Triathlon Digest: Vol. 5, No. 159
Proudly Supported by Saucony. Loyal to the Sport. Visit
http://www.saucony.com Published by Katherine Williams
(mailto:KWilli
...@TriathlonCentral.com)
A compilation of what the triathlon world is talking about on
Thursday, June 7, 2001:
1. ETU announces live TV coverage for European Triathlon Championships
(from ETU press release)
2. CBC Sports plans a one-hour broadcast of ITU World Cup-Corner Brook
(from Roger Hulan, Canada)
3. Comments on swimming in the cold (from Sarah Springman, Britain)
4. "A Message from USA Triathlon" -- about the Lake Placid triathlon
(from USAT press release)
5. Full list of elite finishers with splits from Shreveport (from website)
6. Tim Carlson sorts out the potential USA team for Worlds (from Insidetri.com)
7. Article reference on USAT's new training center (from USA Today)
8. Maik Petzold, Anja Heil win Darmstadt sprint race (from Dirk
Kantlhner, Germany)
9. Triathlon Quotes -- Goodwill Games spokesman about the triathlon
CONGRATULATIONS: News from Simon and Lisa Lessing
(mailto:lisaless...@aol.com): "Amélie Alexandra Lessing was born in Bath
on the 5th of June at 9:27 am to her very proud parents, Simon and Lisa.
Quote from Lisa: "She is so cute, it was worth the 12 hours of labour."
Quote from Simon: "She is the most beautiful little girl in the whole world!"
The finer points:
Weight is 8.8 pounds. Length is 58cm. Complexion is the same as her
father. Her hair is brown.
--------------------
1. LIVE TV FOR EUROPEANS: From the ETU website (http://www.etu.org):
Following detailed negotiations with television partners at
Eurosport, the European Triathlon Union is delighted to announce that
the ETU European Championships will be televised live this year. It
means that the men's final at Carlsbad, Czech Republic, on June 23
will be the only triathlon to receive Europe-wide live television
coverage this year.
This important development also means that the ETU European
Championships will be the first triathlon to receive live
international television coverage since the Olympic Games in Sydney.
Europeans figured prominently in both men's and women's races at the
Sydney Games. Among those expected to contest the men's race in
Carlsbad is Germany's Olympic silver medal-winner, Stephan Vuckovic.
Also among the provisional entries is Andrew Johns, the defending
champion, and Spencer Smith, a former world and European champion,
both from Britain, plus Belgium's Luc van Lierde, winner of the
European title in 1998, the year he set the course record in the
world-famous Hawaii Ironman. Olivier Marceau, the world champion, is
expected to head a strong French team, in what is building towards
being among the most competitive triathlons of the year.
"The ETU is delighted that its premier event is to be broadcast live
on Eurosport, Europe’s premier sports broadcaster," Mike Miller, the
ETU's television consultant, said.
"The decision to televise the event live was taken after lengthy
discussions and planning with Czech TV, the host broadcasters.
Carlsbad offers an extremely tough and exciting course. But as well
as presenting problems for the athletes, the course provides special
challenges for the broadcaster. Runaway TV, a specialist triathlon
television production company, has been brought in to assist both the
ETU and Czech TV to ensure that viewers and triathlon fans get the
best possible coverage of Europe’s top race," Miller said.
"Eurosport is broadcasting the ITU World Championships and the ETU
European Championships this year," said Eurosport’s Nick Ridley.
"Where possible, it is our aim is to broadcast the premier events in
all sports. Therefore, we feel that by broadcasting these two events
in 2001 we will achieve this with triathlon."
For further information:
Mike Miller, ETU television consultant, on + 44 442 842-644
--------------------
2. CBC TO AIR CORNER BROOK: News from Roger Hulan
(mailto:market...@nfld.net), PR/promotions manager for the Corner Brook
Triathlon:
Canada’s national broadcasting corporation, the CBC, will air the 2001
Corner Brook Triathlon World Cup on August 18th at 12 p.m. ET. The race,
scheduled for Sunday, July 29th, will be condensed into a one-hour
version, consisting of both the men and women’s World Cup events in
Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada.
