Dec-29: PowerMan for the UK

After an absence for a couple of years the UK will get its own Powerman duathlon on April 6th at Carsington Water, Ashbourne - the same venue used for the Carsington and Ashbourne duathlons. The distances will be 12k run, 60k bike, 8k run. The first run is one lap of the reservoir which is fairly hilly in parts, the bike is two laps of the 30k loop used for the Carsington race last October which takes in a the 400 foot climb to Middleton Top on each lap and the final run is a relatively flat out and back run. The total prize purse is 5000 euros.

Online entry forms and further information will be available in the next week or so at the Powerman UK website. For further information call Punishing Events on 01332 523831 or 01332 513299.

Dec-18: BTA announce qualifier races

2004 is Olympic year which means that the ITU World Triathlon Championships will be very late in 2003 (Queenstown, New Zealand) and very early in 2004 (Madeira). The BTA have set Shropshire (Jun-08), Windsor (Jun-15), Pembroke (Jul-19) and with Dambusters (Jun-29, also the National Age Group Championships) as qualifiers for 2003. Milton Keynes (Jul-27), Salford (Aug-10) and Gullane (Aug-17, but not yet confirmed) have been picked as qualifiers for 2004. Also announced are the qualifiers for the Duathlon World Championships; Ashbourne (Apr-6) and Litespeed/Swindon (May-18, also the National Duathlon Championships).

Dec-12: Award for Leanda Cave

At the annual awards by British Sports Writers a couple of nights ago the 'Peter Wilson Trophy for Best International Newcomer' went to Leanda Cave, who followed her triathlon silver medal at the Commonwealth Games by winning the world championship in Mexico, last month. Sadly they seem to have forgotten to mention her silver medal at the European Championships...

Dec-11: Christmas triathlon definitely on

Mike Russell's legendary Christmas Day triathlon is definitely ON. Free entry plus all finishers get free midweek series entry (worth £60). No wetsuits are allowed for the 100m swim, 7 mile bike and 1.5 mile run. Start 9am (ish!). Call Mike on 01892 730934 or 07802 812403.

Dec-09: Norman Brook does the rounds

On Saturday January 11th 2003 at Burgess Hill, West Sussex, BTA Chief Executive Norman Brook will be holding a consultation workshop. This is an open forum for everyone involved in Triathlon in the South East region and is your chance to have your say in the future development of your chosen sport. The workshop will follow the regional AGM where all committee posts are open and up for election. For more details and to book your place, please contact Emma Forward on 01273 644154 or .

Apparently Norman will be visiting all the regions -- like this is something special for him to be doing. Surely the whole point of being the Chief Executive of an open association like the BTA is to gather the feelings and opinions of the members and update them on the progress that has been made. Just after NB became the Chief Exec he made a similar tour and it would be interesting to get a point by point update on where the BTA is in respect of the issues that were raised that time around. If you have issues with the way the sport is being run then do make the effort to go along and get answers or, at least, get your views heard.

Dec-05: HIMUK stays at half distance

Well, it's official. The pre-registered athletes should all have had an email last night from Ron Thorne, the newly appointed Race Director, confirming that the event is to stay as a Half Ironman for 2003. As there are more pre-registered athletes than spaces it could be a bit of a scramble to sign up before it's open to all on Sunday. See the Ironman UK websitefor more details.

Dec-03: BTA elections

Over a week has passed and the new BTA website still isn't showing the results of the elections at the AGM so here's what we got from the Chairman, Peter Coulson. The words "No election" mean that the post was not up for renewal at this AGM.

Post	Held by	Elected
Chairman	Peter Coulson	Re-elected
Vice Chairman	Dave Bellingham	No Election
Treasurer	Peter Beech-Allen
Executive Board	Paul Groves	No Election
Executive Board	Jasmine Flatters	No Election
Executive Board	Beth Davies	No Election
Executive Board	Heather Williams	No Election
Executive Board	Norman Brook	No Election
Executive Board	Clive Faine
Executive Board	Jem Lawson	Newly Elected

There were no Resolutions for consideration and the Item of Special Business was put to the Meeting and it was agreed unanimously, after discussion, that the content of the item was current BTA policy and therefore no further action was necessary.

Camps in 2003

Bluewater have now finalised the dates of their SuperTri week in Mallorca with British Olympic Triathlon coach Bill Black and Olympic swimmers James Parrack and Matthew O'Connor. The camp runs from March 22nd to 29th and costs £395 per person (see website for group specials). This includes transfers, 7 nights full board at the Beach Club and all sessions. The price does not include flights; EasyJet, Buzz and BMIBaby have the lowest flight prices to Palma. The cycling terrain is the best in Europe, there is a 25m outdoor pool on site, a running track five minutes away and it has full weights and aerobic rooms on site. Call James on 07748 654 863 or email .

Chester Tri is hosting two triathlon training weekends with Chris Jones (the BTA High Performance Coach). These will be on 11th/12th January and 5th/6th April, and will be at Total Fitness gym in Chester. A booking form will be available on their website.

Nov-24: BTA Awards

Congratulations to Leanda Cave and Stuart Hayes as BTA Athletes of the Year and to Human Race who scooped Best Event for Windsor and Best Organiser for John Lunt. Annie Emmerson and Spencer Smith picked up the Long Distance awards.

Nov-22: Annie's NOT retiring

Following a comment in Siri Lindley's farewell piece in a US tri magazine there seems to have been the understanding that Annie Emmerson was also chucking in the towel. No so, at least according to her long-time partner and fellow triathlete Richard Stannard. She has, however, lost her WCCP funding and is currently figuring out what she needs to do next year to secure her position in the sport: obviously winning at Llanberis counts for nothing in the BTA's Olympic-centric view. Ooops, mustn't start on that track again or people might ask questions at the AGM and we couldn't have that...

Ride with AJ

Andrew Johns won't be at the AGM either -- he'll be riding out with the regular Sunday morning crowd from Sigma Sport in Kingston. If you fancy tagging along and finishing up for coffee and treats at The Terrace afterwards be at the shop ready for the off at 9:30am. Details on the Sigma Sport website.

Nov-14: Duathlon places available

Lorraine Ferris is still taking entries for the Tomac off-road duathlon on November 24th. If you fancy a go at the 2 mile run, 10 mile MTB, 2 mile run or 1 mile, 5 mile, 1 mile versions then email her at

Nov-11: Simon wins in China

According to Katherine Williams' Digest Simon Lessing won the first Hainan Discovery International Triathlon held on Hainan Island at Sanya, south China, on Saturday. Presumably a better day than he would have had in Cancun?

Cancun results problems

Well we've already had one irate email and I'm sure we'll get more -- like it's our fault that the online results from Cancun seemed to be showing people as a DNF when they actually finished. So far as we can tell all the results on our page now match with the ITU's official results.

New race website

There's now a new site devoted to the Yorkshire Dales Triathlon and associated events. Maintained by John Schofield of ukresults.net fame it has results going back to 1992 (except for 1994 when he wasn't invited to compile them!). He would like to put an appeal out for anyone who has printed results for any missing years . If anyone has any anecdotes, reviews, comments, photos and general input to the site of competitors' recollections of the event, the good and bad moments etc. so that these can go on the site too (anonymously if preferred!).

Nov-10: Elites race in Cancun

Leanda Cave takes Gold, Michelle Dillon takes Bronze with Barb Lindquist as the Silver. Way to go girls!! Andrea Whitcombe was 17th, Jess Harrison (previously marked as a DNS) was 23rd and Julie Dibens was a DNF. Apparently Leanda passed Barb just as the announcer was telling the crowd that she (Barb) was to be the new World Champion - with 500m to go... Obviously the news from the Commonwealth Games never made it to the USA!

In the Mens, won by Ivan Rana with Peter Robertson second, Andrew Johns took Bronze, Marc Jenkins was 17th, Richard Stannard 24th and Tim Don 30th.

Full results and splits are here and there's more detail on the ITU website.

Bella blasts Florida

Bella Comerford won Ironman Florida in 9:36:33! Amazing result and, perhaps, a sign of things to come? Oh, and she wore a PINK outfit... Mmm, bet it looked better on her than Spencer! UPDATE: Here's a picture of her crossing the line courtesy of Hammy Handwerker who covers most of the IM races and kindly lets us have shots.

Nov-09: Updates from Cancun

Results have been slow to appear on the race website but so far in the Junior Men we have Oliver Freeman in 6th, Daniel McKeating in 18th, Lee Thornhill in 31st and Harry Wiltshire in 44th. For the Junior Women we have Helen Tucker in 9th and Holly Gibbs in 22nd.

Stuart Hayes placed 3rd and Catherine Hare 22nd in the Under 23 race.

We've finally retrieved all the age group results and here are the GB finishers in age group categories.

Nov-03: GB results from Aquathlon

Early success for GB age groupers today at the ITU World Aquathlon Championships here in Cancun.

Sonia Hurst and Sophie Whitworth took silver and bronze respectively in the 30-34 cat, whilst Graham Brookhouse took gold in the 40-44s. Colin Bushby picked up the bronze in the 55-59, with Mike Whitworth finishing 4th in 45-49 and Michael Lisle 7th and Malcolm Sargeant 8th in the 45-49s.

Age group manager, Jasmine Flatters, was given the honour of presenting the medals to the elite women at the Awards Ceremony, whilst Les Macdonald gave the flowers! Things will really start to hot up in the already steamy town of Cancun when all the rest of the teams start to arrive in the next few days for the ITU Triathlon World Championships.

Nov-02: Crimewatch

Jon Stroud's house in Nether Westcote village in the Cotswolds (between Burford and Stow-on-the-Wold) was broken into on the night of October 29/30 and a whole bunch of kit was stolen. This includes a 62cm Angliru U2 road bike in orange, black and white, a 60cm Angliru Altec 2+ road bike in orange and black, A Corima disc wheel, a Corima Aero wheel (both in bags and a ladies Specialized Expedition YR2000 15in mountain bike in metallic green. If anyone gets offered any of the above could they contact Jon by email on or by phone on 01993 830387.

Oct-30: Another new half distance race

No sooner had we heard the news about the Bala half distance race than up pops another one at Rutland Water. Following the sucess of the Dambuster (standard distance race) at the venue last year the organisers will be running it again on Sunday 29th June 2003. In addition a new Middle Distance race will also be held at Rutland Water on Saturday 6th September 2003. The event which will consist of a 1900m swim, 90km bike and 21km run will be titled The Vitruvian Triathlon. Details will appear soon on the Beyond Transition website.

Spaces at Leybourne

Due to low numbers entries will be available on the day for Sunday's off-road duathlon (1.75m/11m/3m) at Leybourne Lakes. Registration will be at 8am, Leybourne Lake is just off J4 of the M20. Further details from Mike Russell on 07802 812403 day 01892 730934 evenings.

Oct-29: Surrey Police warning

Surrey Police are trying to catch a serial rapist who has now struck eight times in the past 3 months. His victims have been women aged between 10 and 52 years and in the Surrey area he has attacked victims in the Epsom, Redhill and Woking areas. The offender approaches his victims from behind and has targeted cyclists as well as females wearing headphones. The rapist is described as a white male, aged between 30 and 50 years old, with short dark hair, of medium height with a muscular build and rough, tanned skin. If you see anyone matching this description acting suspiciously, or threateningly towards you, please contact the police on telephone 01483-571212 or e-mail to

Meeting dates for London and South East regions

The South East Region will be holding an open meeting at the Land Registry Building in Tunbridge Wells on Friday November 15th at 7.30pm. Come and have your say in the running of your sport and see how you can help develop Triathlon in your area. All clubs are encouraged to send a representative. For details contact Emma Forward on 01273 644154 or 07813 880378.

The London Region AGM and Christmas Social will be on Monday December 2nd at 7.30pm, venue TBC. All clubs are invited to send a representative. This year's meeting will take on a less formal approach over a social meal part funded by the region. All committee posts will be up for election and newcomers are especially welcome. Please contact if you wish to attend.

Oct-28: (H)IMUK update

The word is beginning to spread and it definitely looks like (H)IMUK will now be on August 31st 2003 and will be based at Sherborne Castle in Dorset - which is not a million miles from Yeovil... Details are not complete at this stage but just looking at the local roads there's a number of options down towards the South Coast and Weymouth/Lyme Regis which would give a really interesting but not too challenging bike route. The swim will presumably be in the castle's lake and the run in and around the grounds. More details as they emerge.

Also announced today is a new Middle Distance event in North Wales. Hosted at Bala, where there's a well-established standard distance event (September 21st 2003), the new race will be on June 1st 2003. Check the Wrecsam Tri website for updates.

Oct-24: So, where was that sprint finish?

I know that someone out there likes accurate reporting (and often has a go at me for my casual approach) so perhaps you would all like to take a look at the video on the ITU website of the highlights of the men's duathlon on Sunday. All the reports are going on about a sprint finish and how Tim only won by a second but, what I'd like to know is, "where's the sprint?" Oh, there's a sprint for something like 6th, 7th and 8th but there is no way that Tim's finish is a sprint - Greg has handed him the race 10s of metres out from the finish line and there's no challenge at all. That's not to diminish Tim's result, far from it - he beat them all fair and square!

One GB age grouper who was there on the final run-in says that Greg made a move so Tim went for the line but it's still pretty clear that he runs in without any real concern that he's going to get caught. We gather that in the team briefing Tim stated that his plan was to stay with Benny on the first run and see what happened on the bike - a proposition that many others in the GB elite squad found hard to believe (and apparently said so). A plan he delivered quite nicely, I think...

Other interesting items on the highlights are the referees in T2 -- some of you think I get in the way over helmet violations! I'm amazed that guy wasn't on his back!

Oct-20: Tim Don takes Gold

Tim Don has taken the Gold in the mens elite race - beating Benny van Steelant whose crown has seemed impregnable in recent years. In fact Benny finished 31st despite being in contention for the first run and bike sections. Tim's closest rival was Greg Bennett (AUS)- the winning margin was just one second! Full GB results are here, all the results are on the event website and there's a good write-up on the ITU website as well.

Earlier in the day the well-oiled GB duathlon machine continued its winning ways of Saturday with Stuart Hayes taking Bronze in the U23 men and Karen Sindall taking Gold in the U23 women. In the female elite race Annie Emmerson was just off the medals in 4th with Michelle Dillon 5th, Vicky Pincombe 7th and Andrea Whitcombe 8th. All four GB athletes had been in the lead or chase groups throughout the race.

Oct-19: Alpharetta updates

Looks like Jasmine Flatters is going to be having problems with the silverware department again... The age group results from Alpharetta show two Golds (Alan Rowe 35-39 and Cyril Leigh 65-69), 4 Silver (Imogen Thornburgh 25-29, Bev Thomas 30-34, Elaine Statham 55-59, Gary Gerrard 35-39) and two Bronze (Brian Roberts 45-49, Veville Wood 65-69) so far! See here for the GB age group summary, full results and more detailed splits are on the event website.

Hawaii updates

Live commentary reported that Spencer was DQd for a second bike course violation. An on-the-spot report from Hammy Handwerker said "He argued with the marshall for a while, and then just rode it on it about the last 35 miles. Happened about 300 meters from me."

On a happier note, some stunning GB performances, Tom Rickards (now, is he GB or AUS??) was definitely a man on a mission!

