Olympians Bailie and Royle the final arrivals for Cozumel finale

Triathlon Australia: 15 September, 2016: The arrival of Olympians Ryan Bailie and Aaron Royle will complete the Australian contingent of 236 athletes who have converged on the Mexican island of Cozumel on the Caribbean Sea this week for 28th ITU World Triathlon Championships.


Bailie and Royle and fellow Jamie Turner squad members Jake Birtwhistle, Charlotte McShane and Natalie Van Coevorden will fly in from their US training base in Clermont, Florida tomorrow.

The five-day triathlon extravaganza has attracted four of Australia’s six Rio Olympic team members –Bailie, Royle, Emma Moffatt and Ashleigh Gentle who headline an Elite team of 10 along with six Under 23s and six Juniors on the Australian team joined by an Australian contingent of 214 Age Groupers.

The Olympians missing are men’s Rio debutant Ryan Fisher, who has not recovered from the illness that plagued him on the eve of the Games and triple Olympian, 2012 bronze medallist Erin Densham who has been appointed as assistant triathlon coach at Arizona State University and has started in that role already.

There was heartbreak for Under 23 debutant Emma Jeffcoat earlier today when doctors ruled her out of the competition with a femoral stress fracture.

The former Sydney Northern Beaches lifesaver underwent an MRI scan in Cozumel this morning and after consultation with the Australian team doctor and medicos back in Australia it was decided to withdraw Jeffcoat from the event.

‘It is shattering news for Emma on her first Australian team and our hearts go out to her – it was something that raised some concerns over the past two days since arriving into camp,” said Australian Performance Director Bernard Savage.

“It is a crushing blow for her and everyone on the team really feels for her but she’s a tough kid and I know she will be back better than ever.”

Organisers estimate over 3000 triathletes from 62 nations will converge on the island for an event that will be hosted on the Gold Coast in September 2018.

Racing gets under way tomorrow (Cozumel time) with the Aquathlon World Championship –which will see 53 competitors from Australia –and featuring 79-year-old twin brothers Keith and Frank Pearce from NSW.

But that’s just the start of their week for the veteran twins, with both brothers entered in Thursday’s Sprint Triathlon and Keith in Sunday’s Standard Distance.

Also racing in the Aquathlon will be 54-year-old former marathon swimming legend Penny Palfrey, who will be joined by triathlete husband Chris; Hervey Bay’s Darren Hauser, father of Elite Junior Matthew Hauser and multiple world champion Ken Murley, who will also kick start his campaign.

There will be 103 Australians in Thursday’s Sprint Distance Triathlon (from 6:45am) which will also see the Elite Under 23 men of Matt Baker, Matthew Roberts, Marcel Walkington, Luke Willian and Declan Wilson line up for a crack at the world title at 3pm.

Friday will see the Under 23 women in action – with former Youth Olympic representative and four-time Australian Junior Series winner Jaz Hedgeland now the sole Australian entrant.

It will be followed by the Junior men’s race at 3pm – featuring Hauser, Liam McCoach and Kye Wylde and the junior women at 5pm with Jess Claxton, Zoe Leahy and Sophie Malowiecki lining up in the green and gold.

Saturday morning will kick start with the Junior/Under 23 Mixed Relay at 9am followed by the Elite women’s race at 3.30pm with Moffatt and Gentle joined on the start line by Gillian Backhouse, Emma Jackson, McShane and Van Coevorden.

Sunday will see 122 Age Groupers line up in the Standard Distance Triathlon with Stephanie Harrison, Penny Hearn, Carl Hoddy, Olivia Jeffrey, Barry Meek, Maddie Morton, Keith Pearce, Paul Taylor, Simon Thiessen and Clive Tucker entered in all three Age Group events – the Aquathlon and both triathlons.

Tasmanian tyro Birtwhistle and the evergreen Wilson join Bailie and Royle in what is an exciting mix in the Elite men’s field for Sunday’s showdown that will feature a host of Olympic and ITU World Championship medallists.

The Australians are sure to push hard in a field that will see British brothers Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee at the top end of a who’s who of the sport – missing only Spain’s Javier Gomez – still sidelined after undergoing surgery for a fractured elbow following a crash in July that kept him out of the Rio Olympics. 

Birtwhistle, last year’s Under 23 ITU World Champion, and in only his first serious year on the World Triathlon Series, is sitting in fifth place while Bailie, ninth at the Olympics, is in seventh.

The two Jamie Turner squad members are determined to finish 2016 on a high after their stirring performances to finish ninth and 10th respectively in their Rio Olympic debuts.

ABOUT THE RACE:
The Cozumel Grand Final will mark the fourth time the popular beach resort has hosted an ITU race, with the city having hosted a World Cup every year since 2013. In its first year hosting the World Cup, Olympic silver medallist Javier Gomez and Olympic gold medallist Nicola Spirig each stormed through the race to win in dominating fashion. Spirig returned the next year to again take the title. With its clear ocean waters and colorful city as a background, Cozumel is one of the most picturesque races to hit the ITU calendar.

SCHEDULE:
Aquathlon Men - September 14- 08:00Click here for a time in your area
Aquathlon Women - September 14- 08:05Click here for a time in your area
Age group sprint - September 15- 06:45Click here for a time in your area
Under23 Men - September 15- 15:00Click here for a time in your area
Under23 Women - September 16- 07:30
Junior Men - September 16- 15:00Click here for a time in your area
Junior Women - September 16- 17:00Click here for a time in your area
Junior/U23 Mixed Relay- September 17 - 09:00 Click here for a time in your area
Elite Women - September 17- 15:30Click here for a time in your area
Age group standard - September 18- 06:45Click here for a time in your area
Elite Men - September 18- 15:00Click here for a time in your area

 

Click here for the full, detailed schedule including age-group races

WEBSITES:
http://cozumel.triathlon.org/

START LISTS:
Click here for the elite women's start list 
Click here for the elite men's start list 
Click here for U23 women's start list
Click here for U23 men's start list
Click here for junior women's start list
Click here for junior men's start list
Click here for age group sprint start lists
Click here for age group standard start lists
Click here for 4xMixed relay start lists
Click here for aquathon elite women's start list
Click here for aquathon elite men's start list

PRIZE MONEY:
$280,000 USD (equal for men & women)

LIVE COVERAGE:
Follow all the events live with timing and text updates, at triathlonlive.tv and on twitter at @triathlonlive.

COURSE PROFILE:
Swim (1500m) –Athletes will swim 1 lap in the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean Sea.
Bike (40km) –Athletes will cycle 8 laps of 5 km each, passing 16 times in front of the transition zone and spectator area. On fully paved and closed roads, the course is flat but very technical as it winds around FONATUR marina Triathlon park and the city streets.
Run (10km) –Athletes will finish with a run of 4 laps of 2.5 km. each. They will pass 8 times in front of transition zone using the FONATUR marina Triathlon Park and city streets that is sure to offer up a flat and fast competition.