THE GE Great Britain team landed its first home gold medal at the 2010 GE Edinburgh ITU Duathlon World Championships yesterday (Friday 3 Septmber) over the 5.75km run, 23.3km bike, 3km run course in Holyrood Park. Iain Dawson won gold in the Tri 6 category (visually impaired) after overhauling Ralf Arnold from Germany on the challenging, hilly bike course.
Dawson said: “That was hard. It’s quite a tough course for a tandem. The hills are technical and testing and the descents are pretty quick. Running is not my strongest discipline, so I knew we’d have to work hard to get a result.”
First across the finishing line in the multi-disciplinary event was Austria’s Oliver Dreier (Tri 4), demonstrating great run speed and exceptional bike handling skills around the technical course, despite only having one arm.
He said: “On the run I was a little bit slow but the bike was very good. I love it when there are mountains as I am strongest there. The course is very good, this is brilliant for a world championships.”
The GE Great Britain team won silver medals through James Smith (Tri 3) from Gloucester, Adrian Howden (Tri 5) from Yorkshire, and Charlotte Ellis (Tri 6) from Durham. Bronzes came from Tom Perkins (Tri 4) and Alan Rayment (Tri 1).
Spain claimed two gold medals in the shape of Alain Fuertes (Tri 1) racing in a wheelchair and hand cycle, and Mikel Gamendia (Tri5).
Italy, Ireland and the USA claimed the other gold medals.
Ireland’s visually-impaired athlete, Cat Walsh said: “We come from a cycling background, so we were really pleased to stay with the British girls on the first run. I’m delighted with that, it’s fantastic.”
Tomorrow features amateur athletes aiming for 2010 GE Edinburgh ITU Duathlon World Championship titles in their age groups. Local medical student, Craig Dale from Edinburgh will be aiming for a win on a circuit a course that he has been able to train on more regularly than most.
On Sunday, Edinburgh’s Cat Morrison will try to regain the title she last won in 2006. She will face the current European Champion, Ruth Van der Meijden from Holland.
Morrison said: “There are so many good athletes here this year, the field seems pretty strong. We’ve got existing European medallists, existing world medallists and I’m sure there are a couple of unknowns in there.
“The course is just stunning, especially on a day like this. It’s fantastic that international athletes can come here and see Edinburgh at its best like this.”
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/
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/
