No. 112 Robertson is first Aussie Olympian

April 16, Sydney, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):

Peter Robertson -- so overlooked before Sunday’s ITU World Cup that no one interviewed him -- rescued the reputation of the Australian men when he ran from the pack to land the Olympic spot on offer to the winning Australian man.

Robertson, ranked No. 112 in the world going into the race, was only the 14th-best triathlete on the Aussie form chart. He had earned his place on the World Cup starting line when he beat Brad Beven for the Oceania title last January 3.

Sunday, the race was supposed to go to the more fancied Australians -- Brad Beven and Miles Stewart, both fighting to gain the inside-track on Olympic selection; Greg Bennett, last year’s winner at Sydney; and Chris McCormack, resurgent and ready to show his 1997 world-championship form.

But none of them featured. In fact, Beven didn’t even start, having been hospitalized on Saturday afternoon when he was hit on his bike in city-center Sydney while training. Stewart did start, but only after pressure from Triathlon Australia selectors, in spite of a sorely infected throat condition. Stewart ended up DNFing on the swim, racing long enough (500m) to put up a show of goodwill.

As for McCormack and Bennett, both well-confident heading in, they sputtered (McCormack, 20th) and stalled (Bennett, DNF). The second Australian home was the upstart Courtney Atkinson in 14th, racing just his first senior season after winning the ITU World Junior Championships last September.

So the men’s selection scenario is all in disarray as the triathlon circus now sets up in Perth for the Worlds on April 30. The Australians were upstaged by the Europeans, who took six of the top-10 places. Germany’s Stefan Vuckovic and Ukraine’s Vladimir Polikarpenko -- hardly on anyone’s list of favorites, either -- were the 2-3 finishers behind Robertson. Spain’s Eneko Llanos -- another rising surprise -- was fourth.

For New Zealand, Ben Bright (5th), Craig Watson (6th) and Jamie Hunt (8th) were the top finishers on a day when world No. 1 Hamish Carter and No. 13 Shane Reed were expected to finish well. But Reed took 23rd and Carter was a disappointing 32nd.

Robertson, 25, emerged as race leader during the first 5k of the run. He says he went into the race with little pressure and only his own expectations to uphold. His only previous World Cup experience resulted in a 52nd-place finish in Cancun last October.

From Victoria, he spent last summer racing for a German team, even winning one of the Bundesliga races. He made for himself at home by winning one round of each of the last two St. George Formula 1 Series races.

He was seventh in the Australian Championships on March 26. But now he’s Australia’s first Olympic male, leaving the other bigger names to scramble for the other spots in Perth.

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Home-grown Jones is Sydney’s World Cup heroine

April 16, Sydney, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com): With her Cronulla-based family watching from the crowd, Michellie Jones secured the first of Australia’s three Olympic spots by winning the ITU World Cup on Sydney.

Jones, the world No. 1 and an incredibly consistent international racer the last dozen years, was a magnificent first. But that was about all that went according to form in Sunday’s race.

It was supposed to be the Olympic organisers’ Test Event, but now SOCOG can only hope that it doesn’t rain again on September 16, the Olympics’ opening day, for the Olympics’ opening event. A rain-splashed morning meant there were some nasty crashes on the very testing, technical bike course in the women’s race.

It was also supposed to be a showcase event for the Australian talent pool, but that image was dashed when a pair of Swiss women, Brigitte McMahon and Magali Messmer, finished in second and third behind Jones, 10 and 15 seconds back respectively. European women, in fact, took six of the first 10 places.

Aussie national champ Nicole Hackett, all of 21 years old, recovered from a spill on the bike to finish sixth overall, second Australian. But there was no show of force like last September, when the Aussie women finished 1-2-3-4-5 in the 1999 World Championships at Montreal. Today, the Australian women struggled as they each raced their own race, with Olympic qualification on the line.

Joanne King (11th), Emma Carney (13th), Melissa Ashton (15th), Jackie Gallagher (24th), Sally Carter (32nd), Tracy Hargreaves (38th) all finished further down the 44-finisher field than they would have liked, Gallagher especially.

DNFs were recorded by Rebekah Keat, who crashed on her bike, and Loretta Harrop, who said she was pressured to start by Triathlon Australia in spite of her limp knee. Her injury has been already taken into consideration by TA selectors, who face the dilemma of naming an Olympic team of three following this race and the ITU World Championships in Perth on April 30.

Jones’ place back in Sydney in September, however, is secure. She gained her advantage on the bike leg when race leaders Hackett and American Barb Lindquist -- who have spent the Australian summer training together -- crashed in the rain.

Her win was as predictable as Peter Robertson’s win in the men’s race -- after the rain had stopped -- was shocking.