Allen Vansen, Corner Brook Triathlon's general manager, says the CBC
production will combine the longstanding broadcast quality of the CBC
with the youthful energy of triathlon and "tri-fest 2001".
"CBC Sports marks a milestone in the history of the Corner Brook
Triathlon," Vansen said. "It is fitting that 2001 will mark our 20th
anniversary of triathlon sporting events in Corner Brook and our
inaugural broadcast on CBC Sports Saturday.
"The CBC Sports broadcast signifies our commitment to providing
increased awareness of our corporate and funding partners to a national
and international audience. Ninety-nine percent of all Canadian
households can watch a one-hour program which highlights Corner Brook
and Newfoundland’s 'Natural, Extreme, and Incredible' landscape, people
and culture."
Tri-fest 2001 will mark the 20th anniversary of The Corner Brook
Triathlon and the fourth straight ITU World Cup here. Following the
success of last year, tri-fest 2001 will bring back a number of athlete
and crowd favorites such as: the NewTel Downtown Dash (July 26th), Swim
Relay (July 27th) and Colemans Kids of Steel (July 28th). To start the
festivities, the city of Corner Brook will host its annual Celebration
of Summer on Wednesday, July 25th.
--------------------
3. COMMENTS ON SWIMMING IN THE COLD: From Britain's Sarah Springman
(mailto:spring...@igt.baug.ethz.ch):
I have many fond memories of an amazing triathlon relay between London
and Paris which I was fortunate enough to take part in in 1984. This was
a
crazy idea of the first person to bring mass triathlon to GB -- Mike
Ellis -- and was in pre-wetsuit times. The swim section naturally included
crossing the English Channel (with the exception of the 5 miles roughly forming
the French shipping lanes). To prepare I would train in our local
100-yard
pool (!) in Cambridge when it opened at Easter. Of course I was the only
nutter since the temperature was 48-degrees Fahrenheit, and I tried to
swim one more length each time I went in. I was always hypothermic on
emergence and could hardly get dressed, but a 'nice cup of tea' kindly
supplied by
the pool attendant soon sorted out the body temperature.
The race itself took place at the beginning of June, official sea
temperature was 53 degrees F. My team had been hurriedly assembled
(since previous candidates magically withdrew in the last two months) and
included British long distance swimmer Juliet Smith, and two mainly
runners, Fran
Ashmole and Brenda Yule.
Race rules were that each team member had to survive a minimum of 15
minutes x 2 in the water in total (so that someone couldn't escape their
marine duty) and that if it wasn't possible to finish the swim, then a
huge time penalty would be awarded and the team would be permitted to
continue on the bike section in France. The rest of us were on an
accompanying
fishing trawler - but in open air - no cover ... but it provided a
useful if short rest while we traversed the French shipping lanes.
Suffice to say that the female bodyfat helped us just a bit and out of
11 teams we finished the swim (and hence also the final classification)
ahead of the British Royal Navy, the Royal Airforce and the Jordan's
team (Bill J
as in cereal and muesli, not the racing cars), all of whom collected these
large time penalties for not finishing all of the swim section. The
British
Men's team containing among other luminaries, Steve Trew, as well as the
US Navy Seals, were the two teams who found the sea too cold or the
seasickness too much to cope with and had to abort pretty early on.
What will always remain in my memory though was the teamwork. Those who
were stronger in a particular section mucked into to help the rest and
our support team was just amazing. Those familiar with Wimbledon Football
Club will know they have a reputation of being 'hard' footballers, but
their
physio of the time joined us for the weekend to sort out our aches and
pains. When she declared that 'her' footballers were wimps in
comparison with us very amateur endurance athletes, it caused a wry
smile or two!
It was a wonderful experience - although I am now quite happy that we
can use wetsuits when the water is that cold!!
--------------------
4. A MESSAGE FROM USA TRIATHLON: Released on Wednesday afternoon from
USA Triathlon, and included, below, in full:
A Message from USA Triathlon
USA Triathlon would like to thank all those who competed at the Mrs. T's
Pierogies USA Triathlon World Championship Qualifier on Sunday (June 3)
in Lake Placid, N.Y. We have heard from many of you that the race was a
good experience.
