THE 2010 GE Edinburgh ITU Duathlon World Championships are set to take place this weekend (3-5 September) in Scotland, UK.
World titles will be contested at Edinburgh’s iconic, and very hilly, Holyrood Park – one of the most challenging courses ever used for an ITU Duathlon World Championships, as confirmed by those athletes already at race site.
Begins a spokesperson: “The Edinburgh crowd will be hopeful of a home win from former world and European champion, Catriona Morrison, who lives and trains in Broxburn, a few miles away from Holyrood Park.
“She has scored victories on the Ironman circuit this season, including Ironman Lanzarote – where she won despite stopping to help a fellow athlete who had dangerously crashed and then waiting forty minutes by the roadside after her chain snapped.
“Morrison will have to overcome the European champion, Ruth Van der Meijden (NED) and runner-up Katie Ingram (GBR) from the ETU Duathlon European Championships in Nancy, France (1 May, 2010). Van der Meijden was also fourth at the ITU Duathlon World Championships in Concorde, USA, last year.
“The 2009 defending champion, Vendula Frintova (CZE), is not racing this year, but runner up, Sandra Levenez (FRA) will be. The women’s line up also includes Gwen Jorgensen (USA), an exceptionally fast runner and one to watch. She was second earlier this year at the World University Games Triathlon.
“In the elite men’s event, Sergey Yakovlev (RUS) starts as number one based on his current world number one ranking. Manuel Del Corral Morales (ESP) is number two and was second at the ETU Duathlon European Championships this year in Nancy (FRA).
“Damien Derobert (FRA) won silver behind the USA’s Jarrod Shoemaker last year in Concord. Shoemaker is not racing as he will contest the ITU World Championships grand final in Budapest.
“Bryan Keane will carry Ireland’s hopes, the former professional cyclist turned triathlete was seventh at the recent ITU World Sprint Championships in Lausanne.
“Joerie Vansteelant features in a strong Belgian team. Although the distance might not suit him, the former World Long Distance Duathlon champion will be one of the best known international names at the event. His late older brother, Benny, was one of the best duathletes the world has ever known.
“The GE Great Britain men’s team features Adam Bowden, who has successfully converted from athletics to triathlon through British Triathlon’s trigold programme and recorded a second place finish at the 2010 Geneva ITU Triathlon European Cup (15 August).
“Local Scottish athlete, Ritchie Nicholls will race for the GE Great Britain team in the Under 23 event. He is a former European Under 23 triathlon champion, having beaten Alexander Brukhankov (RUS) in 2007.”
The elite races will be preceded on Friday by the elite paraduathletes race and on Saturday by amateur athletes racing for world duathlon titles in their age group. Scotland and Great Britain will be well represented alongside athletes from Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand and the USA.
The 2010 Edinburgh ITU Duathlon World Championships take place 3-5 September 2010 at Hollyrood Park in Edinburgh. For more information see http://www.edinburghduathlon2010.com and http://www.britishtriathlonmedia.org for information about the GE Great Britain team.
Media Contact:
Paddy Cuthbert, Podge Publicity – T: 07968 699636 / E: paddy@podge.co.uk
Notes to Editors:
The 2010 Edinburgh ITU Duathlon World Championships take place 3-5 September 2010 at Hollyrood Park in Edinburgh.
For more information see http://www.edinburghduathlon2010.com and http://www.britishtriathlonmedia.org for information about the GE Great Britain team.
Media accreditation is available from helen.gorman@perfectmotion.org / 07739 456644.
Start lists from http://www.triathlon.org/events/event/2010_edinburgh_itu_duathlon_world_championships/
Duathlon
Duathlon is a combination of two individual sports, running and cycling. A typical duathlon consists of three stages, starting with a run, followed by a cycle section and finishing off with another run, all completed as a continuous activity with transitions between the two disciplines.
Duathlon – governing bodies
The International Triathlon Union governs the sport internationally
British Triathlon governs the sport in the UK
triathlonScotland governs the sport in Scotland
About 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
GE AND BRITISH TRIATHLON
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.
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’.
The City of Edinburgh Council is a partner in the staging of the 2010 Edinburgh ITU Duathlon World Championships.
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 2,500+ members, 43 clubs and 9,000 participation base in Scotland.
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.
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Contact: Paddy Cuthbert
Phone: 07968 699636
Email: paddy@podge.co.uk
Website: http://www.edinburghduathlon2010.com/
