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 NEWS FROM SWITZERLAND: • Powerman Zofingen secure for 2003 |
Powerman Zofingen secure for 2003 September 10, 2002, Zofingen, Switzerland The world from the Powerman organizing committe is that the World's most famous duathlon will take place as planned on the weekend of September 13-14. John Raadschelders, president of the International Powerman Association, said, "The duathletes of the world can stop holding their breath because their most favorite event will take place.” The 2003 World Championship Powerman, the 15th annual, expects around 1000 athletes from at least 30 nations and will have a prize money of $50,000 as agreed with the IPA. ----- Zofingen To Bernhard, Thurig September 10, 2002, Zofingen, Switzerland Switzerland's Olivier Bernhard and Karin Thürig successfully defending their Powerman Zofingen titles on Sunday--Bernhard by less than a minute, and Thürig by more than a half-hour. For Bernhard, it was his seventh title in Zofingen--that means that in the race's 14-year history, he has won half of its editions. Raced over a grueling 10k run, 150k bike and 30k run, the race is said by many long-course experts to be as hard, or harder, than Kona or any other Ironman. From Switzerland's Reinhard Standke we have these details of the race: In the women's race, Scotland's Bella Comerford took the lead on the first 10k, but Thürig took control by the 13k mark of the bike and never looked back. At the finish line, Thürig was 34:14 clear of countrywoman Ariane Schumann in second, with Comerford third almost five minutes later. In the men's race, the first out of the transition area after the 10k were Spaniard Gomez Garzia and Frenchman Yannik Djouandi. Another 30 seconds back was a chase group that included Bernhard, Aussie Chris McCormack in his Zofingen debut, current Powerman world champ Huub Maas of the Netherlands, and Ironman France runner-up Stefan Riesen of Switzerland. McCormack took the lead on the bike at the 39k mark but was caught by Riesen and others. Once off the bike, Riesen had built up a 3:19 lead on the rest of the field--but it was a gap that Bernhard was able to close on the run. The veteran took the lead at the 19k mark and held it to the finish. McCormack, suffering from knee problems, ended his day on the bike course, as did Hungary's Erika Csomor, last year's second-place finisher. The winners took home 20,000 Swiss francs from a total prize purse of 100,000 Swiss francs. For more details, visit http://www.powerman.ch. (RESULTS) ----- Lessing climbs back to top form, bests Macca in Geneva August 21, 2001, Graz, Austria Simon Lessing, Britain's four-time world champion, sent a message to the rest of the triathlon world with a victory in the ETU European Cup race in Geneva at the weekend, running away from another former world champ, Australia's in-form Chris McCormack, to win the 25,000 Swiss Franc event by a minute. Lessing struggled to get back into training following his disappointing showing at the Olympic Games in Sydney a year ago, and also because he has been making the adjustment to becoming a father for the first time earlier this year. But following a good win in last month's ETU Cup race in Hannover, Bath-based Lessing dominated the Geneva event from the moment the men hit the warm waters of Lake Leman, Lessing was first out of the water at the end of the 1,500 metres swim, together with Matt Reed, of Australia, with a 40-second lead over McCormack - winner of five big races in Australia and the United States earlier this summer - and the European bronze medallist Eric van der Linden, from the Netherlands. McCormack, renowned for his biking, closed the gap on the Briton by the time they reached the end of the 40km ride section, only to see Lessing disappear into the distance on the run, winning by exactly a minute, with another Australian, Paul McKay, running into third spot by the finish, Van der Linden placed fourth, just ahead of Richie Cunningham, who has regained overall lead in the 54,000 Euros ETU European Cup standings, with just two races left to contest, Lessing looks to be in formidable form before racing in the London Triathlon this Sunday. Annie Emmerson made it a British double success in Geneva, registering her third ETU European Cup win of the season. Unlike Lessing, however, Emmerson played catch-up to secure her win, after exiting the water 2min 20sec down on the leaders, who included New Zealand's Evelyn Williamson, the winner of the previous Cup event at Schliersee two