We would also like to apologize for the inconveniences that were caused
by our changing the race format mid-week before the race. While we
always had the best interests of the athletes at heart, and wanted to
put on the best and safest race possible, we realize that our decision
to turn the race into a duathlon inconvenienced and upset some of our members.
The Lake Placid race was used in association with last year's USA
Triathlon National Age-Group Championship to qualify our age group
athletes for the world championships in Edmonton, Canada. The Lake
Placid race was scheduled in early June because we only have a short
window to process applications and uniform fulfillment for those
representing the United States at Worlds.
Weather presented a challenge. As our crew arrived in Lake Placid last
Wednesday, it was snowing, and the ambient air temp was 29 degrees F.
The next morning we measured the water temp at race start time at 57
degrees F. Our medical team director cautioned us that swimming in that
temperature would be extremely hazardous. All weather agencies were
predicting a Saturday race start air temperature of 46 degrees F and
heavy rain.
The race organizers and USA Triathlon staff gathered Thursday morning
and determined that a triathlon was out of the question. An e-mail was
sent to all participants advising them of the situation, and news
releases were posted to the USAT website and the race website. That
evening, we experienced heavy frost and a low air temp of 29 degrees F.
The next morning (Friday) the water temperature was 56 degrees F.
On Friday morning, at race start time, we experimented with two athletes
(a 25-year-old female and a 60-year-old male) to measure the effects of
hypothermia. The woman was in the water 22 minutes and the man 28
minutes. Both experienced evident hypothermic symptoms. The swim was a
concern. However, the bigger concern was athletes getting out of the
56-degree water and getting on their bikes for a downhill ride for the
first 20K of the bike leg, especially if there was going to be heavy
rain and 46-degree air temperature at the start on Saturday. However,
throughout the day on Friday, the air temperature warmed and the weather
folks were predicting higher temperatures for Saturday's race start time
(50-55 degrees).
Later Friday morning, a committee consisting of USA Triathlon President
Mike Highfield, Deputy Director Tim Yount, Executive Director Steve
Locke, USAT-certified coach Hank Lange and the local race organizers
gathered and decided upon an abbreviated swim (500m), instead of the
duathlon previously announced. The committee felt strongly that since
the event was a qualifier for the world championships, a swim leg was
essential. We did realize that there could be a problem with wetsuits,
as the announcement had gone out announcing the duathlon format. Thanks
to USA Triathlon President Mike Highfield, a system was organized for
wetsuit-sharing. We also used a number of Ironman wetsuits through our
sponsorship with Ironman Wetsuits, Inc. In the end, everyone needing a
wetsuit was provided one.
In retrospect, USA Triathlon made an error in announcing the duathlon
mid-week, and we take full responsibility for that. It was meant to give
athletes a heads-up coming into Lake Placid, but it ended up causing
confusion, inconvenience and some bad feelings. For that, we apologize.
In the end, the race itself turned out to be superb. Terry Smallin, the
race director, and his committee and volunteers did a great job. USAT
Marketing Director Tom Ziebart should be thanked for all his efforts in
the months leading up to the race.
--------------------
5. FULL ELITE RESULTS FROM SHREVEPORT: Here are results and splits from
last Sunday's ITU Points Race at Shreveport, Louisiana -- site of USAT's
selection race for Worlds next month.
