole Hackett, with Australian Michellie Jones in third another three seconds back.
The series standings put Atkinson in first place with 44 points, followed by Miles Stewart with 36 and Levi Maxwell with 33.
Lindquist holds first place in the series with 44 points, followed by Jones with 37 points, and Hackett third with 36 points.
The next stop in the five-race series is Melbourne’s St. Kilda on Jan. 27.
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McCormack takes Mooloolaba
April 30, 2001, Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
Chris McCormack has been a busy athlete, and he may not done yet by a far stretch.
He's the new Australian champion as of this past weekend at Mooloolaba, Australia, besting Chris Hill and Miles Stewart among others. Just a week ago he was finishing a credible 8th place in Ishigaki, Japan, and a week prior to that he won the first ITU world cup of the year in Gamagori, Japan.
If McCormack stays true to his schedule, these races––important as they've been––are just the warm-up. According to Terry Davis, race director of this week's Wildflower half-Ironman Triathlon, McCormack said earlier in the year to expect him on Wildflower's starting line. Just contacted today, Davis said, "He hasn't said that he isn't coming, but then again we haven't recently heard from him to confirm that he is." If McCormack does make the trip to Wildflower, it will certainly be the longest, hardest race of his career, made especially so because of the time changes and recent consecutive weeks of racing and travel.
Nicole Hackett won the women's race at Mooloolaba, avenging last week's loss to Loretta Harrop in Japan. Harrop finished second. This is the first time in months that the two haven't had to contend with the surging U.S. women, who were racing at the season's third ITU world cup event at St. Anthony's in Florida.
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Lindquist steals Devonport from Aussies
March 11, 2001, Devonport, Tasmania (www.slowtwitch.com):
Barb Lindquist won the Devonport Triathlon in Tasmania in a strident duel of contrasting strengths. Lindquist, a top swimmer, faced Emma Carney, who just a week earlier was racing in the Tour de Snowy, where the first-time bicycle stage racer placed 19th overall and was the 8th Australian.
Lindquist exited the water quickly and with two others gained a lead on a pair of chasing groups. Carney’s swim put her out of contention, but a strong bike leg pulled her to within striking distance.
Lindquist went on to the win in 2:00:36, becoming the first non-Australian women in the race’s 17-year history to win the event. Nicole Hackett was second, and Carney gamely ran herself into third.
Chris Hill won the men’s event in 1:48:44. Luke Harrop and Bryce Quirk were second and third.
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Emma Carney at Tour de Snowy
March 4, 2001, Sydney, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
Lots of triathletes take on a bike race or two, often in the off-season, to hone their fitness and keep their bike handling skills sharp. But Australian triathlete Emma Carney, world champion at the Olympic distance, has taken things a step further: She’s racing in the Tour de Snowy, a prestigious five-day stage race in Australia that kicked off Saturday.
Riding for Jayco VIS, Carney is currently lying 48th in the general classification with two stages under her belt. Both of those stages were won by fellow Aussie Anna (Wilson) Millward, riding for Saturn.
But that’s not all Carney’s been doing during the Southern Hemisphere summer—she’s also been racing in the fast and furious KIA Formula 1 series.
The Tour de Snowy also has a famous former multisporter in the mix: American Mari Holden, last year’s world champion and Olympic silver medalist in the time trial, is in fourth place, just 28 seconds back. She rides for the Italian team Alfa Lum. And duathlete Kimberly Bruckner, riding for Saturn, lies in 11th, 40 seconds back. Bruckner took top honors at Powerman Alabama and the Dannon Duathlon in New Orleans last year, as well as a second at the national duathlon championships. And lest you think she’s just a summer sports kind of gal, last month she took second at the U.S. winter triathlon championships, a 10k run, 20k bike, 10k ski event.
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Atkinson top Aussie dog in F1 racing
February 25, 2001, Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
Courtney Atkinson is no longer the Aussie with the most potential. He’s now the top dog. At least he’s the best at F1 competition, that style of short-course racing Aussies seem to appreciate of all others.
Atkinson demonstrated that with style and dominance this year with a win in Coolangatta yesterday. In so doing he became only the third male competitor to win the KIA Formula 1 Triathlon title.