Though Jones, 30, doesn’t have any recent world titles (she won her two in 1992 and 1993), and though she was only fourth last September in Montreal Worlds, she has history and a hometown advantage on her side. She grew up in the Sydney suburb of Cronulla, and won in the Sydney World Cup last year. She has finished on the podium in 10 of her last 12 ITU World Cup races.

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Sydney: Beven out; Harrop, Stewart in

April 15, Sydney, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):

Here’s the latest lineup for the Australian team for Sunday’s ever-critical ITU World Cup in Sydney: Brad Beven is out, but Loretta Harrop and Miles Stewart are in again. Got that?

The Australian Associated Press has reported that Beven is out of the race, having been hit by a car while training on his bike, and that Harrop (knee injury) and Stewart (throat infection) are going to defy their ailments and make a start after all.

The pre-race conditions of both Harrop, world No. 2, and Stewart, world No. 10, had been reviewed and excused by Triathlon Australia. The federation is basing its Olympic selections on the results of this and the April 30 World Championships races.

Had either Harrop or Stewart elected not to start, TA would take into consideration their 1999 and 2000 seasons, as well as their career achievements, in making its difficult selection decisions. The two must have both decided that to start, and hope to race well in spite of their ailments, would be better than missing the race altogether.

Beven, however, is a late unfortunate pullout after his afternoon accident on Saturday in downtown Sydney. He suffered 'significant' rib injuries, and is undergoing further tests at a Sydney hospital.

With a world ranking of No. 31, as just the seventh-ranked Aussie, Beven has acknowledged he was an outside shot for making the Olympics. But his determination is legendary, and he had pinned his hopes on this race and Perth Worlds at impressing the selectors.

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Sydney World Cup is biggest triathlon -- ever

April 14, Sydney, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):

Sunday's ITU World Cup in Sydney is the official "Test Event" for the Olympics. But in the context of triathlon's relatively short history, it also stacks up as the most competitive triathlon ever.

The fields assembled are simply the best -- quite possibly even bigger and better than the actual Olympic races over the same course on September 16 and 17.

All this World Cup is missing are the current world champions, Australia's Loretta Harrop and Kazakstan's Dimitry Gaag, as well as Britain's Simon Lessing, the runner-up to Gaag in the 1990 World Championship (and himself a three-time world champion in Olympic-distance racing).

But in terms of depth, the quality of the field doesn't lack for anything. While the Olympics will be limited to three women and three men for the top countries, the top federations have filled their slots in this World Cup to capacity.

That is, there are nine Australian women, and eight Australian men, lining up. (Harrop would have been a capacity-topping 10th, if she hadn't withdrawn earlier this week for an injured knee). There are nine American women and seven American men. (The ninth woman, Sheila Taormina, was allowed in by a special exception to the 8-racer limit, except for the host country's 10-racer rule. An eighth US man, Joe Umphenour, has withdrawn because of a recent bike-truck collision).

A few others who are capable of winning are also not entered: Miles Stewart, Australia's most on-form triathlete this season (and winner of the national championships on March 26), has withdrawn because of a throat infection. New Zealand's Rina Hill, winner of the ITU World Cup in Ishigaki last weekend - racing just days after the death of her father - is passing on the race in order to spend time with her family.

The race has added pressure for the Australians and Americans, whose federations are using the event as one of two "Olympic Trials" selection races. An Olympic slot goes to any Australian who wins outright, and to the top U.S. woman. The top U.S. man in Sydney will advance to the Olympics only if the American men end up with two or more slots -- a likely occurrence - when the country slots are counted up on the ITU's May 1 points-cutoff date.

The favorites are, naturally, the Australians, who have so much to gain on their home course. Greg Bennett, who won last year's race, and Chris McCormack, are considered the men to beat.

They are confident, too. McCormack told the Australian Associated Press that the course is ideal for the Aussies, adding: "The Europeans won't know what hit them."

The women's race is likely to go to one of the four ex-world champ Aussies who are racing -- Michellie Jones, Jackie Gallagher, Emma Carney and Joanne King. As for a race-within-a-race, new national champ Nicole Hackett is hoping to beat Melissa Ashton, the Oceania champ, to gain that sixth and last spot for the 6-member World Championships team for Australia.

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Sharks in Sydney: Blame it on the Americans!

April 14, Sydney, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):

Organizers of Sunday’s ITU World Cup have arranged for a “shark shield” to deflect any possible attacks during the swim portion of the race. Although the odds of an actual attack or even a shark sighting are next to nil, the organizers are taking the steps to allay fears expressed by international competitors -- particularly the Americans and the Danes.

So, in a most unusual step, divers riding underwater scooters will use sonar pods to keep sharks at bay, when the triathletes are swimming for 17 or 20 minutes in Sydney Harbour.