weeks ago, Germany's Anja Heil and Russia's Nina Anisimova. Emmerson, European championships bronze medallist, sliced through the opposition on the bike section, however, and then produced some devastating running alongside Austrian-based Australian Kate Allen, to move from seventh to first place after the first of four laps on the 10km run course. Emmerson duly pulled away from Allen to the finish line, In third place, more than a minute down on Allen, finished Heil. In the ETU European Cup, competitors' best five points scores count towards their final standings, which carries a total of 52,000 Euros in overall prize money for men and women put up by the ETU in addition to each race's individual prize funds, The next race is at Gerardmer, France, on September 2, with the final in Alanya, Turkey, on October 24. (RESULTS) ----- McMahon is Switzerland's Athlete of the Year December 1, Berne, Switzerland (www.slowtwitch.com): Brigitte McMahon, the Olympic triathlon champion, has landed another honor, this one hardly as surprising as her first. At Thursday evening's Credit Suisse Sportgala, McMahon was announced as the Swiss Athlete of the Year 2000. Taking 56.6 percent of the vote from television spectators, McMahon claimed the honor ahead of fencing's Gianna Hablützel-Bürli and swimming's Flavia Rigamonti. McMahon is the second triathlete honored as Athlete of the Year in Switzerland: In 1998, Natascha Badmann won the title after her first win in the Hawaii Ironman. ----- Christian Wenk now Tri Club Zofingen president November 30, Zofingen, Switzerland (www.slowtwitch.com): Christian Wenk, the Swiss duathlon champion who was paralyzed in September in a cycling accident in Japan, is now the president of Triathlon Club Zofingen. He announced at the club's annual general meeting that he wanted to be the next president, to everyone's suprise and a standing ovation. "Without the support from my club, my success in duathlon and triathlon would never have been possible," said the 26-year-old who was studying medicine. "Now I want give something back. And as for all the stuff I have to do, it will be easier for me to accept my new situation. And the most important thing is: With this job, I still can be in contact with the sport, which I still love." For most of the nearly 200 club members, it was even a surprise that Wenk even showed up at the club's AGM. Just seven weeks ago, he was still lying on the intensive care unit. Doctors say that injuries like his often take an 18-month rehabilitation period, although his will probably take only three months. "The big support from a lot off my friends, and all the e-mails and letters from athletes all over the world, helped me so much," Wenk said. "They give me the power and will. Because of the hard recovery training, I had no time to write them all back and say thank you, but I haven't forgot all these wonderful people." Because life in a wheelchair is so expensive, Triathlon Club Zofingen has opened an account at Credit Suisse to help Wenk with his medical expenses. For those who want to make a donation, you can make wire transfers with the following information: CREDIT SUISSE "80-359-2", Clearing Nr. 521, CS Horgen, "Christian Wenk", 0521-338083-20-2. Those who want write an e-mail to Christian can do that on the homepage of Triathlon Club Zofingen (soon as well in English). The club has made a guestbook especially for Christian. Those wishing to send cards can mail them to: Christian Wenk, Spital Balgrist, Forchstrasse 340, 8008 Zürich, Switzerland. ----- Swiss federation gets sponsorship boost November 28, Zurich, Switzerland (www.slowtwitch.com): Trisuisse, the Swiss triathlon federation, has signed two major sponsorship contacts in the last few weeks -- one of which will support its athletes through 2004. AMAG, a Swiss importer of Volkswagen cars, is the new sponsor on board for the next four years. And Credit Suisse, the Swiss bank and already a longtime sponsor, extended its contract for two more years, through 2002. Both deals were announced at the federation's annual end-of-year celebration on November 11. The festivities were highlighted by the presence of Christian Wenk, the duathlete paralyzed in September and now in a wheelchair. He received a donation of SFr 10,000 from the Josef Vögeli foundation. Additionally, Swiss duathlete Dolorita Fuchs announced she was donating her prize of SFr 2000, from winning the Swiss Duathlon Cup, to Christian -- a decision well-applauded. ----- Johns, Lindley turn the field upside-down at Lausanne August 