Atkinson, the 1999 world junior champion, went into yesterday’s round equal on points with Sydney's Chris McCormack, the former world champ who’ll be stepping way up in distance two months from now in the Wildflower half-Ironman. In Coolangatta, though, McCormack wasn’t a factor. Atkinson defeated his training partner, Miles Stewart, with Levi Maxwell making a welcome return to form to claim a podium finish. Olympic gold medallist Simon Whitfield was fourth.
Atkinson debuted in the series four years ago as a 17 year old and his transition to the senior ranks, competing against the world's best athletes has been phenomenal. In four years of F1 racing, Atkinson has finished eighth, fourth, second and now first.
"To win my first race and to win the series on the same day is like a double dose of excitement. I have been after this title for four years and it has been a long haul. I have finally done it and it feels awesome. There is so much self satisfaction to do what you aim to do, especially in a high profile series like this," said Atkinson.
In an exciting women’s event, top yank Barb Lindquist upset pre-race favorite and good friend Nicole Hackett. The popular Lindquist was ecstatic at her win, with Hackett’s second place enough to secure the series and win a third consecutive F1 title, equaling the record set by Jackie Gallagher.
"I am a little disappointed that I didn't win today and clean sweep the series but that is the way it goes. But I am excited at winning a third title and that is something to be very proud of", said Hackett.
Michellie Jones and Emma Carney had a thrilling sprint finish for the final podium spot, but it was Jones who was victorious.
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Australia greets XTERRA with brutal conditions
February 9, 2001, Falls Creek, Victoria, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
Braving atrocious weather, Australians suffered through the first ever XTERRA at Falls Creek in Victoria's high country last Sunday.
Canberra first year pro athlete Jason Chalker took the men's category, while runner up in both the 1999 and 2000 XTERRA USA Series, Sydney's Jody Mielke (nee Purcell) took the women's category with a great ride in trying conditions.
For Chalker the race was his first taste of off-road racing while Mielke is now a veteran XTERRA competitor and proved a great ambassador for the sport in her home country.
Runner up laurels fell to Shepparton's John Carey, with American XTERRA pro Steve Senier making up the podium placings for the pro men (though beaten home by first age grouper, South Melbourne's 30-34 age group winner, John Westadal).
It was a similar story in the women's event where the pro podium saw Canberra's Raeleigh Tennant (second to Kurstin Weule at XTERRA UK) forge her way into second after a dynamic swim leg to lead Kim McCormack, in turn also beaten by the first age grouper woman, 25-29 age group winner Lucinda Leslie fromVictoria.
The first XTERRA Australia Tour race was held between 5,000 and 5,800 feet on the roof of Australia using the highest navigatable roads on the Australian continent.
Perfect weather in preceding days gave way to torrential rain on race morning, with the added danger of thick fog, rising and falling on the mountain slopes and valleys.
Organizers finally made a call to start the race, albeit with a shorter swim, a little after 10.30 AM. No sooner had the first wave of swimmers touched shore than the fog once again closed in, leading to some anxious moments.
Even heavier rains fell during the race, flooding the finish area and many low lying areas. Finishers splashed their way through the chute, knee deep in water, a final irony to their muddy day on the mountain.
Remarkably the race saw few of the near 120 competitors drop from the racing, but a hard day's racing Saturday in Manly's F1 triathlon race and the chilly swim, followed by derailleur troubles on the bike leg, saw dual world champion Emma Carney withdraw following the cycle leg.
Competitors from XTERRA Falls Creek gain points towards 33 qualifying slots for the XTERRA World Championship in Maui, Hawaii, October 2001.
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Hackett repeats, McCormack breaks through
February 4, 2001, Manly, NSW, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
Defending champion Nicole Hackett and Sydney's Chris McCormack braved high surf at Sydney's Manly Beach to record wins in the second round of the KIA Formula One Triathlon series yesterday.
Hackett continued her dominance of the F1 series, handling the tough conditions and crushing her opponents to win both heats of the Double Super Sprint format.
She is now on track to clean sweep the series and equal the record of three time series winner, Jackie Gallagher.