All the known GB splits are listed here, full results can be pulled from the WTC website at www.ironmanlive.com. If you want to read some of the comments on the race then the best we have found are on Dam Empfield's Slowtwitch website at http://www.slowtwitch.com/.

Oct-15: Warm-up for the Worlds

The final ITU Cup race before the World Championships at Funchal in Madeira saw Marc Jenkins placing 2nd behind Ivan Rana with Richard Stannard 18th and Andrew Johns 34th. In the ladies race Andrea Whitcombe took her first ITU victory with Jess Harrison finishing 10th. The Funchal course will be used as the final qualifier for the Olympics in 2004 when it hosts the World Championships.

Oct-12: What athletes eat...

A couple of weeks back we passed comment about the feeding stations at HIMUK and, by sheer coincidence, we got a press release yesterday detailing what was eaten during the race day itself. Helene Bauer, the aid station co-ordinator said, "We serve one of the best buffets in triathlon, but it couldn't be done quite as well without the 3,500 of the best sponsors and volunteers." Just for amusement here's a list, but bear in mind, the thousands of cookies, doughnuts, frosted cakes, and other assorted goodies have not been accounted for. Nor has the incredible amount of beer consumed by the nearly 100,000 spectators along the route!

15,200 bananas, 1,800 apples, 500 oranges, 350 kiwis, 330 lemons, 380 melons, 12 kg raisins, 60 kg dry fruits, 1,800 rice cakes, 18,000 energy bars, 10,000 litres of mineral drinks, served in 50,000 drinking cups and/or in 8,000 drinking bottles, 4,500 litres of Coca-Cola, 16,500 litres of Franken Brunnen mineral water, 2,800 cups of yogurt, 2,800 cups of buttermilk, 600 litres of milk, 3,600 turkey, beef or pork and cheese sandwiches on fresh baguettes, 2,000 packs of salt sticks and crackers, 1,700 pieces of chocolate and 500 packs of waffles.

Next year's buffet will be served on July 6th, bookings are being taken on their website.

Oct-09: The BTA responds

I have to confess that some of my comments about the BTA in a recent opinion piece about HIMUK were deliberately intended to provoke a response! Peter Coulson, the BTA Chairman, has kindly provided a view from his side of the table which I'm reproducing in full below.

The concerns expressed on your website that the BTA do not take anything other than the ITU Elite style racing seriously is misinformed. The Association is committed to supporting Triathlon and Duathlon in Great Britain in all forms from Childrens Events, Regional Events, National Events, International Events and World Events. All well structured events are encouraged so that members and potential members can have a choice of races at any distance they wish to choose.

As an Olympic Sport our World Class Programme is funded to achieve success. To that end our Elite Athletes are committed to racing ITU World Cup and Points Races in order to achieve the highesr possible World Rankings to maximise our participation in the Olympic Games. Without the goal of Olympic participation we would not have the funding at all. The exposure our elite athletes get on TV and in the Press helps to attract people to the sport. Quote from Sebastian Coe, "Paula Radcliffe has done more by her performances which were seen on TV to attract women to athletics than spending money on Stadiums".

As to your question of National Ranking then I would agree, this is an area which has suffered in the last couple of years. We do not have a good enough National Series, Ranking System or Grand Prix which we have had in the past. A simple answer is that the results received from Race Organisers do not always carry sufficient information to produce a National Ranking quickly and considerable work has to be done to marry up race finishers with BTA Members. However, your question needs a more thorough examination than that. In 1999 the Association made a descision, which was well received, to appoint an Events Co-Ordinator in order to bring up the standard of Events in GB. Despite praise from all sections of the sport for the progress made, this position was removed after a little over a year. I have made my views known that it was not a good descision for the sport and, this year, we are seeing the results of that descision.

In the last few weeks we have appointed a Participation Manager to support members and to encourage new members to join the Association. He will have the benefit of the BTA Structure now in place on which to call to do that. Initially he will be concentrating on Events so that we can re-establish confidence that our members should have in the BTA and to ensure that we get more of the current participants in Triathlon to join. My aim is to have everyone connected with the sport moving in the same direction, forwards, but that must be a joint effort. Give and take by everyone.

Oct-08: Correction from Nice

Looks like Lara Maclean should have got a medal and after some behind the scenes re-checking of the results it seems that she will now get Gold for the S3 category. Belated congratulations!

Oct-06: Brits abroad

Andrew Johns raced in Japan this weekend but dropped out after the bike. A group of 16 riders had put two and a half minutes into the second pack which included AJ, effectively deciding the race before the run.

Simon Lessing won the Scott Tinley's Dirty Adventure Road Bike Triathlon in central California

Oct-05: More on HIMUK

Unsuprisingly we've had some feedback on our comments about HIMUK and it looks as though there may be even more going on behind the scenes. A long conversation with Marian at the HIMUK office has corrected the infomation about the council. It certainly looks like there has been a vocal minority in the community who have been against the event but the council definitively did not withdraw their support. All this has been reported in the local paper, the Post. What we do know has happened is that a number of areas elsewhere in the country had contacted HIMUK after the 2001 event to see if they would like to move and again after this year's race. Given some of the apparent threats against the race from the local community - it's amazing what some people get upset about! - and the practical issues about closing down an area for twice the time period it looks like the race organisers have made the decision to move to somewhere else.

All the other comments about the issues of infrastructure, getting local support, experienced crew, etc, etc remain perfectly valid. They will be there regardless of where the race is held.

One thing is also becoming clear - the UK is going to get more endurance events. One email tells us of plans for a new half distance race, another phone conversation tells us about another organiser's plans for a middle distance event. Perhaps we are going the way of the Germans where real racing seems to be anything that's longer than standard distance. Time will tell, of course, but it's an interesting thought that if middle distance and Ironman do become seriously popular in this country the BTA might just have to take them a little more seriously than it does at the moment. Not, it has to be said, that the BTA seem to take anything other than elite ITU-style racing that seriously anyway...

Too controversial? Well, perhaps, but even Simon Lessing seems to be taking a stand against the ITU circuit by stating in an interview with Inside Triathlon that, while he intends to represent GB at the 2004 Olympics (if he can qualify) he'll get there using as few ITU races as possible. His focus? Non-drafting events like Mrs Ts and half Ironman events like Wildflower. Interesting comments and ones that hark back to Spencer Smith's decision to leave the ITU circuit because he felt that drafting was spoiling the sport.

Oct-02: New winter duathlon series

Mike Russell is putting together a series of winter duathlons at Leybourne Lakes for both off and on-road athletes. The course uses parts of the established midweek series and standard distance events and adds in an off-road bike loop for those that like their racing muddy.

Dates for the off-road events are: Oct-13, Nov-3, Nov-24, Dec-15, Jan-5 and Jan-19 while the on-road events are Oct-27, Nov-17, Dec-22, Jan-12, Jan-26 and Feb-02. Full details from Mike by email at or ring him on 01892 730934.

HIMUK: where next?

Well it looks like the rumbles that we heard in Llanberis are pretty much confirmed - no race there in 2003 as the local council seem to have withdrawn their support for the event. A mailing to all the 2002 competitors is asking them to say whether they would like a full or a half-distance event in 2003 and also to suggest where it should be in rough geographic terms. All good PR to be sure but unless the terms of the original WTC contract got altered we understand that 2003 has to be a full distance event to keep the slots.

The other point is that putting together an event of that size is not something that is going to be done in six months or even nine. To make big events work you need three things: a reason for them to happen (Hawaii qualification slots is a pretty good reason...), a suitable venue with all the necessary infrastructure and local support and, most crucial on the day, a team of people who know what to do and how to do it. Events that only happen once, or even those that only happen once a year, only succeed by having a core crew of people who know what needs to be done. Changing event management or location has the potential to throw all the knowledge gained by the original crew into the trash pile. Consider, for example, the Commonwealth Games and the London Triathlon. Both big events, both major city venues, both under a lot of pressure to succeed. The Games succeeded because of nearly three years of detailed planning, two test events and a core crew who knew every aspect of the event. London fails in some way each year because of continual changes to the event structure, lack of a core crew who know the event and can manage it at the point of delivery (they can't be faulted on promotion or back-of-house) and reliance on untrained or poorly briefed recruits.

The point is, we believe, that (H)IMUK really must already know where the 2003 event is going to be staged and over what distances if they are going to stand a fighting chance of successfully making the move from one venue to another and one distance to another. The only real secret is where the new event will actually take place.

Sep-25: Bala Triathlon pictures

Photographs of the event (750 images in total) are available on the event photographer's website

Sep-25: Running Fitness Carsington Short Course Duathlon

Entries are still available for the above event, which takes place on Sunday 6th October from Carsington Reservoir, Ashbourne, Derbyshire. The event is an end-of-season burst; 5k run (flat), 30k undulating bike and a final fast 5k run. For further information and to download an entry form visit the Punishing Events website.

Sep-23: East Kilbride cancelled

The East Kilbride Duathlon has been cancelled. As this was a Scottish ranking event it has been agreed that the Stirling Duathlon on 20 October will now be a ranking event in its place.

Sep-22: Update from Nice, part 2

Today it's the turn of the long distance athletes with a huge age group contingent from GB together with a select elite field. Fergus Maclean has finished as first Brit elite in 27th place. Andy Blow and Mike Prince seem to have DNFd on the run, Lawrence Oldershaw DNFd on the bike. In the womens elite race Beth Thompson led out the swim and was out first on the bike and finished the run in 6th (7:23:43). Paula Adams was 17th, Annie Emmerson and Lisa Rowbottom seem to have both DNFd on the bike.

Among the age groupers the quickest Brit home was Dan Roiz de Sa in 7:32:56 which put him 60th, just ahead of Stephen Clark. For the British women Jess Draskau was first home in 8:14:50 (10th overall) with Lara Maclean and Tracey Horne following up. So far it looks as though the only GB medals are Gavin Reid, gold in the V2 category and Lara Maclean, silver in the S3 category. We have heard that Daf Belt has been hospitalised after she felt unwell on the bike and that another GB athlete has dislocated a shoulder.

The ITU website has picture coverage and links to the French federation website which has live searchable results.

Sep-21: Update from Nice, part 1

The ITU circus hits Nice this weekend with the World Cup race today and the World Long Distance Championships tomorrow. The standard distance event used a technical bike course which saw at least one major crash and a number of retirements.

In the womens race Michelle Dillon placed 3rd, Andrea Whitcombe 6th, Leanda Cave 7th, Julie Dibens 13th and Jess Harrison 18th. For the men Tim Don just missed the medals in 4th, Paul Amey was 8th, Marc Jenkins 10th, Richard Stannard 12th, Stuart Hayes 13th and Richard Allen 36th. Andrew Johns was a DNF on the bike. Full story and results on the ITU website.

Tomorrow the focus changes dramatically with the classic Nice course of 4k swim (and we hear the water is so warm it may be a non-wetsuit swim), 121k of bike (with an extra hill this year) and 29k of running on a new 3-lap course. You can get details (in French, of course) on the French Federation website.

Sep-18: Met Police have space on Lanzarote trip

The Met Police Tri Club have contacted us to say that they have places available on their warm weather training camp at Club La Santa from 20th March 2003. Julian Goater will be doing the coaching. For details contact Peter Stroud on 01689 828044 or email for details.

Sep-17: Lessing wins in California

After his third place in Los Angeles Simon Lessing upped the pace a bit and took the win at the Seagate Pacific Grove Triathlon at the weekend. This follows on from his win at the Boston Monster Triathlon a few weks back. Now he has moved to the US (apparently the weather and training facilities in Bath didn't suit him) and is based in Boulder, where he originally met his wife Lisa, it would seem logical for him to establish a serious racing presence there with a view to rebuilding his sponsorship deals. According to Katherine Williams' Tri Digest he has signed with San Diego-based Murphy Reinschreiber - presumably with a view to doing exactly that. Full results on the TriCalifornia website.

Sep-09: Free kit for Hawaii

Sport Import Europe, the manufacturers of Ironman-branded clothing, are looking for UK athletes who have qualified to race in Hawaii. They want to test new clothing materials and designs to ensure the products supplied to the market are able withstand the toughest day in sport. The athlete will be given, free of charge, a set of Ironman race kit in which to race, in return Sport Import will require the athlete to fill out a pre- and post-race questionnaire. Interested athletes should send an email to Brian Martin at initially including details of where and when they qualified together with their clothes sizes.

Brits abroad at the weekend

With the focus firmly at home this weekend with those 30 Hawaii 2003 slots up for grabs it's nice to note that there were more than a few Brits racing abroad this weekend. At the Los Angeles Triathlon where Spencer Smith and Simon Lessing were both due to race. Simon placed 3rd, Spencer 10th. Interesting to note how the LA Times covers triathlon; it's 3rd from bottom on their sports headlines behind such mass participation events as surfing and the main interest is in how much money they won...

At the ITU Points race in Madrid Danny Hayes placed 13th with Nigel Leighton 20th, Chris Volley 22nd, Duncan McKerracher 26th, Kevin Clark 27th, Andrew Fargus 34th, Richard Marsh 35th, Neil Swift 36th, Fraser Cartmell 39th, Danny Plews 43rd and Stuart Ashley 60th. Catriona Morrison placed 4th lady with Catherine Hare 8th, Karen Sindall 12th and Caroline Wallace 26th. Jo Hinde was a DNF. Full results and splits on the ITU website.

At the ITU World Cup race in Hamburg Andrew Johns placed second behind Greg Bennett with Marc Jenkins 8th, Tim Don 12th and David Haines a DNF. In the womens race Michelle Dillon was 4th with Leanda Cave 5th. Full results and splits on the ITU website.

Bella Comerford took 3rd place in the Zofingen Duathlon. More details on their website.

HIMUK update

UPDATE: Official results are now online for this year's half Ironman at Llanberis on the race website. Richard Jones was a clear winner for the men and Annie Emmerson for the women. There's a report on the BTA website which is essentially a reprint of the event PR -- you'll find more interesting and personal comments on the eGroup. Weather was typically Welsh: changeable would be a polite word, and the course was definitely tougher with the new run up the Llanberis pass but on the upside the lake was over 3° warmer which made the swim less of an issue than last year. Race organisation was definitely on top of everything except the weather and nobody could accuse Ron Bell and Chris Boon of not getting stuck in to sort any problems so it looks like the new management are delivering on their promises.

Aug-31: Updates from Lausanne

The ITU Cup circuit hits Lausanne today, an interesting venue given the recent rumours that Triathlon might be out of the Olympics (a rumour even more recently quashed, see pages 11 onwards). The ladies race finished with yet another win for Siri Lindley (USA) with Leanda Cave 4th, Andrea Whitcombe 5th (obviously the recent warm-up swim at Bedford helping), Michelle Dillon 7th and Julie Dibens 10th. Jess Harrison was 14th, Tanja Allen 25th and Annie Emmerson 29th.

In the mens race, which ended with torrential rain and Filip Ospalay (CZE) outsprinting Greg Bennett (AUS) to snatch the win, Andrew Johns placed 3rd, Tim Don 9th, Marc Jenkins 16th, Richard Stannard 20th and Stuart Hayes 23rd. Richard Allen was a DNF. Full race report and results on the ITU website.

