The International Triathlon Union is pleased to announce the addition of the inaugural ITU Elite Sprint Triathlon World Championship to its 2010 race calendar, to be held in Lausanne, Switzerland on August 21. Additionally, Lausanne will host the ITU Team Triathlon World Championship on August 22. These two events will replace the Lausanne ITU Triathlon World Cup event, previously scheduled for the same weekend. There will be $100,000 in prize money on offer over the weekend’s racing. The weekend festival of racing will also contain an age-group competition that is expected to attract a large number of competitors.
“We are very excited to host the ITU Elite Sprint Triathlon World Championship and the ITU Team Triathlon World Championship in Lausanne, a city with a history of great sporting events,” said ITU President Marisol Casado. “The distances are short, exciting and we think the spectators and viewers will enjoy watching our athletes race at such a high intensity. The shorter distances present a great opportunity for our younger athletes to compete in the sport in a sustainable way.”
Competitors in the ITU Elite Sprint Triathlon World Championship will complete a 750-meter swim, 20-km bike and 5-km run. Each of the four athletes in the ITU Team Triathlon World Championship will complete a 275-meter swim, 6 km bike and 1.5-km run. Each team will be comprised of two men and two women, racing in the order of female-male-female-male. After each athlete finishes his or her swim-bike-run segment he or she will tag the next athlete in the relay for the exchange.
The 2009 ITU Team Triathlon World Championship was hosted by Hy-Vee in Des Moines, Iowa, alongside the prestigious Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Elite Cup, with the Swiss Team taking home top honours, topping Australia by only eight seconds. Team Canada rounded out the podium.
A sprint-distance triathlon and a 4 x mixed relay triathlon will be on the programme for the first-ever Youth Olympic Games, set for Singapore on August 14-26, 2010. For more information on the Youth Olympic Games visit www.singapore2010.sg.