"It definitely helped to have some surf skills, but I was just as scared as anyone else. I was feeling sick before the race. But I knew where I had to go and the best tactic was to take a straight line and the surf would take you down to the turning buoy", said reigning world champion Hackett."
Hackett took the points today beating USA's Laura Reback and Barb Lindquist in race one (run, cycle, swim) and backing up ten minutes later to account for Lindquist and Michellie Jones in the reverse format.
Chris McCormack's first F1 win has elevated him to the top of the F1 series table, one point ahead of Gold Coast's Courtney Atkinson and the pair now pose a serious threat to defending champion Miles Stewart who finshed a disappointing 11th place today.
"I have been trying to win a round of this series for five years - much too long but the luck went my way today. They say you make your own luck, so I am pretty happy. It is about time," said an elated McCormack.
McCormack was a run away winner in the first heat, comfortably handling the conditions and the challenge of second placed Paul Amey and third placed Courtney Atkinson.
With the surf conditions constantly changing there was plenty of work to do in heat two.
"I nearly put my arm up to be rescued in the second race," said McCormack, about after getting trapped under the turning buoy by the rough surf. "I was in serious trouble there and swallowing water. I had to breaststroke for a while. In any other race it would have been over, but in the surf I was able to catch up the distance I lost."
McCormack regained his composure and together with his first race win, sixth place was enough to hold off Kiwi Paul Amey (2nd & 5th) and Courtney Atkinson (3rd & 4th) in the chase for overall points.
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Atkinson's young legs propel him to victory
January 24, 2001, Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
Australia’s Courtney Atkinson, World Junior Champion in ’99, is sending signals he’s ready to challenge the world’s best. He lost a sprint finish to former World Champ Miles Stewart in the Formula 1 debut just weeks ago, and he continues his torrid racing with a victory at the Australian Aquathlon Championship at Coffs Harbour on the New South Wales North Coast.
Aquathlon is a run-swim-run event, in this case 2.5k - 1k - 2.5k. U.S.-based athletes are generally no match for the best American lifeguard competitors, but it’s a format that Aussie triathletes relish.
Australian Olympic team member Peter Robertson led the field in the first run. A four-man group including Paul Mackay and Atkinson were in close pursuit entering the water. Robertson – a stellar runner – was swallowed up by the swimmers, and exited the water sixth. Atkinson pulled ahead in the water and hit the second run in full stride, with a 30-meter lead.
Paul Mackay held on for the runner-up spot and a hard-charging Robertson moved up to third.
20-year-old Pip Taylor clobbered the women's field, charging off the start line to establish a thirty-second lead on foot. Alison Coote and Katie Gold were second and third as the women hit the water, where again the swim turned the race around with sisters Tanya and Wendy DeBoer swimming into third and fourth.
Taylor again put the throttle down while on land, winning by over three minutes, eighth place eighth overall among the elite competitors. Tanya DeBoer followed Taylor home, just ahead of her sister Wendy and with Katie Gold in fourth from Colleen McCarthy and Coote.
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Finding the talent -- part 3
January 24, 2001, Santa Barbara, California (www.slowtwitch.com):
In Australia, the buck stops with Jackie Gallagher. The former triathlon world champ is now the point person when it comes to searching for and developing future Aussie triathletes.
"It is my job to set up the support and development structure for juniors across the country," Gallagher said to Triathlonlive. "I will set up a tiered, structured system of support for the junior athletes and their coaches. I will also be holding camps and clinics - both centralized at the Australian Institute of Sport and around the country. I will be the person who will liaise with the states, identifying the athletes and their coaches and giving junior athletes every opportunity to develop their potential."
Tall order. Especially with Australia’s penchant for developing athletes at an early age, one of whom – at the beginning of the newly retired all-star’s career – was Gallagher.
"I do have a pretty good idea about how I am setting up the program, but there is still a lot of work to do... I have been on the road getting around seeing athletes, coaches and state junior development officers."
Australia’s program is not unlike that of Paul Buxton in the UK: a systematic ferreting out of the talent. It’s part of the Australian Institute of Sport, and Gallagher’s focus is on those athletes not quite as young as some Buxton will look for. While in the UK athletes as young as early teen years will be targeted, Gallagher will look for promising later-teen juniors.