Aug-30: Derby Triathlon is full

Entries for the Derby Triathlon on Spetember 15th have now closed with a record field of 580 athletes, a large percentage of which are first timers to the sport. For race details, past results, entry list etc go to the Punishing Events website. They are still taking entries for the Running Fitness 'Short Course' duathlon on October 6th based at Carsington, the same venue as the Ashbourne Duathlon.

Aug-29: Date change for Hampshire Fire

The date for the Hampshire Fire rowing triathlons previously advertised as 13th October, will now be held on October 20th. There is a junior event in the morning and an adult race at lunchtime. The kids race is the final race in the Southern BTA Region Childrens Series and presentations to all the regional winners will also take place here. The adult race is a 3000m row, 21k bike and 3.5k run and is open to relay teams as well as individuals. Full details on their website or e-mail .

Aug-28: Charity Dinner

Nicola Don, Tim's sister, is looking for some support for the Optima Masked Ball, an annual fund-raiser put on by the Optima Racing team to raise money for the Samaritans and the Majajani Trust which is a shanty town school just outside Nairobi.

The date is Friday 13th September, the venue is The Richmond Hill Hotel, Richmond, Surrey. The evening starts at 7:30 with the usual canapes and champagne followed by the full dinner and dance. A raffle is planned with prizes including a boat trip for five on the Thames, a painting of the view from Richmond Hill, dinner for two at a top Sushi Bar in Soho, massages ( of the sporting variety...), list is endless. The highlight of the evening is the Slave Auction of Athletes where you can bid for members of the Optima Team to perform tasks for you.

For details contact Nicola on 0798 441 6065 or email [email protected]. Tables of 8,10 and even 12 are available and tickets are £65 each.

Aug-26: Brits abroad at the weekend

Paul Amey placed 4th at Mrs Ts in Chicago.

At the Mr Ts ITU race in Ghent, Belgium, Chris Moffatt placed 2nd with David Haines 3rd, Andrew Fargus 5th, Kevin Clark 13th, Alun Woodward 22nd, Richard MacNamee 31st, Dave Gamble 33rd, Colin Hill 34th and James Ritchie 35th. In the women's race Catriona Morrison was 3rd with Tanja Allen 9th. Full results and splits on the Belgian Triathlon Federation site.

Aug-23: SW Series update

The results of the South West Series after 11 of the 13 events are now available. The cancellation of the South Cerney event may cause some people problems if they were relying on the race for their open water swim or their fourth counting event. If this is the case, these people should contact the Series Co-ordinator () in order to assess what points score should be given to them.

Aug-22: Last chance for Nice

All remaining spare places for the ITU Long Distance Triathlon Championships in Nice, and those selected who have not confirmed by payment, will close as of Monday 26th August, when the Team will be officially announced to the French Organisers and payment will be made.

Could those of you who have qualified and returned payment, BUT not enclosed a photocopy of the front and back of your race licence - clearly showing that you have an International Endorsement and a photograph of yourself on the back, please do so at your earliest convenience! For further information contact the GB Age Group Team Manager, Ian Pettitt, by email on

Aug-20: Brits at the World Long Distance Duathlon

Wayne Smith reports: The world long distance championships took place in Austria on Sunday. Here are the top performances of the day by the Brits taking a top 10 place in their respective age-groups. Full results are on their website.

M30-34	5th	Ian Coupland	3hr 39-02
M45-49	7th	Ian Howard	3-45-55
M50-54	2nd	Chip Rafferty	3-46-31
M55-59	5th	Mick Anglim	4-04-17
M65-69	2nd	Les Bailey	4-17-26
W25-29	2nd	Helen Parkinson	4-07-45
W30-34	4th	Helen Ruffel	4-29-03
W55-59	4th	Dorothy Wagstaff	5-11-19

In the Elites our main hope for a medal, Vicky Pincombe pulled up with a quad muscle problem which she picked up in a race in Belgium 2 weeks earlier. Juliette Clarke had a great race to finish 13th in 3-56-09. Martin Yelling suffered cramps on the bike and battled on to finish 29th in 3-27-15. And yours truly finished just one spot ahead of him in 28th in 3-26-27, also not having a particularly good day. Paul Lowe DNF'ed after suffering with a cold the few days leading up to the race.

Tough conditions, hard course... but the crowd support and atmosphere was electric and more than made up for it

Annie Emmerson gets second at Fredericia

In what we think may have been her first long course event since Ironbridge in 1997 (thanks to JL for reminding us!), Annie Emmerson placed second at the half-ironman distance event in Fredericia on Sunday. Andrew Johns was down to race but never showed at registration, possibly because his girfriend Lisbeth Kristensen withdrew as a result of an injury. Full results are on their website. [UPDATE: Apparently AJ had considered doing Frederica as Lisbeth was going to race (she was only ever planned to do the swim and bike as she has had too much time off running after hurting her foot pre and during Lanzarote) but he decided to race Geneva instead where he got second place behind Craig Walton. Richard Stannard took 7th and David Haines 8th. Scotland's Catriona Morrison placed third female. Full results on the ITU website.]

Aug-16: Blackwater Triathlon

Blackwater Triathlon Club in Essex in association with Blackwater Leisure Centre, Blackwater Harriers Running Club, Maldon & District Cycle Club, and Maldon & District Council will be holding their second novice and sprint distance triathlon on the 15nd of September. The novice race is a 200m swim, 12km bike and 3 km run. The sprint race is double the distance with a 400m swim, 23km bike and 6km run. For non BTA members entry will be £13 (Novice) and £15 (Sprint). All proceeds will got to the nominated charity, Aspire who work with people with spinal cord injuries. For further information and entry forms visit the club website or email . Alternatively contact Rob Howles on 01621 741933 or Karen Eyles on 01245 328327

Aug-15: New event

A new event, the Cockerham Triathlon, is taking place near Lancaster, Lancs, on 26th August 2002 and it has a 4pm start! This is a 350m open water swim, 15k (mostly off-road) bike and a 5k (mostly off road) run. Quite scenic in places with views across Morecambe Bay to the Lake District. Entry fees £12/£10 BTA, £18 relay team. There are also shorter events for younger competitors down to 8 years old. Cost for these is £5. Contact details are Alison Barnett, Broadgate Cottage, Lancaster Road, Cockerham, Lancaster LA2 0DZ. An entry form, map and other details can be downloaded from John Scofield's website.

An apology

For the first time since we started this site back in 1997 there was a serious interruption to service over the past two days. This was down to moving the contents to a new, free host provided by Paul Moss. Unfortunately, our planning was less than perfect and the scripts that run the race and club databases promptly failed. Judging by the volume of mail that resulted - and which we could not pick up because the hosting change also screwed up the mail re-direction - you tend to use this part of the site rather a lot...

Everything is now back where it started and normal service is restored. We will be moving stuff off to another server but this will be done in a way that is transparent and doesn't impact the core of the site. The reasons for moving are simply down to the volume of traffic through the site and the resulting increased costs of hosting.

Thanks to everyone for your patience and also for all the suggestions as to cheaper hosts and other sneaky ways of solving the problem.

Aug-14: Fire Service duathlon open to all

A new Fire Service-organised duathlon welcomes open competitors as well as those from the fire service. The event is being held at the National Fire Service College at Moreton-in-the-Marsh in Gloucestershire on closed private roads on Saturday 21st September. The College has never allowed its grounds to be used for this type of event before and it is even more unusual for non fire service personnel to be allowed in. Competitors will race the 5k 30k 5k event using the private roads around the impressive training facility which has full-size houses, tower blocks, factories, a shopping mall, chemical plant, oil tanks and even a ship that are regularly set ablaze for firefighters to practice on! The event is the final round of the National Fire Service Series but will have seperate categories and prizes for open competitors. For more info and entry forms please contact Peter Crook at or on 02380 365636

Aug-13: New duathlon

News just in of the White Rose Duathlon, on September 1st. It takes place at Wigginton Sports Club, Wigginton near York and is a new venue for their annual event which offers ample parking, good facilities and a challenging and scenic course. Two events are planned: a duathlon (5k run, 45k bike, 5k run) and a 10k run. Entry is BTA £20, non BTA £23. Post entries to White Rose Duathlon, 40 Neville Terrace, York YO31 8LN, email , phone 01904 640 042 or 07771 616 968.

Aug-12: Weekend update

The definite highs of the weekend were the National Relays, Swanage and the many offers of help with the website. The lows seem to have been the, by now, inevitable chaos with the elite waves at London. Having been involved in one way or another with every London Triathlon until this year, I was very glad indeed to be many miles away enjoying the relaxed atmosphere at Swanage! Perhaps the only comment that I'll make is that this may finally get the message home to the BTA that you just can't mix a mass participation event with an elite one. As witnessed a week ago at the Commonwealth Games, planning and executing an elite event is a whole different ballgame to putting on an event for age groupers!

Aug-09: Big weekend, big problem

This weekend sees London, Swanage, the National Relays and a smattering of smaller events around the UK. Great for competitors but a major headache for us. For reasons that are not entirely clear this site seems to have been growing in popularity at an astonshing rate. Regular readers will recall that we asked for help some weeks ago when the traffic started breaking our bandwidth limits - their generosity helped us fund an upgrade to the next level of hosting. Those limits were broken again in July - and the current traffic levels indicate we will now risk exceeding the web hosting company's further improved bandwidth limits. In July 100,000 pages were accessed on the site with a resulting traffic level of nearly 4G!

The crazy thing is that our pages are all pretty tightly coded, we don't make extensive use of graphics and we simply can't work out how to make things smaller and still offer the same service. OK, this is the summer and the traffic will fall off as the season closes down but the past three months have more than tripled the annual running costs. This is NOT another appeal for financial help - we already did that and we are extremely grateful to those who contributed. What we need to do now is to step back and figure out a way of either getting cheaper hosting (possibly offshore, US hosts seem much cheaper) or spreading the load across lots of 'free' providers.

If anyone has any good suggestions or knows of reliable cheap webhosts with large bandwidth allowances do please let us know!

Age group update for Cancun

The usual last-minute flurry of applications and withdrawals has meant that there are now some extra spaces available to go for at next weekend's last qualifier, Gullane.

Aug-06: Can anyone help?

One of the spectators at the Games on Sunday had her car stolen from a Manchester station. Apart from the loss of the car, clothes and cycling gear, she has also lost her bike. This is immediately identifiable as it is Tim Don's old one and is in a distinctive colour with his name on the top tube. If anyone out there hears of this being offered for sale could they please contact the police and let us know as well and we'll pass the news on to the owner.

Aug-04: Commonwealth Games triathlon a triumph

Whatever your nationality, and even if you are not part of the Commonwealth, you could not help but have been impressed by today's events. Over two and a half years of planning including the proving event in 2000 and last year's test event came to fruition today with approaching 80,000 people out on the Quays and Manchester's roads cheering on the elite fields.

Elite, however, means nothing in the Commonwealth Games. Here the cheers are even louder for the rest of the field and the medal ceremony was actually interrupted and delayed by the huge cheers for the oldest competitor, Martin Cross of Norfolk Island. If that weren't enough, the crowd in front of the Lowry and around the finish line stayed on -- waiting for Dave Savage of Kiribati who was in trouble on the run. The noise as he crossed the line was truly spectacular and the celebrations just as intense as if he had won the gold medal.

To have been a part of it was definitely an emotional experience and it's the first and probably last time that I've ever seen John and Jasmine totally unable to speak at the end of an event. The script could not have been better written by a Hollywood team.

The results are all up on the Commonwealth Games website and I've loaded a local copy as the official one has a problem with the run splits. Meantime, we are all off to the closing ceremony so watch for the block of smart blue Human Race polo shirts in the stands!

WOMEN
1	Carol Montgomery	CAN	2:03:17
2	Leanda Cave	WAL	2:03:37
3	Nicole Hackett	AUS	2:03:42
MEN
1	Simon Whitfield	CAN	2:03:17
2	Miles Stewart	AUS	2:03:37
3	Hamish Carter	NZ	2:03:42

Jul-29: Regional training day

The London and South East regions are funding a free training day for youngsters aged 11-16. Four of the regions top coaches will take various sessions at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre on August 24th. The day will have sessions for complete beginners, intermediate and experienced athletes. Any athlete from the London Youth Games is particularly welcome. To attend the day you must be able to swim, ride a bike and run. You also need to bring a roadworthy bike (of any kind) with you. Places are very limited, book by contacting Emma Forward on 01273 644154 or . A deposit of £10 is needed to secure your place and this will be returned when you register on the day. The training day will also incorporate the Inter Regional Teams' training in preparation for the Championships on September 7th in Wales.

Jul-27: Gold in Graz for 14/15 boys team

Another gold for GB in Graz: the 14/15 team of Gavin Stokes, Alistair Brownlee and Adam Hickey ran away with the event and were clear winners. In the Youth A team event David Giles was challenging for second place and had the misfortune to be behind a Russian who messed up a corner. David hit the gravel, broke his chain and ran half the course to collect a spare bike from transition - the gravel rash is apparently quite spectacular. Ollie Freeman then posted the fastest split of the day to put GB back in contention but it looks like William Clark and two others unfortunately did an extra bike lap which dropped GB back into 7th. The timing is being triple checked to see exactly what did happen. Results can be found on the event website.

Jul-26: Lee Thornhill wins Europeans

Lee Thornhill came from about 15th in the swim and the second pack on the bike to win on the second lap of the run at the European Junior Championships in Graz, Austria.

Canadian goes home

Much reported elsewhere in the media so we won't bore you all with the details but Kelly Guest, a Canadian triathlete has been send home after testing positive for nandrolone at the Edmonton ITU World Cup race.

Jul-23: Going to Manchester?

If you are planning to go to Manchester for the Commonwealth Games Triathlon on August 4th then please be aware of the following points.

Parking will be a major problem! Work out in advance where you want to park and expect to walk in to the Quays. There's plenty of information about parking locations and local transport on the Commonwealth Games website.

The Quays will be closed to public transport at 0700 so get there early! The Millennium footbridge is part of the run course and so the only access between the MUFC/War Museum side of the ship canal and the Lowry/transition/finish side is by a ferry service.

Bring an FM radio because there will be a local broadcast service running on 107.7 MHz for triathlon and other events on the Quays.

Bring flags to support your country's athletes; English, Scotting, Welsh, Northern Irish, whatever, bring them and wave them to help generate some atmosphere.

This website will be running in a restricted service mode from Saturday 27th until after the Games because we'll be up there working on the triathlon. Because of this we'll probably be the LAST people to publish the news of who wins! Sorry, we will try to keep up with the essentials but things like results and background updates may well be a little slower than normal. The classified ads service will be suspended.

More GB success in Europe

At the Echternach ITU Points race GB also gained a major result for the women with Andrea Whitcombe first in 2:17:55, Annie Emmerson second in 2:19:09 and Tanja Allen third in 2:19:19. Jess Harrison took 5th spot. In the men's race Richard Stannard took second behind Simon Thompson of Australia, Chris Moffatt was 6th, Alun Woodward 7th and Richard Allen 11th after apparently having bike problems. Other GB finishers were Richard Marsch (?) 16th, Nigel Leighton 19th, Fraser Cartmell 24th and James Amey 28th.