12, Lausanne, Switzerland (www.slowtwitch.com): Britain's Andrew Johns and America's Siri Lindley were the winners Saturday in the last of the ITU World Cups before the Olympics. But instead of helping stick a favorite's tag on anyone in advance of the September 16-17 Olympic triathlons, the results managed only to mix up the best of observers. The two hottest men of the season, Britain's Simon Lessing and Kazakstan's Dimitry Gaag, ended up dropping out. The man who won his world title in April, France's Olivier Marceau, finished 16th. There were 16 DNFs in the men's race, which finished 32. For women, there were 18 finishers and 7 DNFs. Those who didn't finish include five from Great Britain, including the Sydney-bound Julie Dibens and Sian Brice. The third Olympic triathlete for Britain, Scotland's Steph Forrester, didn't race in Lausanne. She stayed home and instead won the Scottish Championships at Gullane. Johns, who won in 1:56:40, was a four-second winner over an in-form Hamish Carter of New Zealand. Kiwi Craig Walton was another five seconds back. Lindley won in 2:05:23, 35 seconds clear of Switzerland's Brigitte McMahon. It was a redemption race for Lindley, who is only the Olympic alternate for the US team. Third last week in Tiszaujvaros in her what was her highest-finish ever in a World Cup, Lindley did herself two places better this week. Australia's Michellie Jones, considered the favorite for gold in Sydney, considering she will be racing in her home town, finished third here, 2:06:33. (RESULTS) ----- ITU World Cup-Lausanne draws pre-Olympics field August 9, Lausanne, Switzerland (www.slowtwitch.com): The best men's field this year will gather Sunday in Lausanne for the ITU World-Cup Lausanne, the last of the World Cups before the Olympic triathlons on September 16-17. The men are marked by France's current world champ, Oliver Marceau, who will race his first World Cup since winning his title in April, and Britain's Simon Lessing, the four-time former world champ. Those two will meet the Nos. 1-2-3-ranked men in the world, New Zealand's Hamish Carter; Kazakstan's Dimitry Gaag; and Britain's Andrew Johns. The women's race features top Australians Michellie Jones and Loretta Harrop; the three Swiss women who will race the Olympics -- Magali Messmer, Brigit McMahon and Sibylle Matter -- plus the three French who will also race in Sydney, Christine Hocq, Isabelle Mouthon and Beatrice Mouthon. The race will take place where the 1998 ITU World Championships were staged, taking advantage of the lakeside venue and city-centre streets. Juan Antonio Samaranch, the IOC president, is expected to be a guest of race officials for the Sunday afternoon event. Here are the starters: - Men from Australia (5): Jarrod Brauer, Trent Chapman, Paul Mackay, Chris McCormack, Troy McKinna - Men from Austria (3): Norbert Domnik, Johannes Enzenhofer, Bernhard Hiebl - Men from Belgium (1): Yves Coura - Men from Bulgaria (1): Boris Tanev - Men from Czech Republic (3): Martin Krnavek, Martin Matula, Jan Rehula - Men from Denmark (1): Ricky Jorgensen - Men from France (4): Stephan Bignet, Carl Blasco, Philippe Fattori, Olivier Marceau - Men from Germany (2): Torsten Abel, Martin Biehler - Men from Great Britain (7): Richard Allen, Craig Ball, Stuart Hayes, Marc Jenkins, Andrew Johns, Simon Lessing, Richard Stannard - Men from Italy (5): Stefano Belandi, Alessandro Bottoni, Andrea D'Aquino, Gianpietro DeFaveri, Fabrizio Ferraresi - Men from Kazakhstan (1): Dimitry Gaag - Men from Netherlands (3): Sander Berk, Raymond Lotz, Huib Rost - Men from Netherlands Antilles (1): Roland Melis - Men from New Zealand (9): Paul Amey, Hamish Carter, Bevan Docherty, Jamie Hunt, Kris Gemmell, Matthew Reed, Shane Reed, Byron Rhodes, Craig Watson - Men from Spain (6): Clemente Alonso, Jose Barbany, Hector Llanos, Xavier Llobet, Jose Merchan, Ivan Rana - Men from Sweden (2): Jonas Djurback, Joachim Willen - Men from Switzerland (7): Mikael Aigroz, Dominic Burren, Jean Christophe Guinchard, Reto Hug, Markus Keller, Dominik Rechsteiner, Reto Waeffler - Men from Yugoslavia (1): Charlie Slater-Iliskovick - Women from Australia (4): Tracy Hargreaves, Loretta Harrop, Rebekah Keat, Michellie Jones - Women from Austria (1): Jasmine Haemmerle - Women from France (3): Christine Hocq, Beatrice Mouthon, Isabelle Mouthon - Women from Belgium (2): Kathleen Smet, Mieke Suys - Women from Great Britain (5): Sian Brice, Julie Dibens, Michelle Dillon, Anneliese Heard, Heather Williams - Women from Italy (4): Edith Cigana, Nadia Cortassa, Silvia