Men -
1. Eligio Cervantes MEX 1:50:08 (19:59, 56:36, 32:19)
2. Marc Lees AUS 1:50:19 (19:56, 55:36, 33:45)
3. Joe Umphenour USA 1:50:47 (19:46, 56:54, 33:02)
4. Hunter Kemper USA 1:51:04 (19:50, 55:41, 34:26)
5. Andrew Kelsey USA 1:51:18 (20:16, 56:29, 33:21)
6. Brian Fleischmann USA 1:51:31 (20:34, 56:05, 33:39)
7. Brent Perdrizet USA 1:51:41 (20:45, 55:51, 33:50)
8. Monte Still USA 1:51:55 (21:36, 55:07, 33:52)
9. Rory Mackie ZIM 1:52:09 (21:19, 55:19, 34:23)
10. Jose Zepeda MEX 1:52:15 (19:57, 56:41, 34:19)
11. Greg Bennett AUS 1:52:17
12. Jeremiah Mushen USA 1:52:44 (21:18, 55:23, 34:44)
13. Eric Bean USA 1:53:10 (20:49, 55:44, 35:20)
14. Mathieu Dube CAN 1:53:24 (21:12, 55:22, 35:38)
15. Jim Carothers USA 1:53:53 (21:30, 55:03, 36:05)
16. Paul Fritsche USA 1:54:05 (20:43, 55:50, 36:11)
17. Rafael Fiallo VEN 1:54:09 (20:16, 56:26, 36:12)
18. Andy Johnson USA 1:54:25 (21:32, 55:12, 36:25)
19. Otto Bell BAH 1:54:41 (21:35, 55:08, 36:45)
20. Michael Smedley USA 1:55:12 (--, 56:47, 37:18)
21. Mark Fretta USA 1:55:14
22. Abe Rogers USA 1:56:58
23. Kevin Doherty USA 1:57:00
24. Todd Struckman USA 1:57:10
25. David Dornaus USA 1:57:45
26. Brian Lavelle USA 1:58:14
27. Lee O'Connor USA 1:58:32
28. Nick Radkewich USA 1:59:17
29. Greg Remaly USA 2:00:19
30. Brent Lorenzen USA 2:01:41
31. Daniel Watson AUS 2:04:14
32. Ian Ray USA 2:04:37
33. Todd Gerlach USA 2:05:16
34. Joseph Curro USA 2:06:40
35. Brandon Marsh USA 2:06:59
36. Timothy Marek USA 2:07:44
37. Kaley Parkinson USA 2:07:47
38. Bill Shirer USA 2:07:52
39. Kevin Rawley USA 2:08:58
40. Mark Welsh USA 2:09:20
41. Sean Galagher 2:09:35
42. Martin Krnavek CZE 2:09:36
Also:
48. Jimmy Archer USA 2:12:57
49. Steve Senier USA 2:12:57
DNFs: Victor Plata.
Women -
1. Joanna Zeiger USA 1:59:45 (20:26, 1:01:07, 36:48)
2. Laura Reback USA 1:59:45 (20:22, 1:01:08, 37:30)
3. Barb Lindquist USA 2:00:35 (20:21, 1:01:12, 37:43)
4. Jennifer Gutierrez USA 2:01:25 (20:27, 1:01:05, 38:36)
5. Sheila Taormina USA 2:02:43 (20:23, 1:01:09, 39:53)
6. Becky Gibbs USA 2:03:02 (20:28, 1;01:04, 40:07)
7. Julie Pittsinger USA 2:09:55 (21:52, 1:05:36, 40:53)
8. Laurie Hug USA 2:10:00 (20:25, 1;05:25, 42:43)
9. Jessi Stensland USA 2:10:27 (23:24, 1:05:51, 39:50)
10. Alison Hayden USA 2:10:40 (22:01, 1:05:31, 41:40)
11. Gi.Derks Gardner USA 2:11:21 (21:38, 1:05:57, 42:20)
12. Teri Duthie USA 2:14:53 (23:48, 1:05:28, 44:02)
13. K.Carroll-Basso USA 2:15:54 (23:21, 1:08:11, 42:51)
14. Desiree Ficker USA 2:16:17 (24:25, 1:09:30, 40:59)
15. Alexis Waddel USA 2:18:46 (25:50, 1:08:41, 42:23)
16. Gali Steinberg USA 2:19:39 (25:47, 1:08:37, 43:23)
17. Melissa Hopkins USA 2:19:47 (24:10, 1:10:50, 43:24)
18. Susanna Gaunt USA 2:21:23 (28:26, 1:09:51, 41:25)
19. Lynnie Terry USA 2:21:34 (28:01, 1:08:12, 43:18)
20. Sharon Sander USA 2:23:13 (26:00, 1:08:35, 46:27)
DNFs: Siri Lindley, Sarah Baker.
--------------------
6. USAT TEAM UNCLEAR: Timothy Carlson has a long piece ("Who's on the
U.S. elite team for Edmonton world champs? Final choices depend on wild
cards, late ITU points races") on the Inside Triathlon website. He
writes, in part:
"As top Americans at the Shreveport qualifier this past weekend, Joanna
Zeiger and Joe Umphenour won guaranteed slots for the 2001 ITU Olympic
distance world championship in Edmonton. But five more men and women's
slots -- in addition to a possible ITU wild card entry for highly ranked
but temporarily injured stars -- are up in the air due to rankings issues."