Jul-21: National Sprints

No news yet on when the results will be available but we do hear that there were some problems with the pool swim which may have led to some DQs being posted. The debate has raged on the eGroup as to whether a pool-based swim is right or wrong - we don't think it really matters. What does matter is that the event is organised so that everyone gets a fair and equal race and this seems to have been the problem. Doubtless there will be more details forthcoming from the BTA at some point. Results are up on Stuart Mullage's website.

Brits clean up in Hanover

Andrew Johns and Leanda Cave both took wins at the ITU Points race in Hanover today. Leanda's win was interesting in that she appears to have worked as a team with Anneliese Heard and Julie Dibens (who took second and third respectively). All three of the women will be in Manchester; Cave and Heard for Wales, Dibens for England, and the team aspect is interesting because it seems like the women may be planning to do what the men apparently won't do. Results should appear on the event website or the ITU website at some point.

Jul-20: Triathlon's biggest pay day?

Despite all the political to-ing and fro-ing over the date clash between the ITU Points race at Corner Brook and the Life Time Fitness Triathlon in Minneapolis the latter race seems to have pulled the bigger field with its $180,000 purse. As Barb Lindquist, the race winner, is quoted as saying: "I lose my number-one world ranking tomorrow, but that's OK: $50,000, I'll take it."

In a format reminiscent of the old Bupa Triathlon at Bath, the ladies went first with a 9:39 start advantage which took account of other events on this course and current world records in the individual disciplines. At the end Lindquist was just 400m ahead of Craig Walton who finished third behind Becky Gibbs. Paul Amey finished 8th, Simon Lessing 13th and Tim Don 30th. Results are on the event website.

Jul-18: Spencer Smith withdraws from Ironman Germany

After his Ironman Brazil victory earlier this year Spencer was looking for a good result in Germany to lead him up to the main prize of Ironman Hawaii. However, a niggling Achilles injury has led him to withdraw from the race and he is preparing to return to California at the end of the month. Hawaii is still very much the target for the year and he felt that there was no point racing against strong opposition in Germany if he was going at less than 100%

Jul-17: New duathlon

The Running Fitness short course duathlon is a new addition to the event calendar from the organisers of the Ashbourne for those who fancied a go but thought that The Ashbourne Duathlon was too tough. The distances are 5k 30k 5k and the race still has a couple of climbs (so compared to a lot of courses still fairly tough going). It is to be held at Carsington Water with the bike course taking in the foothills of the Peak District. The event will be supported by Running Fitness magazine and race details and entry forms will be printed in the October issue (out beginning of September) or you can print and send an entry form from www.punishingevents.com which also includes video footage, photo's, results of the race that took place in May

London extends the elite route

The London Triathlon have finally announced that the cycle part of this year's elite race will be entering central London for the first time. Taking in many of the capital's key landmarks including Tower Bridge, St Paul's Cathedral, The Bank of England and the Lloyds Building, this scenic route is a major coup for the 11th August race. The new route will start at ExCeL and enter central London from The Highway going south over Tower Bridge, back over Southwark Bridge, west to Blackfriars and then through the City of London, past some of the financial centre's most famous sights, before cycling back to the main core of the race in the Docklands. So far 85 national and international elite athletes have entered including many of the triathletes competing in the Commonwealth Games on 4 August.

Jul-16: Milton Keynes full, Leybourne Lakes with spaces

Apparently the Milton Keynes Triathlon is full but Mike Russell tells us he still has spaces at the Leybourne Lakes standard distance event.

Jul-15: Late news from the weekend

Simon Lessing warmed up for the Commonwealth Games in a seriously world-class field at Edmonton. In the end Simon Whitfield (CAN) took the tape showing that he is completely recovered from his injuries with Greg Bennett (AUS, but not selected for the Commonwealths) second and Hamish Carter (NZL) third. Simon was 4th with Paul Amey 5th.

Tim Don continued his season with a win at Hokkaido in Japan.

Jul-14: Commonwealth Games Transition Draw

The Transition Draw for the Commonwealth Games took place on July 8, 2002 at Commonwealth Games House, Manchester. There were three witnesses and one administrator. Each witness was from a different Commonwealth country. There were two draws - one for the Women and one for the Men. All relevant countries for each draw were written on pieces of paper which were folded and put into a bag. One witness drew blind, and gave the folded paper to the second witness who read out the country name to the administrator who logged each country in sequence.

This became the sequence list for each transition and was signed off as true and correct by each witness. This sequence can now be published, together with the methodology. On Thursday, Aug 1, when final numbers for each country are known, then transition numbers will be allocated to the country team manager, who has five minutes to advise of their preferred athlete order, or else numbers will be issued alphabetically from A to Z in numerical sequence. Any further countries entering athletes will be drawn in the next numerical sequence.

Women will be numbered from 1 to x and men from x+1 to y.

For those who are familiar with the setup at Salford Quays, slot 1 is the furthest away from the Lowry so, in the case of the men, England drew the shortest run in from the swim but, consequently, the longest run out with the bike. On the return from the bike they are closest to re-rack but then have the whole length of transition to run before turning back into the run course.

Transition Sequence Witnesses:
Natalie Guzzo, Canada - Venue Base Manager
Jackie Murdoch, Australia - Assistant Director of Sport
Nadja Lloyd, South Africa - Administrator for Sport Directorate
Administrator: Gill Ebsworth, England - PA to Director of Sport

WOMEN			MEN
1	Scotland		1	Jersey
2	Bermuda		2	Malta
3	Cook Islands		3	Australia
4	New Zealand		4	Norfolk Islands
5	South Africa		5	Northern Ireland
6	Wales		6	Bahamas
7	England		7	Zimbabwe
8	Northern Ireland		8	Canada
9	Malta		9	Scotland
10	Canada		10	New Zealand
11	Trinidad		11	Trinidad
12	Australia		12	Bermuda
			13	Gibraltar
			14	Kiribati
			15	Malaysia
			16	Wales
			17	England

Jul-10: Highland Games Triathlon cancelled

The organisers of the Highland Games Triathlon have been forced to cancel this Saturday's race (July 13) as the venue is waterlogged and the local authorities will not allow it to go ahead on safety grounds. Entry fees will be refunded.

Jul-09: Don races in Japan

Tim Don took advantage of the European Championships and slipped off to Japan to mop up a 5th place at the Miyagi International ITU Points race at the weekend. The race was pretty much a domestic affair; out of 36 women racing just 3 were not Japanese while the men's field fared a little better with 15 out of 56 being international triathletes. Full results on the ITU website.

Jul-07: The British influence in Europe

This weekends proceedings in Gyor where the ETU effectively self-destructed to be replaced by what the ITU website called a unity congress pretty much closes the door on two years of bitter wrangling where the ITU and the ETU rarely saw eye to eye and even ended up in court. The ITU website, there is no ETU website these days, states that: "Triathlon's road forward was strengthened today at the ETU Congress in Gyor, Hungary with the election of a strong team of officers dedicated to ensuring that ITU and ETU work together within the International Triathlon family. With the election of the officers below, the door is now closed on the chapter of disunity within the sport, and the combined strength of International family is solidified.".

So, what has Britain's role been in all this? In terms of our age group athletes we have always been a major player in the European arena, today was no exception, and our elite have also figured from time to time. But what about political influence - the sort of influence that gets big races over here? Well there was the attempt in 2000 to stage the European Duathlon Championships in Bath. And then there was the Mick English led attempt to put Europe closer to the ITU with the Triathlon Council for Europe. And then when things got really messy there was the attempt by Norman Brook to mediate between the two camps. But none of these have led to anything in terms of getting our officers elected into positions on the ETU board, and, perhaps, have contributed to our virtual exclusion. Indeed at the Congress in Gyor where the new ETU came into being Peter Coulson withdrew his nomination. It's pretty clear from the evidence that I've seen that he stood little chance of being elected - the German delegate apparently only received two votes...

Where do we have influence? Well Paul Groves still seems to be on the technical committee and Lynda Chase also now appears to be on that committee as well. This strengthens our position in the area of officials, we believe that GB now has more ETU and ITU qualified technical officials than almost anywhere else, but it still gets us no closer to getting major European events here. And, as Europe is now clearly just an ITU region and not an independent organisation with its own agenda, it doesn't help us with the issue of getting ITU races here either. With London being turned down this year for points status we clearly need some clear plan of action at the highest level to get our national events lifted to international status. This could be part of the legacy of the Commonwealth Games. If August 4th is deemed a success by the ITU then perhaps there's a future city-centre event that could clearly have status. And, after all, it was Manchester that hosted the World Championships back in 1993 -- and that will be 10 years ago next year...

Age groupers score well in Gyor

UPDATED: After a recount, the initial results posted on the website were wrong, we picked up a total of 17 medals: 5 Gold, 6 Silver, 6 Bronze - with clean sweeps in the females 35-39 and males 25-29!!. Results are here.

Jul-06: Rana takes gold

Ivan Rana of Spain took the gold in the European Championships with Filip Ospalay (CZE) and Maik Petzold (GER) following him home. Best placed Brit was Marc Jenkins with 6th, Richard Stannard was 7th and Paul Amey 8th. Stuart Hayes was well down the field in 24th with Richard Allen 34th. Results on the event website.

Jul-05: Cave takes silver

Leanda Cave took silver in the European Championships behind Kathleen Smet of Belgium. Results on the event website. This report from Nigel Farrow:

"Good day at the Europeans with Leanda Cave exiting the swim with the lead group alongside Julie Dibens and Anneliese Heard. Beginning each lap at the front of the pack she then exited T2 alongside Kathlen Smet and Christiane Pilz. Together the three ran shoulder to shoulder until the last lap when Leanda and Smet pulled away with the slightly stronger Belgian taking the gold with Leanda finishing just three seconds behind. A great race from Leanda showing she has her confidence back after her horrific accident in Stockton. With all the men through for tomorrows race and a strong field of age groupers, including the return of Lesley Cliff and Chrissie Radon, both medallists last year at Carlsbad, there will hopefully be more medals tomorrow."

Other GB athletes were Andrea Whitcombe in 10th, Julie Dibens 11th, Michelle Dillon 12th, Anneliese Heard 20th and Jodie Swallow 31st.

Cosmeston cancelled

The Vale of Glamorgan long course race on August 4th has been cancelled because of so few entries. Details about refunds are on the Cardiff Triathletes website.

Jul-04: European Championship update from Gyor

The juniors raced today in Gyor and the best placed Brit was Ollie Freeman in 5th. The other junior placings were Lee Thornhill 11th, Daniel McKeating 32 and Alex Hardy 28th in the female race. The elite men did their qualifier races this evening: Paul Amey was 1st in Heat A with Richard Stannard 3rd and Stuart Hayes 16th. In Heat B Richard Allen was 3rd, Marc Jenkins 5th and David Haines 17th. Results and other information can be found on the race website. Saturday's elite mens race should be shown live on Eurosport with highlights on Monday.

Jul-02: Ford family race

Dave Parry has emailed saying that there is still time to enter the Ford Family Day Youths, Juniors and U23 Duathlon at Basildon. The event is being held on the afternoon of Saturday 6th July and features a 2km run, 13km bike and 2km run with the bike section taking place on Ford's 2.2km car test track.

The race forms a focal point for Ford's Family Day, where 2500 employees and their families will attend. Other attractions include a world rally car demonstration a helicopter display, simulator rides and too many more to mention. Entry is free with each competitor receiving a t-shirt and admittance to the day's attractions for themselves and family. Prizes in each category have been donated by Colchester's triathlon shop, 53-12.com. Any interested 15-23 year olds (age at end of year) should contact Dave Parry by phone (01621 743067) or e-mail (da[email protected]). Entry is by Universal Entry Form which can be .

Tewkesbury Triathlons

Results for the Tewkesbury Childrens Triathlon are now available from their club website and they would like to remind everyone that they are still taking entries for the Tewkesbury Sprint Triathlon on Bank Holiday Monday (Aug 26th) with entry forms available from the club website. For anyone who doesn't know, Tewkesbury is right on the M5 approximately half way between Bristol and Birmingham.

Superman Triathlon

Spencer Smith was 10th in 4:07:33 in this 20th anniversary running of the half-ironman distance event in Belgium. Other Brits out there were: David Mellor, 4:54:05; Andrew Keeley, 4:54:24; Neil Kapoor, 5:10:16; William Livingstone, 5:16:58; Simon Brierley, 5:18:56; Stefan Knowles, 5:22:55; Geoff Tompkins, 5:34:29; Neill Morgan, 5:37:08; Anne Addrison, 5:55:19; Paul Smith, 6:08:12; and Neil Bayliss, 6:11:44. Geoff reports that it was a great race, brilliantly marshalled and cheap entry fee for anyone thinking of 1/2 IM type distance. The British abroad were vocal in their support and a great achievement by all above.

Copenhagen

Steph Forrester picked up the ladies trophy here with Annie Emmerson taking second place while Andrew Johns took second behind Rasmus Henning in the mens race. Kevin Clark was 10th and Simon Lessing didn't start. Full results and race report on the ITU website.

Jun-30: Race entry fee reduced

The entry fee for this year's Llanelli Children's Duathlon on July 6th has been reduced to £4.00. The event is the second race of the South Wales Dragon Triathlon Series and all children will receive a T-shirt, finishers medal, drinks bottle and goody bag. For further details visit www.llanellitriathlon.org.uk or email

Jun-29: Deal Aquathlon gets sponsorship

Dover Town Council have kindly given Deal Tri £400.00 in sponsorship for their Open Water Aquathlon which will be held on 11th August 2002 in Dover Harbour. The race is part of the annual regatta celebrations which also include open water sea swim races on the 10th.

The Deal Tri organised race will be a 750 metre sea swim (wetsuits or not) followed by a flat 4.5km run along Dover Seafront and Price of Wales Pier. There will also be a novice race of 200 metre sea swim and 2 km race. All the sponsorship money will be used as prize money for each age group. If no competitors in any age group the prize money will be rolled forward!

Entry forms now available from www.dealtri.ndo.co.uk or e-mail for a postal application form. Cost of entry is £12.00 including trendy Deal Tri Tee shirt!

Spaces at Fun Kids and Quick Change

Ian Pettitt has asked us to let you all know that he has spaces for both the Fun Kids on 13th July and the Quick Change on 14th July (sorry, that clashes with White Oak). Both events are still taking applications to these favourite races of kids and families. The Fun Kids is the second race in the SE Series 2002 and the Quick Change is part of the National Youth series 2002, although any age groups above Youths are catered for in this double 200m swim, 5k cycle, 1km run type of event. Due to a donation of funds from the previous Stag Tri Club, there are now some cash prizes available for certain category winners at the Quick Change Event. Ian will accept the UEF with 2 large SAEs. Fun Kids entries are £6, the Quick Change is £13.

Jun-27: Ken Maclaren's a dad

Just a brief note to wish Ken Maclaren, for many the voice of triathlon with his column in 220 and his regular appearances as commentator at major events like Windsor, all the very best on the arrival of his daughter Katie.

Jun-26: Benny VanSteelant hospitalised

According to an article circulated to Dutch eGroups and translated for us by Paul Groves, Benny Vansteelant has been badly injured whilst out training with his brother. During a descent in the Pyrenees he lost control on a curve and broke his collar bone and also has a suspected fractured skull. UPDATE: It now seems that his injuries are limited to broken bones and a severe concussion. He is apparently recovering in Perpignan hospital.