"The AIS program has as it's main focus ‘Junior Elite.’ I will be identifying 10 juniors -- 5 male, 5 female -- to be part of the program. They will be AIS scholarship holders, but will still work with their existing coaches. Just be supported through the AIS, with me coordinating the overall program."
Working in concert with an athlete’s own coach is in contrast to many countries’ efforts leading up to the 2000 Olympics. Obtaining grants from a national Olympic committee – which is a large part of how a national triathlon federation might financially subsist – sometimes meant wresting control of a top athlete’s coach and placing it in the hands of a national team coach. Obviously not so with the Australians, who have a tradition of independent coaches with a gaggle of top athletes under their guidance, and often under their roofs.
As for the ten lucky juniors, Gallagher said that they’ll be, "…those considered most likely to represent Australia in the junior elite category at [Triathlon World Championships]. I will also be working with the state tri associations to identify other promising juniors. I will have a junior B squad, who will also receive some assistance."
But how far along are the Aussies in finding these athletes? Gallagher is ambitious in her zeal to find and help the young athletes, and it is obvious she wants results. "Eventually we will set up a talent ID program. I will personally be taking an interest in races around the country. I plan to make at least two visits per years to each state and conduct clinics and seminars for juniors and their coaches. I will set goals for improvement, in conjunction with coaches, on an individual basis."
Triathlonlive asked about a sensitive subject, that of banned Aussie coach Brett Sutton. He was Gallagher’s own coach during her formative years, and still attracts talented young Aussies, although he’s been based all last year half a world away in Switzerland.
"Brett certainly had, and still has, a good eye for talent and many of the current crop have come under his coaching at some stage. He is undoubtedly, in my mind, the best triathlon coach in the world. He recruited me, and also Rina Hill, out of running. Obviously I know Brett well and had a lot to do with him off and on during my career. With my Exercise Physiology background and knowledge of the sport, and his practical genius, we had many lengthy discussions over the years about how to optimize performance. I follow many of his principles, but also have my own ideas. I think I have developed a pretty good eye for what athletes need in order to improve. I still have a lot to learn, but I will be drawing on the ideas and resources of people I have worked with, who I respect, and who have influenced me in the past."
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Hackett, Stewart surprise no one with F1 Geelong wins
January 7, 2001, Geelong, Victoria, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
Start with legendary footspeed and sift in a little wisdom and treachery, and young Courtney Atkinson was the latest to learn that lesson all comers have known for a decade: Don't engage Miles Stewart at the end of a footrace. The Kia F1's gruelling Enduro format (twice through 300m swim/7km bike/2km) punished the world class field. But Stewart relied on his experience and cunning to put the early season runs on the board, despatching former world junior champion and his new training partner, Courtney Atkinson, with a blistering sprint finish.
"As our squad will tell you, I haven't been going well in training, so I am very happy and very surprised with a first up win," the Gold Coast former world champion said.
"But once you are on the start line there are no excuses. I am over the moon, although I will probably lay down and die in a minute because that race absolutely ripped me apart - it was so tough. But as I get older I get a bit tougher and can handle a bit more pain than when I was younger. That was probably the difference between Courtney and me today.
Stewart was also complimentary of Atkinson.
"Courtney has been training with us for the last month. He is only a young kid but I think Welchy was right when he said Courtney will become World Champion very soon."
F1 legend and six time title holder Brad Beven made a popular return to the podium after overcoming injury and illness battles over the past year. "I am happy with the form and it was a bit of a shock," said Beven. "I still have a dodgey shoulder and a bad hip. I am glad to be back into it and get a good result first up. It has been about ten months, so I almost forgot how to do triathlons for a while."
Olympic gold medallist Simon Whitfield was a late withdrawal due to a leg injury, as was Peter Robertson. Both will be back for the next round at Manly on 3 February.
In the women's event, world champion Nicole Hackett looked in devastating form as she dominated from start to finish.
"Over the last four years I have been building up my strength in the run leg and it held me in good stead today. My running has improved and I am really happy with the way it is going", said Hackett. "I am happy with today's race as I have found it hard to get back into it after the Olympics. I am just starting to enjoy it all again which is probably why I won today." Hackett has now won seven of the past 8 rounds in the F1 series.