Event manager David Hansen told newspapers earlier this week: "We don't see sharks as a problem. This is simply a security blanket for the overseas competitors. The Americans and Danes, in particular, were worried."

The historical statistics don’t appease the Americans, either. A report commissioned by the Sydney Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games shows there has not been a shark attack in Sydney Harbor in 208 years from May to November, and only one in April.

However, the "shark squad" will also be in place during the Olympic races
on September 16-17.

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Now Miles Stewart is out of Sydney

April 14, Sydney, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):

The last-minute withdrawal for Sunday’s ITU World Cup race of Miles Stewart, Australia’s national champion and most on-form triathlete, promises to create an even bigger dilemma for Australia’s selectors.

Just as Loretta Harrop’s withdrawal from the race for a lingering knee injury has made things difficult on the women’s side, selectors will now have to deal with Stewart’s non-appearance among Australia’s top men.

Stewart is a non-starter after a throat condition made it impossible for him to leaving his home in the Gold Coast and travel to Sydney. The race -- the most important one on the Australian calendar this spring -- is one of two that Aussie selectors are determining their Olympic team from.

Stewart took steps to ensure his Olympic candidacy won’t be harmed, given his absence in the race that weighs even more heavily than the April 30. He was the clear race favorite until his sudden withdrawal.

Both Stewart and Harrop are protected by excused absences due to either injury or illness. However, they effectively have halved their direct chances to gain hotly-contested Olympic status by missing a race that, if they win outright, they are automatic Olympians.

Noted Louise Evans in the Sydney Morning Herald: “Their absence opens the door for outsiders such as national champion Nicole Hackett and Oceania title-holder Peter Robertson to rise above their better-credentialled peers and grasp an Olympic berth.”

Stewart’s coach and father, Col Stewart, told the paper: "He's in a pretty bad way, he's sick, and even sicker about the thought of not racing. But he can't even travel, let alone start. He's not a soft athlete. He has sores all over his face. He is very worried about how this will affect his selection chances, but why should it?"

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Injured Harrop unlikely to race Sydney

April 11, Sydney, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):

Loretta Harrop, the world’s most-winning triathlete last year, is in danger of missing the Olympics by probably not suiting up for the ITU World Cup at Sydney on Sunday.

Australia’s Harrop, ranked No. 2, has been hampered by a knee injury and unable to run for the last three weeks, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Tuesday.

By missing the World Cup, she misses the more important of Australia’s two Olympic-selection races. She missed the March 30 Australian Championships because of bursitis, which has since kept her from both cycling and running. She has maintained her fitness only by swimming.

She has been trying to train in Christchurch, New Zealand, according to the newspaper, and will today consult a specialist before formally withdrawing from Sunday’s race.

The World Cup is a critical selection event for Australians. Ten women will start, and of those, six will move on to a second selection race in the Perth World Championships on April 30. Harrop, as the defending world champion, has already been selected to race in Perth -- if she is ready.

Triathlon Australia’s Olympic selection focuses largely on those two races, with the Sydney race -- over the Olympic course, with wetsuits -- weighing more heavily. If an Australian wins the Sydney or Perth races outright, Olympic selection is automatic. If no Australian wins in either city, the selection of the three female and three male Olympians will be made based on a combination of results out of the two races, plus a consideration of the athletes’ careers.

Tim Wilson, director of Triathlon Australia, told Herald reporter Louise Evans: "Any athlete who fails to front in Sydney puts themselves in a difficult position for selection. We have to bring
the athletes together.

“They are so close in their rankings and performance levels that
we really need head-to-head competition over the specific
Olympic course.”

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Field nearly all set for Sydney World Cup

March 31, Sydney, Australia (www.slowtwitch.com):

The ITU has determined most of the starters for the Sydney World Cup on April 16 -- with starting spots here the most coveted World Cup starting positions of the whole year.

The ITU has named 70 men and 71 women, so far, for the 75/75 positions. There are an additional 27 men who have requested a start, and the field will be filled out following Saturday’s ITU World Cup at Kona.

Two wild card slots will be awarded, and invitations will also go to the 1-2 finishers from the 1999 Junior World Championships (Courtney Atkinson, AUS, and Christian Weimer, GER; Anneliese Heard, GBR, and Nicola Spirig, SUI).

Not only is this race an Olympic qualifier for a few countries, but it is also a virtual replication of the Olympic event. SOCOG (the Sydney Organizing Committee) has named it an Olympic Test Event, which every sport must have in advance of the Olympics.