Site sponsorship update

East London Triathletes have generously donated £50 towards the running costs of the site and we are still in discussion with third parties about further additional funding. At the moment the winning argument seems to be NOT to take paid advertising with one generous individual offering to stump the entire yearly cost on this basis. I'll keep you all updated. Meantime, thanks again to John Levison and ELT for their kind support.

White Oak spaces

The White Oak Triathlon, one of my personal favourites for a pool-based event, still have places available for this year's race on July 14th. Possibly the first and only event where I've been the first person home - although it has to be said that that's only because the lead cyclist didn't do the run! Shame they lost the old out and back run but the double loop round the park is more fun. Details from White Oak on their website.

Jun-25: Club and coaching update

Warrington Triathlon Club is officially changing its name to Team Meridian but keeps its location at the David Lloyd Club in Warrington. The club has been created with a focus on endurance events and is coached by Brian New, a BTA Level 2 coach who is currently studying for a degree in Exercise Science. Six members of the club are planning to do Lanzarote next year and new members are always welcome. The club has just done a pool-based sponsored 'Channel swim' for Sport Relief in 11 hours and 10 minutes. Details of the club can be obtained from from Brian New on 07958 374256.

Brian has also set up Meridian Coaching to offer affordable, effective, realistic coaching for athletes who want to attempt any endurance based events, but particularly triathlon. Rather than focussing on elite or top age groupers he wants to encourage athletes who might be unsure of how or where to find advice or those who want to make the next jump from what they are presently doing.

Jun-23: Cosmeston needs entries

Cardiff Tri Club are holding the Cosmeston Long Course triathlon on Aug 4th at Cosmeston Lakes near Cardiff. It's unfortunate about the date but isn't that why videos were invented? It comprises a 2k lake swim (2 laps), a 70km undulating (that's a worrying word...) course around the Vale of Glamorgan, and a 15km run (3 x 5k laps ) around the lake. This is an ideal warm up ready for Llanberis or Nice and an excellent step up from Olympic distance. So far there has been very limited response and the organisers may pull the plug if they don't receive some more entries soon. Entry forms can be downloaded from the Cardiff Triathletes website.

Jun-20: Public service announcement

After five years of running the Triathletes Homepage website I'm sorry to announce that...

...we are now going to be forced to take some paid advertising to support the running costs.

Yes, I know this goes against all my original good intentions but the recent upsurge in traffic to the site means that I'm going to have to upgrade my hosting package as I'm now getting bills for additional bandwidth. The advertising will be a) tasteful and non-intrusive, b) directly relevant to the triathlon community and c) as minimal as possible -- I'm not looking to make money, merely cover my direct costs and expenses which currently run at around £500 per year when you include hosting, broadband, software upgrades, etc, etc.

So, sorry folks but it's either that or reduce the site to something less than you currently enjoy.

Jun-19: East Midlands Series update

The East Midlands Race series is now hotting up after 3 races in the region - the Ashbourne Duathlon, Southwell Triathlon and Mansfield Triathlon. Current race leaders are guest athletes Tony Carroll (South Yorks Police) and Imogen Thornburgh (Team MK) and in the club standings it's TFN followed by Derby Tri Club. Mark Redwood would have been clear race leader had he not been DQd at Mansfield for accepting outside assistance.

To count for the series you must complete a minimum of 4 of the 8 races and to count in the club competition the top 3 finishes count. The next events are: Terrapin Sprint (Jun-23), Market Bosworth Olympic (1485 TC) (Jul-20), TFN Supasprints (Aug-11), Clumber Park (Aug-24) and Derby (Sep-15). Details of events and current standings can be seen on the Punishing Events website.

The childrens race series kicks off with the Derby Tri on Jun-30), other races in the series are: 1485 Childrens (Leicestershire) (Jul-21), Northamptonshire (Jul-27) and Nottingham (Sep-21). Details and entry forms are available on the RudeKid website.

Jun-18: Lessing wins Estoril

Missed this one in all the excitement of Windsor but Simon Lessing won the ITU Points race at Estoril in Portugal on Sunday with Jess Harison picking up 5th place in the womens race. More details on the ITU website.

Jun-12: Age Group teams update

Applications closed today for the ITU World Long Distance Triathlon Championships in Nice and Ian Pettitt has announced that all applications have been accepted into the Great Britain Age Group Team EXCEPT for the following Categories: Mens 30-34, Mens 35-39 and Mens 40-44 where there was more demand than the 18 places available. He is awaiting for the official Weymouth results before selections can be made.

The first set of qualifiers for the ITU World Triathlon Championships in Cancun are available and have already been updated twice since the results from Sundays race at Shropshire. More updates after Windsor this weekend.

Jun-10: Shropshire results

So many people went to Stuart's website for the Shropshire results that his ISP has locked the account... We've set up a local copy of the results for the National Age Group Championships.

Jun-09: Big weekend, big weather

Well, it chucked it down horizontally at Weymouth (which doesn't quite make sense, but you get the idea...) and I'm not sure I've ever seen that many dropouts after the bike leg while the same awful weather also hit the National Championships at Ellesmere in Shropshire. Once the times have been transcribed off all those soggy sheets of paper you'll find links to them on our results pages. Respect to one and all who raced - it was miserable enough being a spectator! Global warming? Like, NOT!

Exeter duathlon series

Exeter Triathlon Club are holding a series of evening duathlon races on Tuesday 25th June, Tuesday 23rd July, Tuesday 27th August at 7pm with entries on the day from 6:15pm. Races will be at the Westpoint Showground, Clyst St Mary near Exeter on a fast traffic free road circuit that is suitable for both experienced athletes and novices over 2 miles run, 10 miles bike and 2 miles run. Contact Tim Edbrook on 01392 257010 or check out the details on their web site.

Llanelli Aquathlon postponed

Due to a lack of entries the Llanelli Aquathlon, due to be on June 16th, has been postponed until September 1st.

Jun-05: Brits do well at Euro Double Iron

Three Brits went to the European Double Ultra Triathlon Championships at Neulengbach, near Vienna, Austria last weekend and came home 3rd, 7th and 15th placing GB 3rd overall in the national standings. The event covers 4.8 miles of swimming, 224 miles of bike and then 52.2 miles of running. Pictures and results are on the event website at www.union-nlgb.at

Pos	Name	Swim	Bike	Run	Total
3	Dave Clamp	2:06	10:38	7:30	20:34
7	Philip Underwood	2:16	10:12	10:10	22:39
15	Duncan Nottingham	2:22	10:39	13:53	26:56

Jun-02: Results from Zundert

GB athletes featured well at Zundert: Andrew Johns placed 4th which should make him a certainty for the second English slot at the Commonwealth with Stuart Hayes 10th. Both Richard Stannard (15th)and Tim Don (28th) seem to have suffered on the run. Other finishers were David Haines 13th, Andrew Fargus 17th, Kevin Clark 21st, Richard Haines 24th, Alun Woodward 25th, Richard Jones 27th, Chris Moffat 32nd, Fergus Maclean 40th, Jack Maitland 44th, Stephen Clark 47th, Fraser Cartmell 49th, Andy Tarry 52nd, Dan Hayes 53rd, Lee Thornhill 58th, James Amey 59th, Nigel Leighton 72nd, Richard Brady 78th and Ed Dyer 81st. For the women, Michell Dillon placed 3rd which should ensure her selection alongside Jodie Swallow. Henrietta Freeman was 6th, Anneliese Heard 11th, Tanja Allen 12th, Jo Hinde 13th, Leanda Cave 19th, Jess Harrison 21st, Bella Comerford 26th, Catriona Morrison 30th, Heather Williams 31st and Lesley Patterson 36th.

Although Paul Amey was 2nd he is not eligible for a Commonwealth Games slot

Full results are up on the the race website.

Jun-01: GB hopefuls at Zundert

Almost all the GB elite will be at Zundert this Sunday for their second attempt to qualify for the Commonwealth Games in Manchester. According to the BTA website Simon Lessing, Jodie Swallow, Marc Jenkins, Richard Allen and Steph Forrester won't be there as they are already qualified but Leanda Cave, Tim Don and AJ will definitely be there looking for places that eluded them in Stockton. Catch the action on the race website.

May-28: Wear a number belt?

The issue of race belts has reared its ugly head again! Both race organisers and race officials have acknowledged that competitors are still not properly displaying their race numbers. When a race number is not visible, many problems arise. Race officials and time-keepers need to be able to read race numbers at all times, and race numbers provide a branding opportunity for sponsors who have often invested considerable sums of money in the event and who expect to see their name displayed on these numbers.

At the recent BTA Rules and Technical Committee meeting, race belts were discussed and the following advice to competitors is being issued:

If using a race belt, athletes must attach both race numbers, one to the front and one to the rear. While competing, athletes must ensure that the race numbers remain positioned to the front and rear, and must not allow the numbers to slide to the sides of the body.

Furthermore, when attaching both race numbers, it is essential that they be properly affixed to the belt. Numbers should be pinned approximately one inch from the top of the number - not in the middle, as the number will simply fold over! It may be wise to reinforce the back of the number with clear adhesive tape, especially at the points where the number is pinned.

If race numbers are not visible, athletes will be penalised by the race referee (two-minute time penalty) if they cannot correct the problem and the athlete will also run the risk of receiving no timing splits, nor being recorded as they cross the finish line.

Race and Clubs list update

For reasons that I can guess at - mainly because I've been nagging at them for four years - the BTA finally seems to be working towards have its database upgraded and the race and club information on that database published via its own website. Sensible, no? Well, yes, except that the new webmaster pulled the links to the races database on the Triathletes Homepage some weeks ago with no reference to us (or the BTA...) and used the somewhat out of data files at HQ. He's now done the same thing for the clubs listing, again with no reference. So ends a nice gentleman's agreement!

So, if you are looking for race and club information you now need to go to two places rather than one. Why? Because the BTA won't list clubs that don't meet their criteria or are not English and they don't list events that are not in the BTA calendar, so missing all the ETU, ITU, WTC and other interesting events like adventure races, etc, etc.

In theory I can now stop typing in all the events and clubs each year (our data has always been more up to date and accurate than the BTA's because we get the changes and they have previously only had the Handbook and TRI News which are far less frequent. In theory the new system will be much better - except that the BTA probably still won't list the other events/clubs and, unless they get a full-time webmaster who isn't also an elite athlete, the updates will still be slower. The other problem is that the way they are publishing the data means that you only get one event/club at a time so it's not possible to download the listing for, say, a month or a region.

If anybody cares about this perhaps they could let the BTA know...

May-26: Age groupers go in Zeitz

After yesterday's silver by Vicky Pincombe it's up to the age groupers to see what they can do at the European Duathlon Championships. Results are now up on the race website. Without wishing in any way to detract from the performance of the GB age groupers we note with some amazement just how small the fields were in both the mens and, especially, the womens races. Winning is great, but when there's only two of you in an age category it must surely detract in some way from the value you get from that win as an individual. We know that the ETU is not exactly firing on all cylinders at the moment -- hopefully things will be better by the time the European Triathlon Championships come around.

Event results summary from Paul Groves who was Assistant General Race Marshal and accompanied by Ron Thorne, Lynda Chase and Alan Spelling as the BTA contingent of Race Marshals. Lynda and Alan also raced in the event.

Women: Sarah Philpott - Gold, Imogen Thornborough - Gold, Juliette Vickery - Bronze, Lynda Chase - (fourth), Liz Parsons - Silver, Elaine Scott - Bronze.

Men: James Plumb - would have won but got DQ'd for crossing the line topless, Ivan Luck - Bronze, Mark Fenner - Silver, Mark Booth - Silver, Mike Hall - Silver.

May-25: Spencer wins in Brazil, Vicky gets silver in Zeitz

Looks like Spencer just won Ironman Brazil in 8:16:38, around a minute up on Lothar Leder in second place and Eduardo Sturla, last year's winner, in third.

Vicky Pincombe got a silver in the European Duathlon Championships as well so not a bad day all round. Spencer Duvall and Martin Yelling were both DNFs, highest placing in the mens race was Paul Lowe in 18th.

We have been trawling through the Lanzarote results for GB times but they seem to have stopped updating them at about 11:30 elapsed time and so the bulk of the age groupers are not there yet. See the ironmanlive.com website for the current set (was prelim4).

Ironman double header

Today we have arguably the toughest Ironman of them all, Ironman Lanzarote, and Ironman Brazil. Both are being carried live on the main Ironman website so check out Spencer's progress in Brazil or that of your clubmates in Lanzo.

May-23: Commonwealth Games update

The official IAAF course measurer, Hugh Jones, checked the Commonwealth Games triathlon course yesterday. He confirmed the 3 lap run course being the correct distance of 10km for the run and 41.52 km for the bike (4 laps). Hugh Jones, former winner of the London Marathon (1982), measured the Sydney Olympic marathon course and is the official course measurer for the London marathon.

In case anyone had forgotten, the Commonwealth Games Triathlon will be on the 4th August. The 29 women start at 8am and the 45 men will start at 11am. BBC TV will cover both events live or you can come and watch in person for free.

May-22: Half the pot is gone

Remember back to last month when John Schofield of ukresults.net announced that he was putting up £500 in private sponsorship for needy multisporters? Well, half that fund is now allocated -- which also means that half is still available. See the original news item for details on how to apply.

May-21: Update on Leanda Cave

Peter Coulson has just confirmed that Leanda Cave is OK. He spoke with Richard Hobson who says that she is resuming training and has stitches in her chin and a sore neck from the impact but nothing was seriously damaged.

May-20: Leybourne Lakes is full

Mike Russell has emailed to say that the Leybourne Lakes race on Wednesday is completely full, entries actually closed last week. He is willing to take on-the-night entries at £100 per place...

May-19: More confirmed athletes for Manchester

New Zealand have confirmed their squad for August 4th as Hamish Carter (WR1), Craig Watson (WR2), Kris Gemmell (WR13), Evelyn Williamson (WR25) and Heather Evans. Williamson will need a fitness test by June 30th as she is currently suffering from a stress fracture in her foot.

James Amey has been selected to represent Jersey.

May-18: News from Stockton

Cellular phones are a wonderful thing: except when you try to use them to connect to your ISP... Very frustrating being at Eton this morning getting constant updates from Stockton and unable to relay them out to the website or eGroup.

Simon Lessing and Jodie Swallow won their respective races this morning and are now certain of places in the England team for the Manchester Commonwealth Games. Lessing was about 30 seconds ahead of a sprint finish between Marc Jenkins (WAL) and Richard Allen (SCO) while in the ladies race Jodie Swallow came from a 2:21 deficit at T2 to win ahead of Michell Dillon and early leader Julie Dibens, all three being English.

The weather was early rain followed by showers and we believe that the mens start was delayed for weather [UPDATE: actually it was to allow the BBC helicopter to refuel!]. Leanda Cave crashed badly on the bike and was hospitalised for a chin injury, no further details at this stage as to whether this will prevent her from racing at Zundert. Other retirements included Andrew Johns, Richard Stannard and Henrietta Freeman. A race report is on the onrunning.com website.

Full results are available here.

May-16: Fancy racing this weekend - but haven't entered?

With the elites doing battle for Commonwealth spots in Stockton, Eton Sprints, Hatch End and East Grinstead being sell-outs (and the prospect of glorious weather...), there is STILL a chance to race.

