ITU World Championships 1999

The following report is a personal one and is specifically focussed on the GB squad. There are plenty of other reports out there and the full results can be found on both the ITU website and at Sportstats, a Canadian timing company.

Build-up

Although the information pack told us what to expect it was still something of a shock to actually see the venue. Imagine Holme Pierrepoint but cleaner and tidier (although still rather run-down and in need of a good lick of paint) and you've got half the picture. The rowing tank is about 2,500 metres long by 100 metres wide and just 3 metres deep but, unlike HP, the water is filtered, clean, clear, contains no Canadian Goose excrement (I didn't see a single bird all week!) and was warm. So warm that they were posting temperatures of 26 degrees at one point although race day was registered as 24 degrees. This meant that the wetsuit was a piece of excess baggage, something that was not a popular decision! However, I did enjoy using mine -- much to the annoyance of others -- but then I wasn't going to be racing. One small benefit of being a spectator rather than a competitor! You really could swim down the tank following the metal wire joining the buoys together and the water was as fresh as they promised.

Right next to the rowing tank is the Giles Villenueve Formula 1 circuit and cycling around this gives a whole new sense of respect for the racing car drivers. Riding the chicanes and the hairpin on a bike is interesting at 25mph, doing it at 100 to 200mph is almost inconceivable. Sadly the organisers never did manage to get the track cleared of cars, bikes and rollerbladers during the three days of practice. I don't think that there were any accidents but if there had been there wasn't anyone there to clear up the mess...

The age group run was unmarked until the day of the race and as all the maps were wrong it took a bit of finding. 2.5k straight down the edge of the tank, 2.5k back down a cinder track and then 2.5k back up the tank was likely to leave the head reeling and make this more a mental challenge than a physical one. At least the last 400m was accessible to spectators but the rest of the course was off limits to anyone without a special access pass.

I deliberately didn't attend any of the organised events other than the GB breakfast so I can't comment on the quality of the pasta party or the awards but the general concensus seems to be that they were pretty average. Certainly the race briefing session I attended was less than special but that was mainly due to the stupidity of some of the questions being asked by competitors. One or two in the group (not GB, I'm glad to say) seemed to be almost completely unaware of even the most obvious aspects of triathlon.

Age groupers (Saturday)

To describe the situation in and around the transition area as well organised would be a serious misrepresentation! To be honest I've seen better organised pool-based events. After the fiasco of bike check-in on the Friday, where transition was effectively wide open with little or no obvious security in place, the Saturday morning began with the citizens waves were effectively blocking access for the age groupers. The official line on when they would be able to get in changed several times while the first wave waited desperately to get to their bikes and kit. Given that the age group athletes effectively underwrite the whole championships (1,500 people paying £95 per head is a lot of underwriting) the treatment that they get afforded is less than equitable.

Despite the chaos the day got off to a good start with two medals straight away in the first wave and by the end the GB team finished up with:

• Gold: Joyce Mark (40-44), Sue Bathgate (50-54)
• Silver: Lesley Cliff (50-54)
• Bronze: Bea Massie Talylor (35-39), Maureen Burrows (55-59), Tim Richardson (30-34), Peter Howard (65-69)

On the minus side we lost John Lunt (40-45) in a spectacular crash at the hairpin when he was wiped out from behind and left lying on the tarmac for several minutes. Fortunately was nothing too serious, bumps, bruises and some major road rash, but in his own words it was a long way to come for a swim! The ritual displaying of the bruises to anyone who wanted to see was an impressive sight by Monday morning...

Watching the Physically Challenged championships, which ran earlier in the day, left me with a deep feeling of inadequacy. Despite their various handicaps these athletes swim, bike and run with more determination than I'll ever manage. It was really sad to see that no GB helpers came to help and Alan Wheatcroft, who placed 7th, was ably assisted by two of the USA team. This just isn't good enough - someone from the BTA or an age grouper or two could have easily volunteered.

Junior Championships

After all the chaos and mayhem of the age groups the island was strangely quiet and expectant for the first of the elite races on the Sunday. The small group of team officials and supporters watched in delight as Anneliese Heard stamped her mark on the Junior Female championships with an impressive 2:03:03 win, 23 seconds ahead of Nicola Spirig of Switzerland (2:03:26) and Josie Loane of Australia (2:04:05). Anneliese was 38 seconds down after the swim but stayed with the lead pack of four throughout the bike and then settled in to the lead on the second lap of the run. The danger was always going to come from Spirig but by the end of lap three Anneliese had dropped Loane and was certain for a major podium spot. The question as to whether could hold the lead was answered by the cheers echoing down the finishing straight as she came home with room to spare. Lesley Patterson and Jo Hinde were some two minutes down out of the swim and worked together on the bike as one of the two chase packs. Lesley took off on the run and finished 18th in 2:07:59 and Jo came in 26th in 2:10:56.

