ON Saturday 4 September, at the 2010 GE Edinburgh ITU Duathlon World Championships in Holyrood Park, over 300 leading British amateur duathletes will compete in one of the largest GE Great Britain Age Group Teams to represent Great Britain at an ITU Duathlon World Championships.
The GE Great Britain Age Group Team will race over a standard international duathlon course – 10km run followed by a 40km cycle and a 5km run, all completed as a continuous activity.
Edinburgh’s course, consisting of multiple laps around Holyrood Park and Arthur’s Seat (six times in total by foot, and a further five times on the bike), will be one of the most challenging ever used on the international circuit.
211 men and 111 women (246 from England and 76 from Scotland) aged between 18 and 76 will compete in 23 age categories.
Craig Dale, a fourth-year medical student at Edinburgh University, will be amongst the favourites to win gold in his category having won the 20-24 Age Group at the ETU Triathlon European Championships in Athlone, Ireland in July.
Dale said: “For me, multisport events present a challenge that an individual sport just can’t match. I love the variety of training and how easy it is to avoid the monotony of one sport alone. I am really looking forward to competing in Edinburgh in such a prestigious event – painful on the legs, beautiful on the eyes but a race I’ll never forget!”
Twenty year-old Angus Killean, from Edinburgh, is the youngest member of the British team and ‘local hero’, Arnott Kidd, is the most senior Scottish athlete at 75.
Kidd was second in his age group last year at the 2009 Concord ITU Duathlon World Championships, and has won the European title for the last three years in a row.
He has high hopes of winning the World title on home soil.
Britain’s top paraduathletes will also race in the elite international event on Friday 3 September with the elite, under-23 and juniors all racing on Sunday 5 September.
The 2010 GE Edinburgh ITU Duathlon World Championships is the most prestigious duathlon competition ever to be staged in the UK and offers the perfect opportunity for Edinburgh residents, visitors to the city and running, cycling and multisport enthusiasts to watch the best duathletes in the world for free.
In September the 2010 GE Edinburgh ITU Duathlon World Championships will join two other major international sporting events – the IFSC World Youth Championships for Climbing and the (FITA) Archery World Cup Final – In Edinburgh’s Super September of sport – and will welcome thousands of competitors and spectators to the city.
For more information on the 2010 GE Edinburgh ITU Duathlon World Championships and an event schedule for go to – http://www.edinburghduathlon2010.com/
Ends
Media Contact:
Paddy Cuthbert – Podge Publicity – 07968 699 636 / paddy@podge.co.uk
Notes to Editors:
Partners
GE, one of the worldwide sponsors of the London 2012 Olympic Games, is the elite partner of the British Triathlon team, providing support and expertise for the athletes as they prepare and compete at the highest levels in the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games. GE is also supporting British Triathlon Elite events, Elite Paratriathlon team, Age Group teams, home nation regional academies, and the British Triathlon Coach Development programme.
In keeping with previous Games, where GE provided state-of-the-art medical imaging equipment for the early diagnosis and treatment of sporting injuries, the partnership is exploring specific ways in which GE’s healthcare technology and expertise could help to optimise and improve the performance of the team in the events leading up to and including the Olympic Games.
GE AND LONDON 2012
GE is the exclusive provider of a wide range of innovative products and services that are integral to staging a successful Olympic Games. GE works closely with host countries, cities and organizing committees to provide infrastructure solutions for Olympic venues including power, lighting, water treatment, transportation and security, and to supply hospitals with diagnostic imaging technology to help doctors treat athletes. In addition, NBC Universal, a division of GE, is the exclusive U.S. media partner of the Olympic Games, with its partnership also extending through 2012.
GE equipment being made available for London 2012
• In 2009 GE announced that it will be making available a suite of cutting-edge medical imaging equipment worth in excess of £4.5 million for the early diagnosis and treatment of sporting injuries. within the Olympic facilities.
• The equipment will allow athletes to receive expert medical care, without necessarily interrupting their training or competition schedules during the Games.
ABOUT GE
GE (NYSE: GE) is a diversified infrastructure, finance and media company taking on the world’s toughest challenges. From aircraft engines and power generation to financial services, health care solutions, and television programming, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.ge.com.