Gemignani, Manuela Ianesi - Women from Japan (1): Haruna Hosoya - Women from Luxembourg (1): Nancy Kemp-Arendt - Women from Netherlands (1): Wieke Hoogzaad - Women from New Zealand (1): Evelyn Williamson - Women from South Africa (1): Dominique Donner - Women from Spain (2): Maribel Blanco, Ana Burgos - Women from Switzerland (3): Sibylle Matter, Brigitte McMahon, Magali Messmer - Women from USA (1): Siri Lindley ----- No live TV for Lausanne World Cup after all July 29, Lausanne, Switzerland (www.slowtwitch.com): Eurosport, which is carrying all the ITU World Cups this season in a "lifestyle" format, had wanted to broadcast the ITU World Cup at Lausanne "live" on August 12. But when broadcasters and organizers couldn't work out the details, the biggest triathlon-TV plan of the season -- sort of a test event for Olympic triathlon coverage a month later -- was cancelled altogether. Now, coverage of Lausanne is reduced to an ordinary 30-minute summary for sometime in September or October. ITU officials had looked to Lausanne as a pre-Olympic gathering of stars. It was being touted as the most competitive World Cup of the season, in a year when World Cups have drawn dismal fields relative to the last three years. That still could happen, although Eurosport won't be there to cover it live. The problems began when Eurosport was trying to work around the 3pm start of one of the F-3000 autoraces elsewhere in the world. Eurosport has a contract with those races to broadcast all of them live. Eurosport asked Lausanne organizers to push back the triathlon's start from 3pm to noon. Both sides initially agreed with the new time, but later the organizers realized they couldn't further commit to the new arrangement for safety reasons (traffic, etc.). ----- Olympians line up for Swiss Championships June 17, Melide, Lugano, Switzerland (from www.slowtwitch.com correspondent Reinhard Standke): For Sunday's Swiss Triathlon Championships, all of the Olympic athletes - plus some still hoping to be confirmed for Syndey -- will be racing in the Triathlon del Ceresio, in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. Markus Keller and Magali Messmer are the defending champs. They will have challenges from Reto Hug, Jean-Christophe Guinchard, Peter Alder, Brigitte McMahon and Sibylle Matter. Keller, Hug, Messmer, McMahon are all confirmed for Sydney -- but Guinchard and Alder are battling to show selectors their form for the third men's spot. Hug is troubled by muscle inflammation in his shoulder, but will travel to the race and says he most probably will start. Also on Sunday, elsewhere, the traditional duathlon in Wald, near Zurich, will feature an international field for its 8k run, 30k bike, 4k run. Italy's Alessandro Alessandri will join the Swiss Christian Wenk, Daniel Keller and Susanne Rufer for the race. The event has been an ETU Duathlon Cup race in the past, but not this season. ------ Four Olympians confirmed so far for Switzerland May 18, Zurich, Switzerland (www.slowtwitch.com): Two men and two women -- Reto Hug, Markus Keller, Magali Messmer and Brigitte McMahon -- have been confirmed by tri Suisse, the Swiss federation, as its nominated Olympians. That was announced earlier this week at a federation press conference. A third Swiss man, Jean-Christoph Guinchard, may still be named to the team, provided he proves his fitness on July 8 with a top-15 finish at the European Triathlon Championships at Stein, Netherlands. Guinchard, currently ranked No. 40, was unable to compete in either of the selection races at Sydney (April 16) or Perth (April 30) because of a foot injury. Should Guinchard make the top-15 at Europeans, tri Suisse will evaluate the race's field strength before sending his nomination on to the Swiss Olympic Committee. Two more candidates, Peter Alder and Sibylle Matter, have been instructed to continue preparing alongside the Olympians, should any of them come up with injuries. Or, in the case of women, a third Olympic slot appears for Switzerland via the roll-down system. To gain Olympic nomination, Alder would have to achieve a top-15 performance, and Matter a top-12, in Stein. However, if Alder is top-15 in Stein, but not Guinchard, Alder will be named as the third man for Sydney. If both are in the top-15, Guinchard would have the first priority. If Alder beats Guinchard, then tri Suisse's selection commission will make a decision on which man travels to Sydney. Hug, best known as the 1999 European champion, is ranked No. 14, and finished 19th in the ITU World