Read more here:
http://www.insidetri.com/news/fea/296.0.html
--------------------
7. ARTICLE REFERENCE IN USA TODAY: Today's USA Today carries Karen
Allen's nice article ("One-stop triathlete training in works/New Florida
center will cater to all levels"). Allen writes, in part:
"Triathlon, the sport, raised its profile when it joined the Olympics in 2000.
Now USA Triathlon, the governing body for U.S. athletes who practice the
swim-bike-run event, is working to raise their performance level.
"Triathletes compete at all levels and distances -- from weekend
warriors to
Olympic sprint specialists to Ironman endurance races. A national
training center is under construction that will cater to all of them.
"The center, being built by South Lake Hospital in Clermont, Fla., is a medical,
educational and "wellness" facility with a conference center.
"The facility already has ties to USA Triathlon, Special Olympics
Florida, the University of Central Florida, Lake-Sumter Community
College and the British Olympic Association, which will use it as a
warm-weather training site."
The article also points out that Dot Richardson, America's two-time gold
medalist as a softball pitcher and now an orthopedic surgeon, will be
the medical director of the triathlon training center.
For more, please see:
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20010607/3380540s.htm
--------------------
8. TRIATHLON IN DARMSTADT: Report and results of Monday's Vitasprint B12
Cup race in Darmstadt, Germany, from German journo Dirk Kantlhner
(mailto:webmas...@3athlon.de):
For the elites, the distances were: 500m swim, 20k bike, 5k run. The
first triathletes finished the swim under the six minutes. On the bike
course a group of 14 set the pace with the favorites Maik Petzold,
Lothar Leder and Matthew Reed. At the end, 100m from the finish,
Germany's Petzold won in a sprint from New Zealand's Reed.
But Reed and Germany's Leder could both gain revenge this weekend, when
the German Championships (plus the second Bundesliga race) take place in Frankfurt.
Vitasprint B 12 Cup
4 June, Darmstadt, Germany
500m S, 20k B, 5k R
Men
1. Maik Petzold GER 50:22
2. Matthew Reed NZL 50:23
3. Lothar Leder GER 50:29
4. Craig Cunningham AUS 51:04
5. Brad Storm RSA 51:37
6. Claude Eksteen RSA 51:40
7. Josef P. Jeschke GER 51:48
8. Rene Göhler GER 51:59
9. Richard Woolrich RSA 52:15
10. Sebastian Sachse GER 52:19
11. Filip Kristl 52:22
12. Carl Strom RSA 52:24
13. Falco Strauß GER 52:29
14. Uli Nieper GER 53:21
15. Henning Plescher GER 53:30
16. Mario Felker GER 54:38
17. Michael Pugh NZL 55:14
18. Jens Thönnes GER 58:02
19. Harald Vogler GER 1:00:31
Women -
1. Anja Heil GER 57:40
2. Ute Mückel GER 59:09
3. Mascha Will GER 1:00:52
4. Anna Mohr GER 1:01:25
5. Nicole Best GER 1:02:26
--------------------
9. TRIATHLON QUOTES: "Fifty of the world's top triathletes will compete in
the men's and women's meet, which has been especially mapped out to showcase
Brisbane's best features to the world, including the city skyline, the
river and the South Bank precinct" -- Goodwill Games media liaison Nikki
Todd, announcing that last year's Olympic champions, Switzerland's
Brigitte McMahon and Canada's Simon Whitfield, will headline the race.
The news came in a June 6 public
relations statement.
--------------------
End of Triathlon Digest. (c) Copyright 2001 Triathlon Digest,
all rights reserved. Items may not be reprinted or retransmitted without
permission. News is sourced directly by the editor; comments reflect the
views of the individuals indicated and not necessarily Triathlon Digest.
Press releases, race results and all other informational leads are welcome,
and individuals and organizations can send assorted news and announcements
to (mailto:dig...@triathloncentral.com). We reserve the right to edit for
space and clarity.
-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 80,000 Newsgroups - 16 Different Servers! =-----