The 70 men so far (with ITU rankings following their names):
- Men from Argentina: Daniel Fontana (62), Oscar Galindez (23)
- Men from Australia: Greg Bennett (4), Brad Beven (27), Chris Hill (10), Chris McCormack (5), Miles Stewart (9), Craig Walton (12)
- Men from Brazil: Leandro Macedo (26), Alexandre Manzan (58), Juracy Moreira (35)
- Men from Colombia: Ricardo Cardeno (83)
- Men from Czech Republic: Martin Krnavek (19), Filip Ospaly (38), Jan Rehula (11)
- Men from Denmark: Jan Hansen (25)
- Men from France: Sebastien Berlier (43), Stephan Bignet (39), Carl Blasco (55), Philippe Fattori (16), Laurent Jeanselme (30), Olivier Marceau (34)
- Men from Germany: Ralf Eggert (36), Markus Forster (95), Lothar Leder (57), Stefan Vuckovic (52)
- Men from Great Britain: Richard Allen (74), Andrew Johns (3)
- Men from Greece: Vassilis Krommidas (100)
- Men from Hungary: Csaba Kuttor (37)
- Men from Kazakstan: Dimitry Gaag (1)* (*has indicated he won't be racing)
- Men from Mexico: Eligio Cervantes (66), Arturo Garza (84), Javier Rosas (42), Uzziel Valderrabano (46), Jose Luis Zepeda (77)
- Men from Netherlands: Rob Barel (68), Dennis Looze (56), Eric van der Linden (33)
- Men from Netherlands Antilles: Roland Melis (59)
- Men from New Zealand: Paul Amey (32), Ben Bright (79), Hamish Carter (2), Jamie Hunt (17), Matthew Reed (51), Shane Reed (13), Craig Watson (21)
- Men from South Africa: Conrad Stoltz (20), Greg von Holdt (97)
- Men from Spain: Jose Barbany (43), Eneko Llanos (24), Hector Llanos (50), Jose Merchan (41), Ivan Rana (69)
- Men from Sweden: Jonas Djurback (93), Joachim Willen (54)
- Men from Switzerland: Peter Alder (63), Jean Christophe Guinchard (31), Markus Keller (22)
- Men from Ukraine: Andrey Gluschenko (29), Vladimir Polikarpenko (15)
- Men from United States: Tony DeBoom (88), Wes Hobson (70), Hunter Kemper (47), Victor Plata (75), Nick Radkewich (40), Michael Smedley (72), Joe Umphenour (91)
- Men from Venezuela: Gilberto Gonzalez (8)

- Women from Australia: Melissa Ashton (33), Emma Carney (4), Sally Carter (no ranking), Jackie Gallagher (3), Nicole Hackett (25), Tracy Hargreaves (23), Loretta Harrop (2), Michellie Jones (2), Rebekah Keat (98), Joanne King (6)
- Women from Austria: Jasmine Haemmerle (55)
- Women from Belgium: Kathleen Smet (44), Mieke Suys (10)
- Women from Brazil: Gisele Bertucci (264), Carla Moreno (48), Mariana Ohata (15), Sandra Soldon (30)
- Women from Canada: Isabelle Baird (61), Sharon Donnelly (18), Carol Montgomery (22)
- Women from Colombia: Carmenza Morales (40)
- Women from Czech Republic: Renata Berkova (88)
- Women from Denmark: Marie Overbye (29),
- Women from France: Christine Hocq (36), Beatrice Mouthon (9), Isabelle Mouthon (38)
- Women from Germany: Anja Dittmer (21), Ines Estedt (65), Joelle Franzmann (66), Ute Mueckel (92), Katja Schumacher (107)
- Women from Great Britain: Sian Brice (12), Leanda Cave (71), Michelle Dillon (34), Beth Thomson (83)
- Women from Hungary: Nora Edosceny (42), Aniko Gog (75), Erika Molnar (11)
- women from Italy: Manuela Ianesi (74)
- Women from Japan: Machiko Nakanishi (47)
- Women from Luxembourg: Nancy Kemp-Arendt (46)
- Women from Mexico: Maria Luisa Martinez (68), Carmen Ochoa (73)
- Women from Netherlands: Lucienne Groeneendijk (59), Wieke Hoogzaad (31), Silvia Pepels (56), Ingrid Van Lubek (39)
- Women from New Zealand: Shanelle Barrett (100), Rina Hill (7), Jenny Rose (32), Evelyn Williamson (26)
- Women from Russia: Nina Anisimova (70), Anna Ivanova (no ranking)
- Women from South Africa: Kim Carter (52), Dominique Donner (54), Lizel Moore (34)
- Women from Spain: Virginia Berasategui (53), Maribel Blanco (29)
- Women from Switzerland: Natascha Badmann (60), Sybille Matter (84), Brigitte McMahon (56), Magali Messmer (6)
- Women from United States: Susan Bartholomew (24), Jennifer Gutierrez (14), Gail Laurence (28), Siri Lindley (16), Barb Lindquist (5), Jill Newman (20), Laura Reback (37), Karen Smyers (41), Sheila Taormina (64)