Championships at Perth. Keller, ranked No. 30, finished 20th in Perth. Guinchard, ranked as high as No. 13 at the end of 1999, has had his ranking fall to No. 40 this spring during his time out for injury. Alder, ranked No. 70, rose from No. 112 at the end of last year, largely to his win in the ITU Points Race at Forteleza, Brazil, in March. Messmer, the world No. 7, finished third in the ITU World Cup at Sydney and 12th in the World Championships. McMahon, ranked No. 24, finished second in Sydney and eighth in the World Championships. Matter, whose medical studies curtailed her racing for the last few seasons, achieved a world rank of No. 84 and, in Perth, a 39th-place finish at Worlds. ------ Badmann concedes on Olympic dream April 24, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com): Switzerland’s Natascha Badmann, once the European triathlon champion (1997), twice the Powerman Zofingen champion (1996, 1997) and later the Hawaii Ironman champion (1998), has dropped her dream of becoming an Olympian. She made the announcement at a press conference at the Swiss team’s training camp, two days before the rest of the triathletes are moving on the Perth for Sunday’s World Championships. Rather than race in Perth, Badmann is heading for home. A flat tire last Sunday in the race at Noumea, New Caledonia, kept her from finishing and moving up in the rankings. She had hoped to pick up enough points to help Switzerland regain a third Olympic slot. With just two for Switzerland currently, she is decidedly well behind the pace of two higher-ranked Swiss, Magali Messmer (No. 6) and Brigitte McMahon (No. 29). Those two are particularly on-form at a crucial point in Switzerland’s Olympic-selection process. McMahon and Messmer were the second- and third-place finishers on April 16 - behind Australia’s Michellie Jones - in the ITU World Cup in Sydney. Badmann, currently ranked No. 64, finished 41st -- and out of the points -- in that race. Badmann, named Switzerland’s “Sportswoman of the Year” in 1998 for her Hawaii Ironman accomplishment, is clearly more effective at the endurance races. By switching off the Olympic track, she will now concentrate on long-distance racing again. First on her calendar is the Powerman Zofingen on May 20. And possibly on her calendar is the ITU World Long-Distance Championships at Nice on June 18. "I did an awful lot of swim training, but still couldn't follow the world’s elite at the Olympic distance,” Badmann said. Indeed, she had trailed the leaders by 2:51 in the ITU World Cup at Kona, and by 4:55 in Sydney. With the swim portion becoming a more critical portion of Olympic-format racing, Badmann said, she couldn’t take advantage of her better abilities in the cycle and run disciplines -- particularly in drafting races. She added that she felt that with drafting in the Olympic-distance, a new sport had been born. Even as late as 1999, Badmann and Toni Hasler, her coach and partner, felt that she could bring her swimming back in line with the rest of the world’s elites. In 1995, when other women were just getting familiar with drafting skills, Badmann had finished sixth in the ITU World Triathlon Championships in Cancun. Immediately after announcing her intentions, Badmann started training for the Zofingen race. She wished the Swiss girls good luck in the World and European Championships, and the Olympics, then went out for a 45-minute run and three-and-a-half hours on the bike. ------ Anne-Marie Gschwend now tri Suisse president January 21, Zurich, Switzerland (www.slowtwitch.com): Anne-Marie Gschwend, formerly the race director for the ITU World Cup in Zurich (1998) and the Frauentriathlon (for women only) in Zurich (1994-1998), has been elected president of the Swiss triathlon federation -- "tri Suisse". She is the first woman to lead tri Suisse as its president. She was elected at the federation's special meeting, made necessary by the resignation in October of Mario Chirico, the previous president, for personal reasons. Tri Suisse's usual annual general meeting is scheduled for April 1. In other news out of meeting, two long-time sponsors of the federation, Henniez and Alpina, concluded their contracts. Credit Suisse and Reebok continue as the federation's major sponsors, along with ECR Pharma, their new sponsor. (Related Story) ------ Anne-Marie Gschwend nominated for TriSuisse presidency Anne-Marie Gschwend has been announced as a candidate for the vacant presidency of the Swiss Triathlon Federation.
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