THE GE Great Britain Age Group Team secured 32 medals across the various age groups at the 2010 GE Edinburgh ITU Duathlon World Championships yesterday (04/09/10).
The USA, Canada, the Netherlands and Germany also claimed multiple medals and team USA provided some of the most vocal support around Holyrood Park as athletes raced for world titles in their age group categories.
Local medical student and athlete, Craig Dale, helped kick off the action this morning, racing in the 20-24 age group, which started at 8am. Supporters arrived in numbers to support him and Dale delivered a silver medal, just over a minute behind Gregory Grosicki of the USA. Britain’s James Ratcliffe was third.
Dale said: “The race went pretty much to plan, I knew I had to be fairly conservative on the first run and really do the damage on the bike. As the bike went on, I was passing more and more guys. The hills really started to take their toll, I know how brutal those climbs are, so made sure I had enough in reserve. The second run was just a case of holding on and thankfully I held it together.
“So many people were out giving me a shout. I had the Edinburgh University Tri Club guys out, with a huge banner and cow bells, running the hill with me – it was absolutely fantastic. So many people I know were helping out with the event and as well as the support it was just unbelievable.”
Another local athlete, Arnott Kidd, also delivered a medal with bronze in the 75-79 age group.
Derbyshire Police officer, Chrissie Howard, claimed gold for the GE Great Britain Age Group Team in the 40-44 age group, as did Juliette Minter in the 35-39 age group and Victoria Gill in the 30-34 age group.
Gill, from the Thames Turbo club, ran exceptionally well, having to fight hard to pass Ceris Styler on the final 5km after Styler, the 2000 British Cycling Olympian put in an amazingly fast bike leg and opened a large gap. The pair recorded the first and second fastest times overall with Gill recording 2:18.21, just 30 seconds ahead of Styler.
Other gold medals for the GE Great Britain Age Group Team came from Christian Preece (18-19), James Gilfillian (30-34), Ian Cardy (35-39), Kenny Riddle (45-49), Jeremy Tomlinson (50-54), (Danielle Stewart (25-29), Hillary Ross (55-59) and Elspeth Knott (60-64).
The fastest time of the day was recorded by GE Great Britain’s Age Group Team member, James Gilfillian with 1:58.56. He was the only man to complete the challenging course in under two hours, and finished clear of Germany’s Rene Hördemann, who was second overall in 2:02.30.
The age group events in Holyrood Park presented a challenging course that was enjoyed by over 800 athlets. Darwin Phyfer, from Cape Town, South Africa, competed in the 50-54 Age Group.
He said: “It was beautiful racing in Edinburgh, one of the beautiful cites of the world, I really enjoyed it. There were lots of South Africans in Edinburgh supporting us, we have a big team and everyone was shouting on the side of the road supporting us.”
TODAY (Sunday) sees the elite races with the GE Great Britain team aiming to win more medals against tough international opposition. The event is free to watch and spectators have the opportunity to win a bike worth £950.
Sun 5th September 2010
08:00 Junior Women
10:00 Junior Men
11:30 Medal Ceremony for Junior
12:00 Elite & U23 Women
15:00 Elite & U23 Men
17:30 Medal Ceremony for Elite & U23 followed by Closing ceremony
Media Contact:
Paddy Cuthbert – Podge Publicity – M: 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/