ABOUT GE IN THE UK
GE has been operating in the UK since the 1930s. Today our 18,000 employees serve the energy, oil and gas, healthcare, aerospace, financial and media industries. We have a strong and continuing commitment to the UK economy, having invested £13bn in our British businesses since 2001. Our 2009 UK revenues were £4bn. From our 60 major locations, including 25 world-class manufacturing and R&D facilities, we deliver high-tech innovative solutions to the global marketplace. Our locations include London, Aberdeen, Amersham, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Leicester, Nailsea and Southampton.
British Triathlon
British Triathlon is the current Sport Governing Body of the Year and the national governing body for triathlon, duathlon and aquathlon in Great Britain responsible for leading growth and performance of the sport. Triathlon is a fast growing, dynamic and modern Olympic sport with talented world-class athletes, coaches and support staff – focused around delivering world class events and performing on the big stages. At international level, Great Britain boasts six current world champions amongst a strong squad of world-ranked elite triathletes who regularly achieve international success and has some outstanding young talent emerging from its youth programmes.
There are over 700 triathlon events conducted in Great Britain each year including the renowned London Triathlon and British Triathlon Super Series, which attracts athletes from all over the world. British Triathlon aims to promote excellence in our sport, and create opportunities for everyone to achieve their personal triathlon challenges. Corus is the corporate partner of British Triathlon and is proud to be enabling the sport of triathlon. www.britishtriathlon.org
EventScotland
EventScotland is the national events agency.
EventScotland is working to make Scotland one of the world’s leading event destinations. By developing an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events EventScotland is helping to raise Scotland’s international profile and boost the economy by attracting more visitors.
For further information about EventScotland, its funding programmes and latest event news visit www.EventScotland.org
City of Edinburgh Council
Edinburgh is a beautiful, dynamic, cosmopolitan city with a unique architectural heritage and a magnificent natural setting. It is host to many thousands of visitors who come here throughout the year to enjoy numerous cultural and sporting events such as the world famous Edinburgh International Festival, the Edinburgh Fringe, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay and the Six Nations rugby matches. With around one million overseas visitors a year, Edinburgh is the UK’s most visited tourist destination outside London. Edinburgh is one of the most attractive cities in the world, a fact recognised by UNESCO when conferring World Heritage Site status on the city’s Old and New Towns. Edinburgh was recently voted number one in a list of British cities to ‘see before you die’.
Triathlon Scotland
triathlonscotland is the national governing body for triathlon, duathlon and multi-sport and is responsible for governing all matters in relation to these sports in Scotland. We provide a broad and comprehensive range of services to our 2500+ members, 43 clubs and 9,000 participation base in Scotland.
sportscotland is the national agency for sport.
We put sport first and join up the people, places and thinking that make sport happen. sportscotland’s seven priority areas are: Active Schools, Quality Facilities, Coaching, Community Sport, Performance Development, Strong Partners and Strong sportscotland. The sportscotland institute of sport, the high performance arm of sportscotland, is working with our partners to build greater success for Scottish sport. Our vision is Scotland consistently winning on the world stage.
For more information on sportscotland please visit www.sportscotland.org.uk
ITU
The International Triathlon Union, is the world governing body for the Olympic sport of Triathlon and all related MultiSport disciplines: duathlon, aquathlon and winter triathlon. ITU was founded in 1989 at the first ITU Congress in Avignon, France, and has maintained its headquarters in Vancouver, Canada, since then.
It now has over 120 affiliated national federations around the world and is the youngest international federation in the Olympics. Triathlon was awarded Olympic status in 1994. ITU is proudly committed to supporting the development of the sport worldwide through strong relationships with continental and national federations, working with its partners to offer a balanced Sport Development programme from grassroots to a high-performance level. For more information, visit www.triathlon.org
MEDIA RELEASE posted by Podge Publicity. You too can post media releases (aka press releases) on allmediascotland.com. For more information, email here.
Contact: Paddy Cuthbert
Phone: 07968 699636
Email: paddy@podge.co.uk
Website: http://www.edinburghduathlon2010.com/
