Americas Triathlon

In the 17-year history of the Triathlon World Championships only 1 Canadian has stood at the top of the podium, this year 6 elite Canadians will be trying for gold medal #2.

Joanne Ritchie, from Kelowna, BC, won the World Championships in 1991 (Gold Coast, Australia) and then finished second the following year in Muskoka (150 km north of Toronto).  Over the years Canadian female elite racers have totaled 1 gold medal, 4 silver medals and 2 bronze medals 6 of the 7 medals have come from Ritchie and Vancouvers Carol Montgomery.  Montgomerys bronze medal in 2000 was the last podium finish for a Canadian at the World Championships.

The Canadian elite women have faired much better than the men at the World Championships dating back to 1989, however, the Canadian women will be in tough this year with defending World Champion Emma Snowsill and World #1 Vanessa Fernandes in the field.

Triathlon Canadas High Performance Director, Tom Patrick, says Snowsill and Fernandes will likely finish 1, 2 I believe the rest of the field is racing for the bronze medal.  Stranger things have happened but I dont see anybody upsetting these 2 athletes who have been incredibly dominant for the last 18 months.

Lauren Groves (#5 World Cup Ranking) will be one of the contenders for a medal in Switzerland.  Groves has finished in the top 8 in every race this season along with five World Cup races where she has finished no worse than 6th. Groves, from Vancouver, has 2 wins this year, including her first National Championship earlier in July.

Kathy Tremblay (#31 World Cup Ranking) is also having a terrific year and has to be considered a threat in Lausanne.  Tremblay, from Montreal, has 4 podium finishes in 2006, together with her first ever World Cup podium in Mazatlan and a huge win at the Pan American Championships in Brasilia.

Samantha McGlone (#38 World Cup Ranking) is coming off her best result of the season 4th in the Corner Brook World Cup and will be looking to better her 9th place finish at the World Championships last year.  McGlone, from Otterburn Park, Quebec, will be competing in her 4th straight World Championships.

Edmontons Carolyn Murray (#44 World Cup Ranking) is the fourth member of the Canadian Womens elite team.  Murray finished third in this years National Championship and will be competing for the third straight year at the World Championships she finished 37th in 2005 and 40th in 2004.

The men have never finished in the top five at this prestigious event - Simon Whitfield finished 6th twice (2001&2005).  Whitfield (#21 World Cup Ranking) has focused his year around this Major Championship and will be hoping to add to his hardware collection.  Whitfield, as everyone knows by now, won the inaugural Triathlon Olympic Games in Sydney.  In 2002, Whitfield won the Commonwealth Games in Manchester and in 1999 Simon picked up the bronze medal at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg.  The only Major Championship where Whitfield has not medaled is this one, which takes place in Lausanne on September 3rd.

Whitfield, from Victoria, is looking good as he prepares for the biggest event of the year.  Whitfield won his 6th National Championship in Brampton on Canada Day Weekend blistering the field with an incredible run split of 30:17.  And then 3 weeks later at the Corner Brook World Cup, Whitfield out-ran the sports best runner, Javier Gomez from Spain, to finish second Simons first podium in a World Cup event in 2 years.  Whitfield again had a scorching run time of 30:35 on one of the toughest run courses on the World Cup Circuit.  Whitfield and Gomez were the only 2 athletes to go under 31 minutes in Corner Brook.