Olympic silver medallist Michellie Jones flew home in the final run leg to take second, ahead of Loretta Harrop in third and the USA's Barb Lindquist.
The next round of the KIA Formula 1 will be held at Manly Beach in Sydney on Saturday, 3 February.
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Geelong pulls double duty
January 4, 2001, Geelong, Victoria, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
A year ago the Olympics were nine months away, athletes were still scrambling for points, and the first big race of the year was just about to take place at Geelong, Victoria, Australia. No one expected Jan Rehula to surprise the locals with a victory, a breakthrough race that was not a fluke. The Czech triathlete went on to win a podium spot in the Sydney Olympics.
What a difference a year makes. Geelong, a popular age-group race with over 700 entrants, has—for the first time—decided to double as an F1 stop on the eight-year-old F1 pro tour. It's still a traditional non-drafting triathlon for the amateurs, but after that race the pros will compete in the fast and furious 300m swim/7km cycle/2km format, run twice through. Rehula—though stellar in Olympic-distance racing—was decidedly unspectacular in that format last year, finishing 14th in both of his two attempts.
Aussies go almost unchallenged in the F1 format. Last year's F1 titleholder Miles Stewart will face Brad Beven, superb in this format and eager to avenge a disappointing last 12 months. Gold medal Olympian Simon Whitfield—one of the few foreigners who can race this format successfully—is back for another go at F1, down from his Noosa training camp. Chris McCormack, Peter Robertson and Chris Hill will challenge.
The women's race features a trio of Aussies—Nicole Hackett, Michellie Jones, and Loretta Harrop—and Yanks Barb Lindquist and Laura Reback. Hackett has had the most success at F1 racing, but Harrop is eager to challenge. She's recently been headquartered in Brisbane, "a needed change from the intense last few months I spent into my lead up to the Olympics," she said. She's fully recovered from her fractured tibia, and when Triathlonlive.com caught up with her last week she was, she said, "currently training to try to win my first F1 series." This weekend will be her first big test.
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Pros line up behind coaching gurus
January 2, 2001, Noosa, Australia, (www.slowtwitch.com):
Recreational endurance athletes have a voracious appetite for news about elite training enclaves. The most famous current example is the Kenyan group under the Italian Dr. Gabriele Rosa. He and his two sons – all sports medicine physicians-- coach the largest group of successful marathoners in the world. They all are Kenyans, and are sponsored by Fila.
For the first 10 or 15 years in the life of triathlon, there was no such thing as a multisport coach who could claim a significant number of world class athletes trained under his or her wing. That has changed, and especially among short-course racers. At least three enclaves exist in triathlon similar to that of Dr. Rosa, but they don't include Kenyans. Most are Australian, with a growing number of Canadians and Americans throwing in their lots as well.
Col Stewart, father of former world champ Miles Stewart, counts among his disciples Miles, Chris Hill, Courtney Atkinson, Luke Harrop (Loretta’s brother – more about her later), Shane "Snuffie" Reed, Rebekah Keat, Jason Shortis, Jarrod Brauer (one of his few but growing number of long-course specialists), Jarrett Macfayden, and Lincoln Stewart (Miles' younger ). Stewart also coaches Amerians Mike Smedley and Doug Friman. His Japanese athletes include Hideo Fukui, Kyomi Nawata, Noriko Takano, and a 16-year old, Yuichi Hosoda, whom Stewart raves about.
Stewart doesn’t stick to Pacific Rim athletes only. His French athletes include reigning World Champ Olivier Marceau along with Helene Salomon and Thierry Mouthon.. His Canadians are James Loaring and Mike Greenberg; and, finally, those over from Mexico are Francisco "Paco" Serrano, Allan Villanueva and Eligio Cerantes. He’s also worked prreviously with and Nici Leder from Germany, Sharon Donnelly from Canada, and Barb Lindquist from USA.