The Hillingdon Summer Series Triathlon and Duathlon (Race 1) on Sunday 19th May can take another 20/30 entries, and entries will be accepted on the day. You get a 500m outdoor (lake) swim, 6k run and 22 k bike (you can just do the run and bike if the swim is not appealing). Turn up by 7.30 am at the Hillingdon Outdoor Activity Centre, Dews Lane, Harefield, Middlesex. The Hillingdon races have seen the likes of Tim Don and Spencer Smith race in past years, and are run under the novel swim-run-bike format.

May-15: Paula Craig wins in Lanzarote

From your reporter in Lanzarote: Brian Bathgate

Paula Craig flashed across the finish line in her new wheelchair at the La Santa Stadium today grunting with effort and cheered on by crowds of fellow triathletes to win the challenge of Beauty v The Beast by over 7 minutes. The event was the Lanzarote La Santa sprint triathlon and the challenge had been issued earlier in the week to Chris Brogan, the veteran ex SAS physically challenged triathlete out here for the Volcano Tri.

Only one handcycle on the island forced the pair into recruiting an able bodied cyclist, Paula choosing beauty Sue Bathgate and Chris taking on Brian the beast. In the 400m swim Paula recorded a pb of 8min 17sec, to take a lead of 3 minutes over Chris who came in at 11min 15sec. In the pool Paula had had to fight her way through the able bodied swimmers who had assumed they were faster.

Out on the bike Sue increased the beauties lead by a further minute to hand back to Paula in her wheelchair. A 5k time of 16min 50sec assured victory. A true gentleman, Chris offered no excuses but it should be recorded that he completed the Volcano Tri last Saturday in 3.55.43, swim 59min 59sec, handcycle 1hr 59min 25sec, wheelchair 44min 50sec.

It is rumoured that both Paula and Chris are planning to compete at the Bournemouth Triathlon in July.

May-13: Jodie Swallow wins in Lanzarote

Looks like the GB athletes are beginning to fire up for Stockton on Saturday as Jodie Swallow took the win at the Volcano Triathlon in Lanzarote. This wasn't a 'soft' race either as she beat Lori-Lynn Leach (CAN) by 10 minutes with Lisbeth Kristensen (DEN) third. James Amey placed 10th in the mens race and a whole slew of age groupers also ranked in the event. Full results on the La Santa website.

May-12: Lessing wins in Belgium

Thanks to Paul Groves for the translation, looks like Lessing is on a roll with a win today at Geel in 1:45:05. Second was Frederick van Lierde (BEL) -- surely a relation of Luc's? Heather Williams placed third woman behind Mieke Suys (BEL) with Tracy Hargreaves winning in 2:00:14. Full results are on the Belgian Federation website.

May-09: Stockton update

Well Graeme Maw did what he promised and swam in the Tees at Stockton and then biked and then ran the course along with Jem Lawson, the Northern Region Chair. The BTA websitequotes Maw as saying that the water was "bracing but fine", they reckon that the water is going to be "between 15-16 degrees temperature based on annual records maintained by the British Waterways Board". We reckon that's a tad on the optimistic side, the temperature yesterday was apparently 12.5 which BWB say is unseasonably low. The site is also used by canoeists and their recordsshow water temperatures of 15 in July... In reality it's probably going to be about the same as down here and that's between 12 and 13 degrees at our local lake -- bracing!

May-07: Stockton preparations

Nova International just issued a press release stating that Graeme Maw, Performance Director of British Triathlon Association, will be at the venue for the Great North Triathlon on Wednesday 8th May, swimming the 1500 metre course at the Tees Barrage. Judging by some of the comments we've been getting about the open water temperatures down south he might need a hot mug of tea at the finish! Still, all credit to him for checking out the conditions -- hopefully we'll get a report sometime tomorrow.

Catching up on the weekend

Spencer Smith may not have had a good day out on Sunday but other GB athletes definitely did. Simon Lessing won the standard distance San Remo Triathlon (no website) on Sunday in 1:49:37, beating Vladimir Polikarpenk (RUS) 1:50:28 and Stuart Hayes 1:50:45 while Michelle Dillon won the womens race in 2:05:46 with Henrietta Freeman third in 2:05:59.

At the Wildflower Half IronmanPaul Amey placed third behind Chris McCormack (AUS)and Cameron Widoff (USA).

May-05: Spencer doesn't make the hat trick

In fact, he dropped out completely after 25 miles on the bike at St Croix. Bella Comerford, on the other hand came in fifth female and 31st overall, an impressive performance given some of her competition. Results are now up on the official St Croix website, we've listed top ten plus any GB we could find, and there is a report on the Inside Triathlon websiteand another on the WTC IronmanLive site.

Pos	Cat	Name	Loc	Div	Swim	Bike	Run	Total
1	1	Jarrod Brauer	AUS	MPRO	28:16:00	02:24:32	01:18:48	04:11:35
2	2	Oscar Galindez	ARG	MPRO	28:18:00	02:24:02	01:19:27	04:11:46
3	3	Peter Sandvang	DEN	MPRO	28:15:00	02:23:58	01:21:35	04:13:47
4	4	Richie Cunningham	AUS	MPRO	28:11:00	02:29:12	01:17:24	04:14:46
5	5	Shane Reed	NZL	MPRO	27:05:00	02:30:16	01:17:27	04:14:47
6	6	Oliver Marceau	FRA	MPRO	27:25:00	02:23:30	01:25:10	04:16:04
7	7	Tony Deboom	USA	MPRO	28:08:00	02:29:30	01:20:54	04:18:31
8	8	Craig Alexander	AUS	MPRO	27:24:00	02:32:29	01:18:54	04:18:46
9	9	Torbjorn Sindballe	DEN	MPRO	28:07:00	02:27:53	01:24:00	04:19:59
10	10	Martin Krnavek	CZE	MPRO	27:21:00	02:26:17	01:30:05	04:23:42
19	1	Joanna Zeiger	USA	FPRO	28:09:00	02:46:32	01:28:22	04:43:02
24	2	Sue Bartholomew Williams	USA	FPRO	28:24:00	02:46:04	01:32:23	04:46:50
26	3	Natasha Badmann	SUI	FPRO	35:10:00	02:41:57	01:32:31	04:49:38
29	4	Nicole Deboom	USA	FPRO	28:26:00	02:47:08	01:35:54	04:51:27
31	5	Bella Comerford	GBR	FPRO	35:05:00	02:47:48	01:29:45	04:52:38
33	6	Andrea Ratkovic	USA	FPRO	39:33:00	02:42:54	01:32:37	04:55:03
34	7	Rebekah Keat	AUS	FPRO	31:36:00	02:48:03	01:35:45	04:55:24
43	8	Tereza Macel	CAN	FPRO	28:22:00	02:49:01	01:42:29	04:59:51
60	9	Laura Drake	USA	FPRO	40:36:00	02:51:29	01:36:57	05:09:01
71	10	Fernanda Keller	BRA	FPRO	35:03:00	03:05:56	01:33:45	05:14:43
200	10	Lisa Rowbottom	GBR	F3034	41:39:00	03:23:30	01:54:54	06:00:01
285	55	Steve Schlemmer	GBR	M3034		04:26:09	02:05:47	06:24:55

Eton SuperSprint is FULL

The Aqua Pura Eton SuperSprint on May 18th is now full. There will be no entries available on the day. For race details and entry forms for the next two events in the series go to the Human Race website.

May-03: Ones to watch this weekend

Let's star with the big one: St Croix. Spencer is going there on a roll but the course is a tough one, the legendary "Beast" climb to start with, and the competition is pretty hot with Peter Sandvang (DEN), Bryan Reed (NZL), Tony De Boom (USA) and a whole host of others taking part - although Luc van Lierde (BEL) and Ryan Bolton (USA), the defending champion, have both pulled out. I see that Bella Comerford is also down to race as elite in the womens field - facing the likes of Joanna Zeiger (USA), Natascha Badmann (SUI), Karen Smyers (USA) and Fernanda Keller (BRA).

Closer to home we have a clutch of sprint events over the Bank Holiday including Hampton Pool, Cleveland, Telford Tinman, Hart and Tonbridge. Where ever you are racing, have fun!

Bath Amphibians update

For those that don't know, Bath Amphibians run a duathlon series at Castle Combe race circuit and a triathlon based at Bath University. The duathlon series is held on the first Wednesday of each month from May through to September. This year there will be four races in the usual format (2 mile run, 10 mile bike, 2 mile run), but the July race sees the introduction of the 'Monster', a 2 mile run, 10 mile bike, 2 mile run, 10 mile bike, 2 mile run. As a result, the overall series results will be based on the best three results out of four over the shorter distance. This year's triathlon is being held on the 21st July and will consist of both an Olympic and Sprint distance race.

May-02: Eton's warmer waters beckon

When we say 'warmer' we are talking relatively -- but as the elite are chucking themselves into the River Tees around 600 people will be sampling the balmy, almost tropical waters of the Eton Rowing Lake at Dorney Court. (Not selling this one too hard, are we?) If you are looking for an easy opener to the season that includes a safe open-water swim and closed roads then both Stockton and Eton have a lot in common but we'd take a modest wager that the water is going to be warmer down South!

If you need an entry form then visit the Human Race websitewhere you'll also find full details.

Lessing will race Stockton

We can't say whether this has been a tactical move or not but the opinion of many GB elite has been that Simon Lessing wouldn't race at Stockton -- those views now appear to be wrong as the organisers have today announced his inclusion in the event.

Apparently he confirmed his entry yesterday, which should make things even more interesting as the elite from all four home nations seek qualification for the Commonwealth Games on August 4th. Also confirmed are Richard Stannard, Andrew Johns (both believed to have minor niggles resulting in their not finishing at St Anthony's last weekend) and Tim Don who got badly kicked in the same race and pulled out with a locked jaw. Jodie Swallow will also be there. BBC Television have confirmed they will broadcast the Championships and trials on their Sunday Grandstand programme the following day.

Nove International have also confirmed that there are still places available in the sprint distance event and that entry forms can be downloaded from their website.

May-01: Uckfield Aquathlon postponed

Due to a lack of entries the Uckfield Aquathlon on May 12th has been postponed. Hedgehog Tri have re-arranged the date to Sun 27th October, all event details remain the same.

Apr-28: GB elite off the pace

UPDATED: The report on the BTA's websitereally says it all, and it's refreshing to see such an honest response to what seems to have been a dismal weekend's racing at the St Anthony's ITU World Cup. Recent comments here and on the eGroup have focussed on Simon Lessing and rumours that he might not race at Stockton but none of the GB elite seem to have been able to hang in with the pack of 77 athletes that exited the swim and then turned into a 41 athlete group on the bike. Lessing and Johns may well have featured at the front by the end of the bike but Johns is carrying an injury and Lessing couldn't hold the pace and fininshed 15th with Johns, Stannard and Don all DNFs. Richard Allen was 18th, David Haines 35th. We understand that Tim didn't finish because he was kicked badly in the swim and his jaw locked - it was not dislocated as it says on the BTA website. The other two DNFs were injury-related. In the ladies race Jess Harrison finished 31st. More results on the ITU website.

While the St Anthony's course is pretty much ideal for this sort of processional racing, the whole issue of whether we can get GB athletes to the front for the Commonwealth Games is looking like a major puzzle for the team managers and coaches. The dominant athletes are Southern hemisphere, and yet they've just come off a hard season's racing and face the problem of maintaining that form until August. The GB athletes don't seem to have got started yet, the first qualifier is a month away and it isn't going to be in the pleasant heat of Florida but in a cold Northern river.

Apr-26: Private sponsorship for triathletes

John Schofield, who runs the ukresults.netwebsite and timing service, is putting up £500 of his own money to sponsor athletes during 2002, a move which can only be welcomed and, hopefully, may be emulated by others. This is John's statement:

Sponsorship funding towards the cost of travel and other expenses to be incurred by age group triathletes and duathletes attending international events representing England or Great Britain is now available from ukresults.net. The funding for 2002 is initially limited to a total of £500. This is not intended to totally underwrite any one athlete attending an event, but is intended to give assistance where an athlete may have insufficient funds to meet the total cost.

Funding is available in blocks of £50. Preference will be given to younger athletes although all age groupers will be considered on merit, with appropriate guidance from the team manager.

The method of applying for assistance is for the athlete to discuss the funding situation with the appropriate team manager and for the team manager to submit the funding application. Direct applications will not be considered.

Deal's loss is Leybourne's gain

Looks like the loss of the Deat Tri Jubilee Triathlon will mean that the Leybourne Lakes event on July 28th will be the only standard distance event in Kent this year. Mike Russell, the organiser, says that places are going fast following the confirmation that Deal had been cancelled.

Apr-25: Spencer Smith book on sale

Mark Shaw's biography of Spencer Smith is now out on sale (Sigma Sport have copies, as do Total Fitness in Nottingham). Looks interesting -- as soon as I can get my copy back from the wife I'll be able to give a better review!

Apr-24: Deal Tri cancel Jubilee Triathlon

Deal Tri have been forced to cancel their proposed Dover Golden Jubilee Standard Distance Triathlon on 3rd June 2002. Legal concerns were raised following meetings with the local Police when seeking agreement for use of roads for the cycle leg which raised related insurance questions. After much debate the race directors and Club committee felt that they could not accept the potential risk of a claim in the event of a accident within this 'grey' area of the Law.

It was hoped that the new Event Organisers Code would help acceptance by the Police, but again the understanding, implementation and, therefore, acceptance is still sadly lacking locally. Deal Tri (and the rest of the triathlon organisers, Ed) hope that during the next 12 months the relevant authorities and governing bodies can address the concerns and worries and create a general understanding and ability to stage triathlons throughout the UK under the same terms and legalities for all.

AJ confirms Windsor

Looks like Windsor could be another cracking race again this year -- well, when isn't it -- but Andrew Johns has confirmed that he'll be there again looking to defend his title from last year. The latest event details on the Human Race websiteconfirm that Spencer Smith will be there as well trying to get his title back.

Apr-23: London: definitely NO points...

We wish we weren't able to say "We told you so" but Katherine Williams' Triathlon Digest reports that the London Triathlon has now officially been told that it isn't getting ITU Points status. Primary reason is that Simon Lessing gets paid appearance money and that's not in keeping with the ITU's policies. We have been led to believe that there are other reasons, but these don't appear in the report...

Morden Park Aquathlon reminder

The organisers of the inaugural Morden Park 6 and 6 Aquathlon (600m swim/6 mile run) on May 12th are looking for entries. There are prizes in a variety of categories. For entry forms use their websiteor email the organiser at .

Spencer's at it again

Go to a Commonwealth Games training day and miss out on all the good news... Looks like Spencer's tuning up with a vengance as he's just won two races back to back. Following his win at Big Rock (did you work out the bike average?) he's picked up another win at Bakersfield on their 1.5k lake swim, hilly 40K bike and challenging 15k trail run. Spencer lead from start to finish with nobody else close after the swim. Now it's off to the St Croix Half Ironman with it's legendary "The Beast" climb and then Ironman Brazil on May 25.

Any other GB athletes enjoying success at the moment? No names spring to mind other than Tim Don winning the All African Championships and Paul Amey doing well at a couple. It seems a BIG contrast to last year's early season with GB popping up all over the world and hitting the top ten pretty regularly. We're a month away from the first of the Commonwealth Games trials - could be interesting to see who finds form.