Paul Tichelaar (#48 World Cup Ranking) is also competing in the elite Mens event for Canada.  Tichelaar, like Tremblay, won the Pan American Championships his best result of the year. Tichelaar qualified for the event with a 7th place finish at the Edmonton World Cup his hometown.  Tichelaar also finished in 8th at the Commonwealth Games in March an outstanding achievement for Tichelaar who was competing in his first Major event as an elite athlete.
Never before has Canada entered the World Championships with 3 potential podium finishers. Not since 1992, when Ritchie won silver in the Womens elite race and Canadian Kirstie Otto won a bronze in the Womens junior, has Canadas team looked so promising.
Patrick, from Victoria, said theres no doubt in his mind September 2nd & 3rd could be very special days for Canada at the World Championships. I believe we have the ability to win the juniors with Kirsten Sweetland, win the Under 23s with Kyle Jones and the win the elites with Simon Whitfield.
With Whitfield, Jones and Sweetland in top form Canada has a chance to do something only one other country has ever done win a medal in the elites, U-23s and juniors in the same year.  In 2003, Australian Peter Robertson won the gold medal in the elites, Nikki Egyed won the womens U-23 and Felicity Abram won the juniors. 
Sweetland, who has not lost a triathlon since last years World Championships, has a great chance to win Canadas first ever gold medal in the Womens junior division. Sweetland, from Victoria, is the 2-time defending Womens Junior National champion.
Saturday, September 2nd is when the action begins as the worlds top junior athletes compete in the 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run sprint race for the Junior World Champion title.  Both of last years champions, American Steven Duplinsky and Portugals Anais Moniz will be racing to try and regain their titles and a piece of triathlon history.  Kiwi Terenzo Bozzone is the only junior ever to repeat at the World Championships.
Jones, who finished 9th at last years U-23 World Championships, will be looking to win Canadas first ever medal in the U-23 division. Jones has had a terrific season to date including a 7th place finish at the Corner Brook World Cup on July 23rd.
This result was good enough to earn Jones, from Oakville, Ontario, a spot on the elite National team, however, High Performance Director Patrick, said it was an easy decision for Kyle to race U-23s. Our philosophy is simple you master each step along the way. You dont want to jump a level ahead and possibly miss a key learning point.
Colin Jenkins, who beat Jones at the recent Canadian National Triathlon Championships in Brampton on July 2nd to win his first ever U-23 National Championship, is also a legitimate contender in Lausanne.  Jenkins, from Hamilton, has had a breakout season in 2006, including a stellar 6th place finish at the Pan American Championships in Brazil in early June another race where Jenkins beat Jones. 
Jenkins and Jones, a great one-two punch, give Canada a great chance for one and maybe two medals in the same event.  This was last done in 1991, when Ritchie won the elite gold and Terri Smith Ross won the silver.
Sean Bechtel, from Caledon, Ontario, will be on the U-23 team on the strength of his second place finish at the U-23 National Championship in Brampton. Andre-Paul Baillargeon Smith and Jordan Bryden make up the rest of the Canadian U-23 team
The Womens Under-23 Team consists of Alicia Kaye and Jessica Kirkwood. Kaye, from Pickering, Ontario, won the Womens U-23 National Championship and will be heading back to the U-23 World Championships for a second straight year last year in Gamagori, Japan, Kaye finished in 19th position.
Kirkwood, from Victoria, ended the 2005 season ranked 75th on the ITU Points List and shell also be competing in the World Championships for the second consecutive time, however, last year she did not finish the race.
Sarah-Anne Brault, from Winnipeg, is another athlete who has a chance to do well in Lausanne. Brault, known for her running ability, finished a few seconds behind Sweetland at the National Duathlon Championships in Ancaster and then in Edmonton on July 9th Brault was runner up again to Sweetland at the National Triathlon Championships. Brault won a silver medal at the Canada Games in the 5,000 metre run with a time of 17:23. From a junior female triathlete perspective Sarah-Anne Brault is an international level runner, says Patrick.
Paula Findlay and Marianne Hogan will also compete for Canada in the Womens junior category.
Blair Peters leads a group of 4 men competing in the Mens junior category. Peters recently won the 2006 National Junior Champion. Andrew McCartney, a former junior National Champion, finished second to Peters in Edmonton on July 9th, will compete for the second straight year at the World Championships last year in Gamagori, McCartney finished in 17th position. Willie Bell and Andrew Woegerer are also on the Mens junior team competing in Lausanne.
All eyes will be on the battle between Snowsill and Fernandes who have dominated this year so far, unbeaten in every World Cup they have entered.  This will be the first time in an ITU race this year the two will race head-to-head it should be a classic battle to see who wins the gold medal.

The triathlon world has been waiting all year for the face-off between the two seemingly untouchable elite women. Fernandes has gone undefeated in 2006, bringing home four BG Triathlon World Cup titles, making it 10 consecutive world cup wins in a row just 2 behind the all-time record.

Snowsill has also not lost in 2006 with a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, three world cup wins and a bunch of other first place finishes. This battle will surely be one to remember as the two women have not raced against each other in an ITU event since the 2005 world championships in Gamagori, Japan, where Snowsill was the victor with her second world championship win.

The Mens elite race will also be a toss up with a number of strong athletes.  Will Australian Peter Robertson make it number 4?  Will his team mate Brad Kahlefeldt top off a dream season after winning the Commonwealth gold and 4 World Cup races? Will a Canadian take home a medal for the first time ever? Can Simon Whitfield win the one big race that has eluded him?  All of these questions will be answered in less than 10 days.

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Triathlon Canada is the National Federation for the Sport of Triathlon and Duathlon in Canada.

For more information, please contact:

Michael Emmett
National Program Manager, Triathlon Canada
Tel: 416.426.7060/ e-mail: michael.emmett@triathloncanada.com