In the Junior Male event Stuart Hayes came out of the water in 7th place but was lying in 2nd when the lead pack of nine went out on the bike. The group worked consistently on the track with Stuart taking his turn in the lead and by the second transition a smaller group of seven headed onto the run with two being dropped fairly quickly. By the end of the third lap Stuart was lying second, 24 seconds back from Courtney Atkinson (AUS) but the game unravelled from there with Christian Weimer (GER) and Ivan Rana (ESP) passing him during the final loop. Courtney Atkinson's final time was 1:49:04, 21 seconds ahead of Weimer with Rana a further 16 seconds back. Stuart's final time was 1:49:57. Nigel Leighton finished 26th in 1:53:18 and Duncan McKerracher35th in 1:55:23.

Elite Championships

British hopes in the Elite Women's race rested primarily on Sian Brice and Julie Ricketts and they came out of the swim in the second pack some 1 minute 30 seconds down on the lead group of six. Steph Forrester and Michelle Dillon formed up with the third chase pack with Beth Thomson slightly adrift. The first chasing bike group soon merged into the lead pack and the real question was whether those in the chasing group could jump the gap on the run. On the run it soon became clear that the Australians were going to be taking the medals home in a sack but Sian Brice pulled all the way through to sixth place with an amazingly gritty performance. Loretta Harrop led throughout the run to finish in 1:55:28 with Jackie Gallagher making a massive leap from 24th after the bike to 2nd overall in 1:56:00. The chasing group of three Aussies were topped off by Emma Carney in 1:56:19, Michellie Jones (1:56:19) and Joanne King (1:56:36). Sian's sixth place finishing time was 1:56:53 while Michelle Dillon finished 14th in 1:57:57 (with the 4th fastest run split) while Steph Forrester 23rd in 1:58:48 and Beth Thomson 44th in 2:02:32. Julie Ricketts DNFed on the second lap of the run.

For the men's race the money could have been on any one of a host of top athletes but anyone asked included both Simon Lessing and Andrew Johns in their list of options for a top 5 spot. Calling the top three was probably only possible if you had a level of inside knowledge greater than that of most normal mortals.

The swim looked like everyone's worst open water nightmare with an enormous washing machine churning round the 1500m course. Shelled out the back was Mark Marabini (ZIM) who some may remember from races in the UK in the early 90s. A massive pack exited the swim and formed a lead group on the bike with two smaller groups chasing and then a couple of loners. The lead pack held all four GB athletes and it quickly swallowed up Mark Marabini which meant that his race was over. Only one attempt was made to break away on the bike and this was quickly pulled back in before Kevin Carter (USA) made a bid for the front and came into the final 400m with 15 seconds on the pack. This lead vanished in about the same time as first ten then five and then four pulled away. At the start of the final lap two of the names were as expected: Simon Lessing and Andrew Johns but the other two were not on the list of those expected to make the running - Dimitry Gaaz (KAZ) and Stewart Miles (AUS). Tim Don, who had at one point been 5th, was still in the chasing pack but probably now looking at a possible top ten. The finish was even less expected with Gaag (1:45:25) holding off Lessing (1:45:31) and Johns (1:45:56) losing out to Stewart (1:45:47). The top five was rounded out by Martin Krnavek (CZE) in 1:45:59. Tim Don finished 21st in 1:47:00 and Marc Jenkins was 46th in 1:48:40. Amazingly all the elite finished in under 2 hours! Shows what a drafting race can do...

Summary

An interesting and frustrating week where some outstanding performances make it look like it was a better event that really happened. On a personal level I found it frustrating to see organisation at such a high level of competition be so haphazard and to be a non-competitor watching others take part. From the other point of view I think that the racing was pretty fair, amazingly so given the totally flat nature of the circuit, and the elite races were exciting to watch (although the ITU's claim of 10,000 spectators is laughable!).

I know that Montreal got the race at short notice and we're used to the problems that brings after Manchester in 1993. However, at the Expo (miserable and actually even smaller than our own event in the UK!) the crews from Edmonton (2001) and Perth (2000) were showing it like it should be done. Bids for 2003 include one from GB so perhaps we'll have the chance in the near future to show that we can learn from our own (and others) mistakes.

Elite squad:

Male: Marc Jenkins, Andrew Johns, Simon Lessing, Tim Don

Female: Sian Brice, Steph Forrester, Michelle Dillon, Beth Thomson, Julie Ricketts

Junior male: Stuart Hayes, Duncan McKerracher, Nigel Leighton

Female: Jo Hinde, Anneliese Heard, Lesley Patterson

BTA in attendance are: Greg Millet, Bill Black, Mick English, Chris Jones, Dave Bellingham, Ian Pettitt, Colin Gardner

©1999 Henry Budgett/The Triathletes Homepage. All rights reserved.

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