Apologies

Sorry about yesterday's broken link to the City of Durham duathlon results. Commonwealth Games training day in Manchester; too much to do and not enough time to check things out properly! Crap excuse, I know, but it's the only one I've got... Great to see so many volunteers up there including John Schofield of UK Resultsand a whole host of folk from the North West who are going to make these games the best ever.

Apr-19: Training camps all over the place

The East Essex Tri Club recently won a Sport England grant and the immediate result is that they are putting on a training camp for 8-16 year olds on Sunday 5th May 2002 at Sweyne Park in Rayleigh, Essex. This will provide a chance to take part in all three phases of triathlon. Coaching will be from qualified British Triathlon Association coaches with athlete welfare and child protection a priority. The day will cost £2 which includes lunch, a goody bag and a certificate. The minimum age is 8 years old on 5th May 2002 and minimum swimming requirement are a 25m badge. Please apply early as numbers are strictly limited, the closing date is 30th April. Details will appear on the club website.

Steve and Daf Belt are putting on another course for absolute beginner women. This time its at Christ's Hospital Leisure Centre near Horsham in West Sussex on Saturday June 1st. The day will cost £25 and the accent will be on fun. The day is suitable for women with some or no sporting background and will include two hours of pool time and the use of the wonderful facilities at the historic Bluecoat school. All activities will take place within the school grounds or along the South Downs link path. For more details contact Daf Belt on 01903 721713 or email .

Blue Water Training Camps are running a week-long end of season Triathlon Clinic with Bill Black in the beautiful north east of Mallorca. The clinic runs from Oct-12 to Oct-19 and features Bill Black, BTA consultant Mike Peryrebrune, who will be lecturing on a wide range of issues, and two former Olympic swimmers to take the swim sessions in the 25m outdoor heated pool. Local guides will take cycling groups on some of the best routes in the world, used by the likes of Jan Ullrich, Erik Zabel and Stephen Roche for his highly popular training camps. Prices start at £355 full board. Check out their (under development) websiteor email for more information.

Apr-16: BUPA backs the Commonwealth Games Triathlon

Great news for the Commonwealth Games, and especially the triathlon, as BUPA announces its sponsorship of the event.

With just 100 days to go, BUPA, the country's leading health and care organisation has signed up as the newest sponsor of the XVII Commonwealth Games, the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK. The company will be the official health partner for the Games, taking place in Manchester from July 25 to August 4 and featuring more than 5,000 athletes and officials from 72 nations competing in 17 different sports with a world-wide television audience of one billion.

BUPA will focus its event sponsorship on the triathlon, which will take place on the last day of the Games. Those with long memories will recall BUPA's involvement in the Bath triathlon and other events so this is a real boost to get them back and a great result for the Games team.

Fredericia 2001 results

Ian Pettitt has sets of official results from the 2001 World Long Course Championships held in Fredericia, Denmark. These are printed as a glossy magazine so if you took part and would like your copy please send an SAE for either 54p (2nd Class) or 72p (1st Class) to: Ian Pettitt, 16 St Richards Road, Deal, Kent CT14 9JR

Congratulations!

The Hawaii Ironman 2002 lotteryhas been drawn and the following lucky people from GB got places; Jerry Lawson, Sue Stephens, Mark Teperson, Colin Thonpson, Alastair Todd and Nick Watson.

Apr-15: Spencer wins at Big Rock

It looks like Spencer is racing on form again with a win at the Big Rock triathlon on Sunday. While it wasn't a field of ITU class (although a certain Paula Newby Fraser placed second lady...) he completed the 1.2 mile swim, 40 mile bike and 10 mile run in 2:49:00, over seven minutes ahead of the second placed athlete and over two minutes faster than his winning time in 2001. Full results are on the Active.com website(the ones on the Big Rock siteare last years!).

Reports have been seen that Spencer will race Windsor again this year although this is not yet confirmed by John Lunt's Human Race organisation and there are rumours that he might do at least one other event in the UK this summer...

Apr-14: Paula Craig 3rd at London Marathon

Paula Craig, the policewoman triathlete who was knocked from her bike last yearand left permanently disabled as a result made her wheelchair marathon debut at London and placed 3rd, an outstanding achievement. Congratulations to her, the other Paula on an equally stunning debut, and all the triathletes who took part or assisted.

London Region AGM update

The BTA London Region AGM will be held at 10:30am BEFORE the Dragonslayer Duathlon on April 28th.

ITU Cup crash may affect Canadian Commonwealth Games squad

Australia's Peter Robertson claimed victory today in the opening Accenture race of the ITU World Cup in Geelong, south of Melbourne today. His first place took 1:51:33; 24.6 seconds in front of Courtney Atkinson who has been recovering from a virus; and Kiwi Hamish Carter third. It was a race of high drama with Olympic champion Simon Whitfield being taken to hospital after a multi bike pile up on the first lap of the bike which also ousted Australia's Luke McKenzie and NZ's Bevan Docherty and left Greg Bennett bruised, but still in the race. Whitfield has broken both wrists and collarbone and will be out for six weeks. Paul Amey finished 23rd, nearly 8 minutes back but with no indication as to whether this was as a result of the bike crash.

Australia's Loretta Harrop won the womens race in 2:1:35; 34 seconds in front of the Barb Lindquist (USA) with Siri Lindley (USA) third. Leanda Cave finished 7th, 3:20 off the pace and Annie Emmerson was a DNF.

Full report and results are up on the ITU website.

Apr-08: Brits at IMOZ

Thanks to John Levison for the following list of Brits who finished at Ironman Australia on Sunday.

Pos	Cat Pos	Name	Swim	Bike	Run	Total
88	5	John Mergler	1:04:03.6	5:04:05.7	3:35:21.6	9:43:30.9
95	29	Trevor Fairhurst	0:54:32.5	5:09:13.7	3:41:45.9	9:45:32.1
155	34	David M Price	0:56:56.6	5:36:14.0	3:32:09.4	10:05:20.0
210	65	Gavin Lewis	0:57:00.3	5:15:23.7	4:03:02.7	10:15:26.7
261	81	Pete Holton	1:10:38.0	5:11:40.3	4:02:06.4	10:24:24.7
351	44	Christopher Heape	1:11:53.2	5:38:47.8	3:47:22.8	10:38:03.8
419	120	James Beckinsale	1:06:44.2	5:49:14.9	3:51:56.1	10:47:55.2
1292	45	Sue Stockley	1:16:04.0	7:00:29.2	6:21:22.3	14:37:55.5
1311	191	Leslie Andrews	1:29:47.7	7:15:50.5	6:05:10.1	14:50:48.3

Apr-07: Revised pool times at Aldershot

The new 8-lane 50m pool at Aldershot Garrison can be used by members of the public on an associate membership basis (£2 per year, £2 per swim) or on a swimming membership of £100 per year. They have just re-arranged the pool times so that the early weekday session (6am to 8am) is an open swim with at least 4 lanes available. For details about the Centre and how the facilities can be used by civilians contact the Aldershot Garrison Sports Centre on 01252 347724.

Apr-03: CG2002 team to attend ITU meeting

John Lunt and Graeme Kempson are travelling to Madrid this weekend at their own expense to attend the ITU Race Organisers' conference on behalf of the Commonwealth Games 2002 campaign. Invitations were issued to NGBs for premier event organisers throughout Europe to attend. It is to be hoped that many more organisers from Britain accepted the ITU's invitation so that such expertise that the ITU has gleaned from around the world is shared among British as well as European race organisers. Always happy to learn from other events and organisations the CG2002 team wants to ensure that the Games event is right up to date in terms of presentation, technical matters, and athlete friendliness.

John Lunt, as the Race Director for the CG2002 Triathlon, is determined that the August 4th event be technically as good possible for the athletes and that visually it should look as good as, and hopefully even better, than Sydney. Both male and female races are due to televised live on BBC during the morning of August 4th while spectators can watch live at Salford Quays and there is no admission charge!

Graeme Kempson, Chair of the Pre-Games Technical Committee for Triathlon has also managed to use his travel organising skills to the full by booking flights that go via Switzerland! OK, so he's also an accountant and probably saved some money, but our advice would be for them to talk to Mark Cathcart's Travel Agent next time...

The benefit to Triathlon within GB as a result of the Commonwealth Games could be immense and it is a another great opportunity for the BTA to maximise the growth and development of the sport, building on the work that Carole Billington-Ray performed pre and post Olympics in 2000.

If any other event organisers from the UK are going, could they please let us know?

Apr-01: Australia announces CG2002 squad

Perry Crosswhite, CEO of the Australian Commonwealth Games Association, has confirmed Australia's triathlon team for the Commonwealth Games on August 4. The squad comprises: Miles Stewart, Peter Robertson, Chris McCormack, Loretta Harrop, Nicole Hackett and Michellie Jones with Chris Hill and Emma Carney as reserves. The squad will be based in Bolton from July 22nd to prepare for the event.

Hillingdon Duathlon cancelled

Hillingdon Tri-Stars, organisers of the Hillingdon Duathlon for more years than we've been doing the sport, have been forced to cancel this year's race owing to a very low entry -- just two forms had been returned by Saturday. Whilst the event was never huge, even if Chuckie V did turn up one year, it was always a tough race and one of the backbone events of the West London calendar. The club will still be running their series of short duathlons (2M 10M 1M) on Monday evenings at the Hillingdon Cycle Circuit in Minet Park, Hayes and their three sprint events (May-19, Jun-02 and Jun-30) at the Harefield Outdoor Activity Centre which provide an ideal warm-up open water swim for Windsor, Shropshire and Bournemouth and have seen such luminaries as Spencer Smith, Tim Don and Bobby Brown racing there. Last year saw the loss of dozens of events through Foot and Mouth, let's not see the loss of more this year through people only wanting to do the "big-name" events.

Mar-31: Hawaii sponsorship for Daf Belt

One of the perennial sights on the GB age grouper scene are Steve and Daf Belt and a couple of weeks ago I bumped into them at the Frosty Funday in Littlehampton where Daf told me about her sponsorship for Hawaii this coming October. As any age group athlete knows, getting sponsorship isn't easy so to find a sponsor that will fund a Hawaii Ironman trip is great news indeed. I asked Daf to let me have some details and here's her report.

"Just to let you know that I went to London last week to spend a whole day in a radio studio doing interviews for regional stations all over the UK, talking about having Asthma and still being able to take part in sport once you have been given the correct medication.

The day was quite a challenge since they had booked me in for an interview every quarter of an hour from 9am until 5pm, a bit of an endurance event in itself! After a couple of hours of answering roughly the same questions, I had to start running up and down the stairs between each chat to stop my poor little brain from grinding to a halt.

The day was arranged for me by the sponsor that I am so lucky to have found for Hawaii in October this year. They are Ivax, who produce the Easi-Breathe inhaler that keeps my Asthma under control. This award-winning inhaler is much easier to use than to old style MDI; you simply open it, place it in your mouth and inhale. You don't have to have the good co-ordination that used to be vital to get the dose into your lungs because the Easi-Breathe is activated by the inhalation. Closing the inhaler charges it up for next time. This is a giant leap forward for Asthma sufferers because about 50% of people cannot get to grips with the technique required to get the correct dose when they use the old-style metered dose inhaler. The Easi-Breathe is also more suitable for people with learning difficulties or for the elderly or people with movement problems due to arthritis.

Some statistics about Asthma: cases have trebled in the last ten years, approximately 1 in 7 children and 1 in 25 adults in the UK has asthma symptoms currently requiring treatment making an estimated 5.1 million people with asthma in the UK. Asthma is the single most common chronic disease causing absence from school and can affect the subsequent careers of child asthma sufferers. For more information on Asthma you can call the National Asthma Campiagn which runs a help line (0345 01 02 03) that answers over 17,000 calls a year."

Longest Day recce

Mike Russell will be riding the Longest Day bike course on Saturday 13th April, together with a few other competitors. Anyone wishing to ride the course (slowly and with a coffee stop) should get in touch with him via email at or by phone on 01892 730934. For further race info see the BCT website.

Mar-29: Swansea cancelled

Owing to the construction of a new Tescos the MS Pro Swansea Duathlon on May 5th has had to be cancelled. The event was to have been a qualifier for the World Championships and, according the the BTA website, an alternative National Ranking event and World Championships qualifier will be held at Magram Park near Port Talbot on July 13th. However, as that venue has not yet been sanctioned or risk assessed the BTA announcement may be a little premature...

Ashbourne Duathlon update

Punishing Events, the organisers of the Ashbourne Duathlon on Sunday 7th April 2002 say that the event, the opener for the National Duathlon Series, is now full with 250 competitors (PR says 250, website says 300...). The race, a 12k 40k 4k based around Carsington Reservoir, is also the National Police and the East Midlands Championships and a fine field includes Martin Yelling, Spencer Duval, Spencer Newport, Barrie Charlton, Paul Lowe, Mark Redwood, Mark Morgan, Andy Blow, Mark Booth, Helen Cawthorne, Vicky Pincombe and many more.

Mar-28: Southern Region championships

The 2002 Southern Region Champions will be the winners of a series based on the best three results from nine races around the region. These races are: 6th May - Hart Leisure, 12th May - Hants Fire Duathlon, 9th June - Wantage Triathlon, 16th June - Windsor Triathlon, 14th July - Eton Triathlon, 21st July - Waterlooville Triathlon, 28th July - Milton Keynes Triathlon, 18th August - Concorde Triathlon, 25th August - Jersey Triathlon.

Scoring will be based on the ratio of athlete's time to the overall winners time (male and female categories). 1000 points go to the winner of each event; ie if an event is won in 70 minutes and a competing athlete finishes in 80 minutes their score would be 70/80*1000 = 875 points. Champions will have their names engraved on the trophy which they will keep until the 2003 Champs are awarded.

The decision has been made within the Southern Region to have a championship race rather than a series for Juniors. This will take place at the Eton Triathlon on August 17th and a trophy will be awarded to the winning male and female junior which will be engraved with their name and the year and which they will keep for one season. This should ensure a good level of competition and should not prevent athletes from competing for their regional champs on the grounds of cost. Applicants should make it known upon entry to Eton that they would like to race in this Championships.

Mar-27: Chairmans Triathlon still on

Despite a recent fire at the Retford Leisure Centre, the Chairmans Challenge Triathlon on 7th April is definitely still on. The pool is perfectly swimmable but closed to the public as the changing rooms have been badly fire damaged. Alternative arrangements have been made for the dry-side changing rooms to be used but these have no lockers. Race information is available online at www.organizationdevelopment.co.uk

London Region AGM

The BTA London Region AGM will be held in conjunction with the Dragonslayer Duathlon on April 28th. The duathlon is a 3 mile, 20 mile, 5 mile event based at the Lee Valley Cycle Circuit (details from the East London Triathletes website) while the AGM should be somewhat less of an endurance event in the clubhouse afterwards. All are welcome to attend and contribute to planning the Region's development. The Committee promises that, unlike the 2001 AGM, the key will not have been taken home by the caretaker and we won't all have to stand outside!!

