Triathlon: Top Ten Results for Canadians

Monday, May 07, 2007 - 06:35 PM

Whitfield preparing for another run at the Gold???

LISBON, Portugal – Simon Whitfield, 2000 Olympic gold medalist, posted his second straight top ten finish of the 2007 season at the inaugural Lisbon BG Triathlon World Cup. But he wasn’t the top Canadian of the day. Kirsten Sweetland, the reigning Junior World Champion, continued to assert herself as one of the world’s brightest young stars as she raced to a World Cup career-best, seventh place in the women’s field.

Both men’s and women’s races were extremely competitive with a host of athletes in contention. Canadian Brent McMahon led the in the final lap of the men’s bike leg but had 41 men within 19 seconds behind him, including Whitfield. At the start of the run, Whitfield was in 11th place but couldn’t keep pace with the blistering pace set by Spaniard Javier Gomez who coasted to his fourth career World Cup win. Whitfield crossed the line with a time of 1:54:12, good enough for tenth place and moves him up to number eight in the world. Despite leading after the bike, McMahon couldn’t keep up with the world’s best runners and finished in 20th place. With the solid results, both earn substantial Olympic qualifying points as the race to qualify for Beijing heats up. By finishing in the top 50, Colin Jenkins and Paul Tichelaar both pick up Olympic points as well.


2007 Lisbon BG Triathlon World Cup – Final Men’s Results:

1st – Javier Gomez (ESP) 1:52:41
2nd – Filip Ospaly (CZE) 1:52:53
3rd – Brad Kahlefeldt (AUS) 1:52:58
10th – Simon Whitfield (Victoria, BC) 1:54:12
20th – Brent McMahon (Victoria, BC) 1:54:48
32nd – Colin Jenkins (Hamilton, ON) 1:55:42
41st – Paul Tichelaar (Edmonton, AB) 1:56:14
DNF – Kyle Jones (Oakville, ON) – forced to retire after bike crash


With her seventh place finish, Sweetland cracks the world top ten rankings for the first time in her young career, climbing to number nine. In her first four World Cup races at the elite level Sweetland has finished in the top 15 each time and steadily improved with each race. In Lisbon on Sunday, she was 39 seconds behind the leader after the swim but worked her way back into contention. She was chasing fellow Canadian Jill Savege who spent most of the first half among the leaders and sat third after the swim. But she couldn’t maintain the pace and crossed the line in 12th place. Like Whitfield, both pick up substantial Olympic qualifying points with high finishes.

Approximately 40,000 Portuguese fans were treated with a rare opportunity to cheer on their superstar and Vanessa Fernandes did not disappoint them. Despite trailing the leader by 36 seconds after the swim, she worked her way into the lead pack during the bike leg, then quickly broke away within the first 50 meters of the run and never looked back. Fernandes delighted the Portuguese faithful as she coasted to the finish line, winning by almost 90 seconds and overtaking the world number one ranking. Her second straight World Cup win of 2007 and the 15th of her already illustrious career, ties her with Canadian great Carol Montgomery for second most all-time. Fernandes continues to close in on the record of 19 held by Australian Emma Carney.


2007 Lisbon BG Triathlon World Cup – Final Women’s Results:


1st – Vanessa Fernandes (POR) 2:04:45
2nd – Michelle Dillon (GBR) 2:06:06
3rd – Christiane Pilz (GER) 2:06:30
7th – Kirsten Sweetland (Victoria, BC) 2:06:54
12th – Jill Savege (Penticton, BC) 2:07:18
42nd – Christine Jeffrey (Guelph, ON) 2:13:19
DNF – Kathy Tremblay (Montreal, QC) – withdrew during the run due to illness


For full results, schedule, race reports, athlete quotes and high-resolution images, visit the ITU’s Online Media Centre.


Up next:

In just one week, the 2007 BG Triathlon World Cup series heads to Richards Bay, South Africa, just the second time a World Cup race will held in Africa. The world’s best triathletes return to picturesque Richards Bay to battle for Olympic qualifying points and US$100,000 in prize money. Canadians expected in the field include Kirsten Sweetland, Brent McMahon, Colin Jenkins and Kyle Jones.