Also in Australia, for a 3-month camp in Noosa, are reigning Olympic champ Simon Whitfield, joined by Greg Bennett, Sharon Donnelly, Jamie Cleveland, Andrea Fisher, Andrew Noble, Brent McMahon, Cheryl Murphy, Kelly Guest, Lucy Smith, Tereza Macel, Melissa Spooner, and Lisa Bentley. They’re training under Lance Watson, and the whole group will migrate north in April, spending most of their year in Victoria, BC, Canada. (Lori Bowden and Peter Reid also live in Victoria, but are coached by others).
While Luke Harrop is coached by Col Stewart, his better-known sister Loretta remains coached by Aussie Brett Sutton. Sutton’s training base last summer was Switzerland, and his current list of athletes include Harrop (AUS), Siri Lindley (USA), Lisbeth Kristiensen (DEN), Jane Fardell (AUS), Andrew Johns (GBR), Jan Rehula (CZE), Trent Chapman (AUS), Matt Reed (NZL), CÈdric Deanaz (FRA), St. John Lord (CAN), and Phil Leduff (CAN)
For those who like hard work and fast company, both Stewart and Sutton have openings for about three new athletes each.
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Walton, Carney prevail -- even in half-Ironman
December 18, 2000, Canberra, ACT, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
Craig Walton and Emma Carney won national triathlon titles again on Sunday. But this time, the race distance was hardly their Olympic-distance specialties. It was, instead, the race with the longest official name in the sport: The 2000 Everett Worthington City of Canberra Half Ironman Triathlon, incorporating the 2001 Australian Long Distance Championships and Round Two of the NSW State Cup.
Anyway, they won, over a field of 700 in the first-year race that featured perfect conditions and also, less fortunately, three top racers withdraw after they lost 12 minutes in cycling off-course.
Walton was making his first foray into triathlon racing beyond the Olympic-distance -- and met with immediate success. His time, 3:54:18, was more than four minutes faster than runner-up Jason Shortis (3:58:39).
But three top contenders -- Craig Alexander, Craig Cunningham and Jarrod Brauer -- withdrew after missing a turn halfway through the 90-kilometer cycle, and losing a good 12 minutes by the time they returned to the course. New Zeland's Shane Reed also missed the turn with them, and was the only one of the four to continue. He finished 14th overall, in 4:16:38.
In the women's race, Carney managed a come-from-behind win, running down Belinda Cheney with just five kilometers to go in the 21.1k run. Winning in 4:21:02, she was three minutes clear of Cheney in the end.
If the half-Ironman was unexplored territory for Walton, it was still new, too, for Carney. She had only done one such race before, last year's national championship -- also in mid-December -- over the distance. She won there, too, though that time by eight minutes.
(RESULTS)
Stolen: One Olympic silver-medal winning bike
December 12, 2000, Cronulla, New South Wales, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
At least Michellie Jones still has her medal.
Australia's Olympic silver-medalist triathlete had the bike she raced on in Sydney stolen from her house recently in the Australian suburb of Cronulla.
Gone, too, are the set of race wheels she used back on September 17.
The thefts were discovered last week by Peter Coulson, Jones' husband who had returned to Australia, from their home in Carlsbad, California, for a meeting with Triathlon Australia.
Talking it over with police, Coulson said it seemed like the thief knew exactly what he wanted. The bike was taken from the bedroom, and the wheels went missing from the garage. The Olympic-performance wheels were taken out of a wheel case -- chosen over several other sets of race wheels in the garage.
It's the second bad bike hit for Coulson and Jones in a few months. Last summer, their bikes disappeared enn route to Switzerland for the ITU World Cup in Lausanne on August 12. Coulson called around and had a new bike shipped from Germany in time for Jones to race. Then he ran around to find handlebars, pedals and water bottle cages.
Unflustered as usual, Jones finished third.
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In Melbourne, it's McKenzie over the Olympian
December 10, 2000, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
Little-regarded Craig McKenzie, already the winner in the first race of the Gatorade Triathlon Series last month, wasn't going to let Peter Robertson's first racing appearance since the Olympics, steal the show on Sunday at St. Kilda.
There, for the second race of the Gatorade Tri Series, over the 500m swim-20k bike-5k run distance, McKenzie dominated again -- and left second place for a surprised Robertson.
