Triathlon: Whitfield 5th on Olympic course at Beijing World Cup

Monday, September 17, 2007 - 07:34 PM

BEIJING, China – Simon Whitfield finished a Canadian-best fifth place at today's Beijing BG Triathlon World Cup, the official test event for next summer's Olympic Games. Brent McMahon, also of Victoria, BC, was the second Canadian across the line, finishing 20th, while Kyle Jones came in 27th place.

Placing three in the top 30 substantially increases the team's chances of qualifying the maximum of three men at the Olympics, something the Canadian men's team has never done. Whitfield has already earned a spot on his third Olympic team with his fourth place finish at the world championships two weeks ago, a designated qualifier set out by Triathlon Canada. But this was his chance to challenge the Olympic course in a highly competitive field. The other two spots, if Canada qualifies three men, remain up for grabs.

World number one Javier Gomez of Spain left little doubt he’s the man to beat as the world’s best continue to push towards Beijing next summer. While Olympic gold may not have been on the line this time, Gomez gained a psychological edge over his competitors with a commanding win on the exact Olympic course and taking his fourth world cup title of the year. As is often the case with Gomez, the world number one laid down a punishing pace early in the run, daring any man to match him. But of course no one could and the rest of field watched as Gomez stretched his lead with every lap and coasted to the finish line for his first world cup win in Asia and the seventh overall in his career. Aussie Courtney Atkinson out-sprinted Olympic silver medalist Bevan Docherty down the stretch for second place. Gomez remains firm as the world number one and extends his lead to 112 points over Whitfield who maintains his spot at number two.

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



1st – Javier Gomez (ESP) 1:48:41
2nd – Courtney Atkinson (AUS) 1:49:04
3rd – Bevan Docherty (NZL) 1:49:08
5th – Simon Whitfield (Victoria, BC) 1:49:18
20th – Brent McMahon (Victoria, BC) 1:50:21
27th – Kyle Jones (Oakville, ON) 1:50:42
48th – Colin Jenkins (Hamilton, ON) 1:52:31
61st – Paul Tichelaar (Edmonton, AB) 1:57:11

As the official test event for the Olympic Games, many National Federations are using this world cup as part of their selection process.

Up next:

On October 7, the 2007 BG Triathlon World Cup series next moves to the birthplace of the Olympic Games, Greece. It will be the first time a world cup will be staged in Greece since the Olympic test event in Athens in 2003. The picturesque island of Rhodes will host the women’s and men’s races.