Triathlon competition at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games

International Triathlon Union, August 26, 2014: Nanjing, China (25 August 2014) - The triathlon competition at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games has wrapped up, with 10 different National Olympic Committee’s scoring medals, eight new NOCs making their YOG debut and every single athlete finishing each of the three competition events.

Athletes
The triathlon competition at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games saw 39 different National Olympic Committees represented, and 64 athletes. There were eight new NOCs on the start line that were not in Singapore in 2010, Chinese Taipei, Denmark, Egypt, El Salvador, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Russia and the Solomon Islands.

The individual races saw six different NOCs on the podium, across three different continents. There were a total of 10 different NOCs on the podium, Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Great Britain, New Zealand, Spain and the United States of America.

Great Britain’s Ben Dijkstra collected two gold medals, in the individual men’s and mixed relay event, but there were another five athletes who joined him as a multiple medallist. They included Brittany Dutton (individual gold and team bronze), Emil Dereluan (individual bronze and team gold), Emilie Morier (individual bronze and team gold), Daniel Hoy (individual silver and team bronze).

The athletes at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games were 16 and 17 years of age. Individual men’s gold medallist Ben Dijkstra was the youngest athlete in the men’s race.

Guests
As well as many other dignitaries and officials, ITU President Marisol Casado warmly welcomed IOC President Thomas Bach, IOC Honorary President Jacques Rogge, ITF and ASOIF President Mr. Francesco Ricci Bitti and IOC Executive Director of the Olympic Games Gilbert Felli to the triathlon venue across the three days of competition.

Xuanwu Lake Triathlon Venue
The course for the triathlon competition at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games was held at the beautiful Xuanwu Lake, one of Nanjing’s most popular tourist destinations. It was designed to showcase Chinese landscapes and architecture, with the individual courses that wove through the islands on the lake.

ITU praises the local organising committee NOCOG for its efforts to secure, plan and execute an Olympic standard triathlon and manage the thousands of spectators who come to the park on a daily basis.

The triathlon competition at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games leaves Xuanwu lake with a legacy of clean water, with work undertaken with NOCOG to ensure high water quality for the competing athletes.

Technical Officials

10 international officials came from 10 different countries, on all five continents. All were under the age of 35, plus an event delegate and a medical director both under 35. The TO team also included 28 National Technical Officials and they worked as a team in all areas.

Mixed Relay
The unique Mixed Relay event was again a highlight of the triathlon competition at the Youth Olympic Games. With just one athlete per NOC competing in Nanjing, continental teams were formed based on the rankings from the individual race. It offered a chance for not only athletes from different NOCs to compete together, but also coaches who worked as a team, prior and during the event. Each athlete completed a 250m swim, a 6.6km one-lap bike and a 1.8km one-lap run before tagging the next member of their team.

The Mixed Relay course was designed with the athletes in mind, with a one-lap swim, one-lap bike and one-lap run designed to account for the diversity of athletes in the field and stay true to the Olympic spirit. As planned, it allowed each and every one of the 16 teams to finish and soak up the full Olympic experience. A total of nine different NOCs made up the Mixed Relay podium.

 

Athlete Role Model
Olympic champion and three time ITU World Champion Emma Snowsill was an athlete role model at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games. She engaged with the triathletes at the venue, presented medals for the men's competition and also met athletes from around the world at the Youth Olympic village. As an athlete role model, Emma spent time in the Learn and Share section of the Village. She also shared the stage with fellow Olympic Champion Liu Xiang (CHN) and Chad le Clos (RSA) in a 'Chat with the Champions,' staged at the Youth Olympic Village.  

 

Media
Triathlon featured strongly on the Olympic media channels throughout the competition. Stories from each event made the Olympic.org website, and the men's and women's competition reports were listed as the 'top read stories' of the Games at the halfway point.

 

As well as the race reports and preview articles on the Olympic website, the Nanjing 2014 website and the NBC Olympics site also featured a story about Solomon Islands triathlete Boris Teddy and USA coach Ian Murray that exemplified the Olympic spirit. Click here to read. 

 

Triathlon was also included in a feature on #YOGSelfie, following up on the call made by IOC President Thomas Bach to make Nanjing 2014 a record breaking event for 'selfie' photos. The individual youth women's medallists, who were the very first medal of the Nanjing Games, took a selfie with President Bach after the women's race. Click here to read. 

 

Triathlon.org also featured comprehensive reports and a full media gallery provided by a professional photographer, and our posts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram received hundreds of thousands of likes, and hundreds of shares, comments and retweets.    

 

Click below for reports from each of the events;

The Youth Women's Triathlon competition at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games
The Youth Men's Triathlon competition at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games
The Mixed Relay Triathlon competition at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games 

For further information, please contact:  

Erin Greene, Media Manager, ITU
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   Mobile: +34 645 216 509  

Ian Hanson| Media Manager Pan Pacs
Media Manager, 2014 Australian Commonwealth Games Team
Deputy Media Manager 2016 Australian Olympic Team
Media Manager 2014 Pan Pacs