McKenzie, who won an Australian duathlon title in September, has been Gatorade's most consistent racer over the last two seasons. The series usually draws fields of 500 or 600, highlighted by whatever top Victorian talent is in town -- and McKenzie is always there.
Usually, he wins: This was his fourth Gatorade win in the last two seasons, against three more runner-up performances. And this time, it came over the Olympian Robertson -- by 27 seconds.
The women's race was expected to be a match between Emma Carney and Joanne King, but didn't materialize when King didn't show. Carney went on to win anyway, 56 seconds better than Sarah Johnson.
The next of the Gatorade races will be January 28 in Sandringham, Victoria.
(RESULTS)
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Loretta Harrop wins first Australian title
November 29, 2000, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
She's the world's No. 2-ranked triathlete, and she finished fifth in the Olympic triathlon, but until last Sunday, Loretta Harrop had never before won an Australian national title.
That all changed when she won the Wollongong Triathlon, designated as the Australian national sprint championships and the season opener for the Aus$100,000 Triathlon Australia St. George Series.
"It's bizarre, so this is a big day for me, and you've got to be happy about that," said Harrop, who beat Nicole Hackett for the title.
Melbourne's Bryce Quirk was an even bigger surprise winner among the men. "I'm ecstatic!" Quirk, 22, quipped. "This will give me the confidence to take on some the bigger names this summer. I'm rapt!"
Quirk beat the bigger-name Chris Hill by 34 seconds.
(RESULTS)
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Triathlon set for South Pacific Mini Games
November 24, 2000, Norfolk Island, South Pacific (www.slowtwitch.com):
Triathlon is expected to be one of 10 sports in the South Pacific Mini Games next December when Norfolk Island -- an Australian territory with just 1,500 residents -- hosts the event.
Triathlon joins athletics, archery, body building, golf, lawn bowls, judo, netball, tennis and trap shooting as the planned sports. The actual Games program will be confirmed next month.
The sports are chosen partially because they are already well-developed on Norfolk Island, but also because they are less well-developed across the Oceania region (outside of Australia and New Zealand).
According to the Oceania National Olympic Committee newsletter, which announced the Games: "What will make these Games so interesting is the opportunities it will provide to sports codes that are less popular in the region. The Norfolk Island hosts are well advanced in their determination to ensure that the 2001 South Pacific Mini Games will be a Games to remember."
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Aussie junior Glenn Bennett is paralyzed
November 24, 2000, Sydney, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
Glenn Bennett, one of Australia's most promising junior triathletes, has been left an "incomplete quadriplegic" after an accident in the surf six weeks ago.
The news comes via Justin Drew, a triathlon coach with the New South Wales Insitute of Sport, when Bennett was one of the junior elites racing with that team. "Glenn is very positive, and we are hopeful that things will keep improving every day," Drew said. "This week, Glenn is being sat up and will go into a wheelchair, after which he will be moved to a rehab centre.
"The accident happened six weeks ago, and Glenn has been immobilised in hospital since then. On a positive note, Glenn has regained some movement -- as of today he has fairly good movement of his right arm and one finger, and a little movement in his left arm. In his left leg, he has some movement in the adductor, some quad, some ankle and all his toes. In his right leg -- strong movement in the adductor and some quad, and the bit Glenn his happiest about -- all of his butt. He has some good sensation down his right side and it is hopefully improving down his left."
The accident occurred when Bennett was doing an open-water training session at Sydney's Manly Beach at high tide. He was bodysurfing back to shore when he hit a drainage pipe hidden by the high water. He was spotted by others, and was air-lifted to hospital. Doctors said he has fractured C4, C5, C6 and C7 in his back, and the diagnosis is that he is an incomplete quadriplegic.
Just 14 months ago, Bennett had won the 16-19 age group at the ITU World Triathlon Championship in Montreal, Canada. He had spent the 1999 season racing with Team Witten in Germany. There, he had a number of strong finishes, including two top-8 places in Bundesliga eventes and a third place in the European Club Championship.
Those who want to send Glenn Bennett an e-mail can do so at (benno1979@hotmail.com).
