AUSSIES FISHER AND WILSON STRIKE GOLD AND BRONZE IN ITU ISHIGAKI WORLD CUP

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Triathlon Australia, April 14, 2013: Two members of Australia’s exciting new men’s group, Queenslanders, Ryan Fisher and Dan Wilson have taken out gold and bronze to dominate the ITU Ishigaki Triathlon World Cup today.

Fisher capitalized on a breakaway with fellow countryman Wilson on the bike before he attacked on the run to claim his first major ITU World Cup title.

“I’m absolutely stoked. I came here in 2011, it was my first ever World Cup, so to come back here two years later and win is pretty cool,” Fisher said.

“Winning any race is good but to come here and win at a World Cup like this, and it’s my first one, so it’s a huge confidence booster and first real race of the season.”

Bryan Keane (IRL), who attempted to stay with Fisher on the bike breakaway until he crashed in the final laps, clocked the fourth fastest run split of the day to come from behind for silver. After going into the run in prime podium position, Dan Wilson (AUS) held strong for bronze.

The men’s competition got off to a congested start, with Wilson leading a 15-man group out of the water within 14 seconds of each other. Korea’s Jung Min Park and Min Ho Heo were right on his feet, followed by Fisher.

Early on the bike, the men split into three groups, with 12 leaders out front on the first lap. However, athletes dropped quickly, with the group dwindling down to 11 by the first lap and the chase group 30 seconds back.

Pre-race top contenders Fisher, Keane, Tony Dodds (NZL) and Yuichi Hosoda (JPN) led, making it a challenge for the chase group to bridge up. After a crash forced Dodds and Ju Seok Kim out of the race, Wilson, Keane and Fisher took advantage of the the situation and established a breakaway on the third lap, leaving Min Ho Heo and Hirokatsu Tayama (JPN) to ride solo.

Meanwhile, the remaining men joined the 12-man chase group.

By the fifth lap, the leading trio increased their lead to 50 seconds before Fisher and Wilson again took advantage after Keane crashed, losing him valuable time.

The Irishman was then left to ride on his own for the final laps, frantically working hard to bridge the gap to the Aussies, but still held nearly two minutes over the third group.

By the time the Aussies hammered for the run course, they owned more than a minute lead.

With his sights set on gold, Fisher stormed through the first 2.5km and never looked back. By the final lap, he extended his lead to over a minute for an easy victory in the end. He became the seventh Aussie to win the World Cup, doing so in a time of hour, 52 minutes and 46 seconds.

Behind Fisher, Keane labored to decrease the gap between himself and Wilson, pulling even with the Aussie with just two kilometers to go. In a last-ditch effort, Keane overtook Wilson in the final stretch to earn silver in 1:53:50. Wilson, making every post a winner in his comeback to racing, earning bronze in 1:54:02.

A third Australian Nick Kastelein finished seventh, while in the women’s race, London Olympian Emma Jackson finished ninth in a raced dominated by local girls with Japan collecting six of the top seven places, including the first four in a race won by Ai Ueda.

Issued on behalf of Triathlon Australia by

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Ian Hanson