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Hill, Carney take the Noosa Triathlon titles
November 5, 2000, Noosa, Queensland, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
Queensland's Chris Hill scored a "hometown" win, and Emma Carney -- now back in Melbourne after putting her Sydney home on the market -- won Australia's biggest race on Sunday, the Noosa Triathlon.
The race gathered 2,500 age-groupers and a field of elites gunning for Aus$59,000 in prize money. Started in 1983, the event built to world-class proportions in both 1998 and 1999, when it stood as the season-ending ITU World Cup finale.
This year, the absence of such status made for a return to the race's age-group roots. The elite field was understandably smaller, but still attracted top talent in New Zealand's Hamish Carter, ITU's No. 1-ranked triathlete, and Australia's Loretta Harrop, the ITU's No. 2-ranked triathlete.
It was Hill's first race since he took third in the Los Angeles Triathlon exactly two months ago. For Carney, it was a return to racing -- and winning -- since she won the ITU Points Race at Edmonton on July 16. She had started the Mrs. T's Chicago Triathlon in late August, but -- at the height of her unsuccessful legal battle for a place in the Olympics -- was a DNF there.
Hill pulled out the win late in the run. Runner-up Courtney Atkinson managed to stay with him until the final mile, when Hill moved away to finish in a speedy 1:44:20. Atkinson finished 14 seconds back, and the two fancied Kiwi Olympians in the field, Carter and Ben Bright, were both DNFs.
In the women's race, Harrop had visions of winning, coming off the bike with a 1:25 margin over the others. But just two kilometers into the run, she left the course with cramps and dehydration. That left the race open to all the chasers -- and Carney was only 15 seconds behind the others when she started her run.
Rebekah Keat took over the lead when Harrop dropped out, but Carney passed her at halfway and ran on to the win. It was the first, she hopes, in a re-oriented training program that will return her to her form of her 1993 and 1994 world-championship years.
(RESULTS)
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New leadership for Triathlon Australia
November 5, 2000, Noosa, Queensland, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):
The full results of Friday's elections for Triathlon Australia's board of directors at its annual general meeting, have yet to be announced by the TA folks -- who were perhaps diverted over the weekend by the activities at hand, specifically the premier event of the Noosa Multisport Festival, the 2,500-competitor, Olympic-distance Noosa Triathlon.
But this much is known: David Burt is in, and Bill Walker is out, as Triathlon Australia's president. Walker did not stand for election, stepping down after eight years in place as president.
Burt apparantly defeated David Coles in a two-man challenge for the position.
BELOW:
• Sindballe, Comerford, take LC Worlds
• Keat’s Suspension, TA’s Response a Matter of Protocol
• Laguna Phuket establishes fund for tsunami victims
• Lindquist powers yet again at Devonport
• Walton, Montgomery win in Noosa
• Harrop, Marceau on top at Mooloolaba
• Chalker, Tennant take Xterra Oz
• Vine, Whitmore claim debut XTERRA Saipan
• Harrop, Robertson take World Cup opener
• It's Whitfield, Hackett in Geelong
• Lindley, Krnavek victorious at Devonport
• It's Carney over King at Supersprin
• Robertson, Carney win in Elwood
• Harrop, Stewart claim Accenture race
• Luke Harrop killed, police make arrest
• Sorrow shadows second Accenture Series race
• McCormack takes Mooloolaba
• Lindquist steals Devonport from Aussies
• Emma Carney at Tour de Snowy
• Atkinson top Aussie dog in F1 racing
• Australia greets XTERRA with brutal conditions
• Hackett repeats, McCormack breaks through
• Atkinson's young legs propel him to victory
• Finding the talent: Part 3
• Hackett, Stewart surprise no one with F1 Geelong wins
• Geelong pulls double duty
• Pros line up behind coaching gurus
• Walton, Carney prevail -- even in half-Ironman
• Stolen: One Olympic silver-medal winning bike
• In Melbourne, it's McKenzie over the Olympian
• Loretta Harrop wins first Australian title
• Triathlon set for South Pacific Mini Games
• Aussie junior Glenn Bennett is paralyzed
• Hill, Carney take the Noosa Triathlon titles
• New leadership for Triathlon Australia
OZ NEWS PRIOR TO NOVEMBER 1, '00
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