Mar-20: New group forming in Lincoln

Jack O'Hern and Colm McCoy are trying to establish a triathletes group in Lincoln. Initially, this will just be for trainining purposes, but eventually they hope to form a club. Currently they are investigating potential local open water swim venues with a view to having a regular session over the summer. For more information email or telephone Jack on 01522 531341 (day) or Colm 01507 523184 (eve).

Mar-18: HIMUK official dies training

We received this news from Ron Bell, the new organiser of Llanberis/HIMUK.

"It is with deep regret that we have to inform all athletes of the tragic death of one of HIMUK's top officials. Steve Bold, organiser of last year's swim tube in T1, collapsed and died whilst training on Sunday. Steve was to have organised the first ever Ironkids in Caernarfon on September 7th as part of the Ironman weekend, as well as carrying out his duties in T1. Aged 40, he was the founder of Wrecsam Tri Club, the biggest in Wales with over 100 members.

Steve was recently appointed development officer for triathlon in North Wales and was in the process of devising a series of children's events in the area. He was also a qualified referee and timekeeper. His willingness to help at club events and continual drive to improve Wrecsam Tri Club will be missed by club members. His loss will not only be felt in Llanberis and Wrexham but throughout triathlon in the UK. Our thoughts are with his wife and two children."

Mar-12: Another race reminder

The organisers of the Cambridge Duathlon on 7th April are looking for more entries for their event. It's a flat course, 7k, 38k, 7k (RBR) with cash prizes for overall first three male and female as well as age group non-cash prizes and a goody bag for everyone. Entry forms are available on their website or email or contact Iain Stemp at 8 Burkett Way, Histon, Cambridge, CB4 9XU.

Brits making history abroad

Despite our huge success at Rimini last September there never seems to be much news about triathlon's winter cousin. That changed on Saturday at the Haines City Dannon Duathlon in Florida when Benny Vansteelant's run of over 30 races without defeat ended with him being beaten by a Brit! A combination of an off-form day and a penalty through a misunderstanding of USAT's rules pushed Benny into 4th with Martin Yelling (Team Milton Keynes) taking 3rd behind Greg Watson and Jonathan Hall. Vicky Pincombe also placed third in the women's race.

Mar-11: Sevenoaks needs entries

The organisers of the Sevenoaks Aquathlon have put out their annual call for entries. The race is a 500m swim, 5 mile run based around the Sevenoaks Leisure Centre on 31 March 2002 (Easter Sunday). Cost is £12 (BTA members) or £15 (non BTA members). Entry forms available from or send SAEs to 8 Hunter Seal, Leigh, Tonbridge, Kent TN11 9AW. Any queries, call 01732 833144 and ask for Mark or Tracey.

Mar-07: Good Race Guide

Sadly this is a running event guide, not a triathlon one but The Good Race Guide, the official UK Athletics road race annual, is to be published at the end of March. Listing more than 1,200 races between April 2002 and March next year, the 208 page book it is the first comprehensive guide to road running in Britain for a decade. The Guide also includes features about road race organisation, the new UKA inter-counties Grand Prix road race scheme and Champions' League event, and profiles of the Good Race Guide's four Road Runners of the Year for 2001. There is also training advice from top marathon runner Bill Adcocks, leading veteran runners, and from triple world champion Paula Radcliffe.

The book also contains extensive official UKA road race listings, both all-timer best performances and 2001 rankings, and including several well-known triathletes. Published by Sportsbooks (who did Triathlon 2001) it can ordered from now and will be available in bookshops from the end of March, price £9.95.

Ashbourne Duathlon update

Entries for what is billed as "the toughest duathlon in the country" are still being taken. If you haven't already entered you can get an entry form from www.punishingevents.com. This year the race launches the new BTA National Duathlon League and is also the East Midlands Regional Championships, part of the National Triathlon series and the Police National Duathlon Championships. Entries include Martin Yelling (Home Nations Champion 2001), Mark Redwood (National Relay Team winner 2001) and Vicky Pincombe (Home Nations Female Champion 2001).

Mar-06: London Triathlon: ITU points race, NOT!

We have no official (or unofficial) response from the people at the London Triathlon but we understand that the ITU is completely unaware that the event is carrying ITU points status - as London has claimed recently: "The elite will also benefit from this year's race being an ITU Triathlon World Ranking event." is taken directly from their February 20th press release. The ITU, according to information we've seen, says that it has never been approached or had an application submitted. Mmmm, wonder what's going on here then... The BTA seemed convinced that it had status, at least the February 25th story on the BTA website backs up London's PR and you would have thought that they would have known whether or not it was correct.

Mar-02: News from NZ

Excellent result for Paul Amey in the Ironman New Zealand yesterday where he picked up 7th place in 8:50:53 (49:15, 4:59:17, 2:59:47). Cameron Brown won in 8:32:53, Karyn Ballance was first lady in 9:27:33. Others of note to followers of this website and the eGroup include Marcus Tait (aka Koala) in 10:05:17 and xtri webmaster Rob Docherty in 12:07:16. So it looks like Koala wins his long-standing bet with John Brewer of Hong Kong and we'll get to see pictures of John riding butt naked round the streets of Taupo [if you have no idea what this is all about you obviously don't follow the eGroup!!]. Ashley Lake, another Brit currently currently studying in Auckland, was 78th in 10:07:52, thanks to John Clark for that update, and Shirly Yarde won the 40-44 category in 11:03:43, thanks to Jon Levison for that one. We also know that Richard Horton went out to race but had his bike totalled by the airline so never started.

Feb-27: ITU re-writes its agreement with SMG

There's long been the indication that all was not well between the ITU and its media partner, the London-based Sportsworld Media Group (SMG). Indeed, it was rumoured that the breakdown of the ITU website earlier this month was something to do with this. Yesterday SMG released a statement that they and the ITU have "amicably agreed to modify the terms of the agreement" with the ITU assuming responsibility for television production, marketing and sponsorship, and media while SMG focusses on the television distribution of the ITU World Cup events and the 2002 Cancun Triathlon World Championships.

All the words sound very nice and re-assuring but the reality is that this is not the first media and TV deal that has gone south for the ITU. Previous failures with Worldsport (who ran the first ITU website) and the settlements with Hothouse Productions and PSE, an Australian sports marketing company, ended up costing triathlon $1.3million -- most of the revenue it gained from the Sydney Olympics. This deal with SMG was reported to be worth £10 million over six years with SMG paying the ITU $500,000 per year against which they stood to get a cut of new sponsorship and funding towards production costs. However, SMG has been in serious financial decline for the past year and triathlon has no new sponsors. We've benfitted by having some sharp new TV coverage of ITU events but there's very little else to show for the relationship.

Feb-18: Brits abroad

Sunday saw the opening ITU race in Canberra with the Australians using the event as a qualifier for the Commonwealth Games. Loretta Harrop won the ladies race on what would have been her brother's 25th birthday - he was killed while training last month. Britain's Catriona Morrison finished 12th with Michelle Dillon a DNF after the bike. In the men's race Miles Stewart took the honours with Paul Amey finishing best Brit in 8th, AJ 12th, Stuart Hayes 16th and Andrew Fargus 23rd. Full results on the ITU website.

Feb-14: Aberdeen triathlon meeting

The Aberdeenshire Triathlon Group are meeting at Inverurie Town Hall on Tuesday Febuary 19th at 7.30pm. The meeting is open to anyone wanting to discuss the future of triathlon and triathlon development in the Aberdeen/Aberdeenshire area. For more details contact Steve Smith ()

HIMUK update

Latest information from HIMUK is that World Masters Marketing are offering a top prize for the best dressed aid station at Llanberis this year. (That'll be the opposite of the famous Wildflower naked co-eds waterstation then...) The competition will allow groups to dress up, create an atmosphere with music, singing, etc, decorate the station with interesting materials (as long as it does not clash with sponsors colours or logos). The station will be judged by the athletes with the winners receiving either a bike or a computer to raffle, sell or use.

Event registration will now be done mainly by post, on-site registration will be more like athlete hospitality with free coffee and KitKats and the only things you'll need to pick up will be the ChampionChip and ID bands. Ron Bell tells us that HIMUK entries have already been received from 10 countries and they anticipate that the event will, once again, be full. Also confirmed is the Ironkids Aquathon taking place at Caernarfon Leisure Centre from 10am on Saturday 7th.

Feb-13: Triathlons with a twist

Take the competitive nature of a Triathlon, and combine it with map reading, teamwork, and the odd Royal Marine assault course, and you have the makings of an Adventure Race. In 2002 a series of Adventure Races being run by 'Quest - The Great Outdoors' in aid of the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB). The flagship event is being held on the weekend of 13-14th April, starting at Woodbury Park Hotel, famously associated with Nigel Mansell.

Teams of 2, 3 or 4 people compete in 5 stages over 2 days, and activities include mountain biking, orienteering, night navigation, canoeing, and (subject to final arrangements), tackling the Royal Marines assault course at their Lympstone camp. Martyn Ward, event co-coordinator explains, "The event will be televised for Sky Sports, so is likely to be very high profile. Since it forms part of the British Adventure Race Championships, we are expecting a large number of teams, and it promises to be an action-packed and fun weekend. We are delighted to be associated with the RNIB, which is a worthy cause, and a charity for which I have every admiration".

More details of the race, including how to raise money for the RNIB can be found at the Quest website, which can be found at www.questars.co.uk.

Relay the Longest Day

Black Country Triathletes have decided to include a relay section in The Longest Day for 2002. More details and entry forms on their website.

Feb-10: Report from the South East Region

At a recent South East Regional committee meeting the following points came to light which other might want to take note of. Further information from , Regional Secretary.

• Risk assessment and referee courses are being run on March 9th and 23rd (risk assessment only) at Crawley. The courses are free, please contact RDO for booking.
• A referee rules upgrade and risk assessment training day is in the process of being planned - watch this space.
• ALL RACES FROM APRIL 1st 2002 ARE SUBJECT TO RISK ASSESSMENT - NO RISK ASSESSMENT = NO SANCTION CERTIFICATE.
• The region would like to make it clear that all races using BTA insurance must be run for charity or club profit. Any club which uses their own policies are exempt from this. If you run a race for personal profit/gain you cannot use the BTA insurance. You must be accountable for your funds.
• The Regional Development Officer (RDO) Emma Forward is contactable on: , 01273 644154, 07813 880378 or write to Regional Sports Development Officer, Emma Forward, Sports Development Unit, University of Brighton, Flamer, Brighton BN1 9PH
• A coach education day, £5 for SE region coaches, is being run at Brighton University, Eastbourne on the 16th of February. 18 are booked on this so far and the number of places has been extended from 20 to 25. Contact the RDO please.
• Child protection policy/club welfare officers must be in place for 2002 club affiliation.

The South East Regional Children's Series proposed events (TBC) are:

• June 15th - Arun Triathlon
• July 13th - Fun Kids Tri Dover
• July 20th - Heathfield Tri
• Aug 11th - White Oak Tri
• Aug 17th - Uckfield Tri

Once again the co-ordinator will be Ian Pettitt. Congratulations to Ollie and Henrietta Freeman who will be carry the Jubilee Torch in the region.

Feb-09: Commonwealth Games triathlon competition hotting up

So far 22 nations have confirmed their attendance at the Commonwealth Games triathlon. Initial numbers indicate that a field of approximately 50 men and 30 women will take part in the event on August 4th 2002.

With over two hours of live BBC television coverage for both the men's and the women's event, the sport of triathlon will receive a major boost within the Commonwealth. If all goes to plan, we may well see a head to head between the current triathlon world champion, the Olympic triathlon champion and the triathlete ranked number one in the world. There will also be a number of triathletes competing who are keen to make a good impression following disappointing performances in Sydney.

After the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games are the biggest multi-sport event in the world. The TV audience is estimated at some 1 billion, with one third of the world's population having access to the Games. It will be the biggest sporting event ever staged in the UK, with over 4,000 athletes due to compete in 17 different sports in the ten days between July 25 and August 4. The triathlon at the Commonwealth Games is being held in Salford Quays, the venue for last years successful National Championships. This is one of the free events in the Commonwealth Games and large numbers of spectators are expected to cheer on all the home nation stars. For more detailed information on the Commonwealth Games triathlon, contact John Lunt, Triathlon Competition Manager at: or call him on 07885 964 664.

Feb-07: Where has the ITU website gone?

No sooner is the ETU website back on line than the ITU website vanishes! The site is, apparently, being moved to a new server but the redirector obviously cut in first and so the URL currently goes to a London-based hosting service called Venus Internet. Of course, there might be something else going on... No, only kidding!

Feb-04: Where has the ETU website gone?

Forgive me for not noticing this earlier but it's suddenly dawned on me that the ETU doesn't exist any more. Well, we all know that peace broke out in bunches a couple of weeks ago at the extra-ordinary congress in Paris, chaired by Sarah Springman and attended by Norman and Peter (who got elected onto the board, apparently so that he can be used to check the Englishness of communications issued by the ETU -- their words, not mine!!). What nobody, me included, seems to have picked up on is that the ETU website, almost the last remaining fragment of the Kjerag operation, seems to have quietly died -- it hadn't been updated for a while and now just hangs.

So, where is the ETU website these days? Apparently we're now just an ITU region, or at least that's what I'm led to believe as it's now part of the ITU website. Check it out here www.triathlon.org/regional/reg-etu-web/index.htm.

Looks like the TCE finally happened and nobody really noticed. Of course, it could all change again at the next Congress but I wouldn't want to place any bets on that happening. Maybe we'll see Mick English standing for President...

Three New Forest series races cancelled

Three of the New Forest series races; Ringwood, Lymington and Applemore, won't be happening this year. We understand this is because of problems getting the venues at an economic rate -- the Council doesn't want to organise the events any more (sound familiar?) and so the Centres feel obliged to charge a commercial rate which makes the whole thing too risky for an outside organiser to take on. The whole series was cancelled last year because of the Foot and Mouth problems.

Feb-01: Referee and Coach courses

Stephen Bold will be running a BTA Risk Assessment and Level 2 Referees course at Wrecsam in North Wales on March 2nd and a BTA Level 1 and 2 Coaching course over the weekend of March 23rd and 24th. Details from Stephen on 07980 564 547 or by email at

Jan-31: BTA announces elite championships at new venue

In a story on the BTA website today comes the announcement of the elite national championships on May-18 at a new venue: the Tees Barrage at Stockton on Tees. Organised by Nova International (Brendan Foster's company, which also does the Great North Run) the event will be combined with a sprint distance triathlon called the Great North Triathlon. TV coverage of the elite event is promised for the following Sunday on BBC Grandstand.

Jan-26: ITU wins the court case

With timing that even Paul Daniels would find hard to emulate, Les McDonald has pulled the ITU irons out of the fire on the very weekend that the ETU is seeking to re-invent itself. As reported in Katherine Williams TriDigest, the Canadian judge (who has been sitting on the verdict for over a year) delivered her 36 page judgement which, while not exactly finding for the six federations who filed the case of alleged ballot rigging at the Perth Congress, did not exonerate the ITU from bad practice either! She also failed to award costs so the ITU may well have a legal bill to settle - along with the latest writ being served on them which demands re-payment of monies paid to Les McDonald, apparently unconstitutionally. This part of the saga may now be over but the trouble with sagas is that they tend to go on, and on, and on...

Coulson elected to the ETU

While the ITU was breathing a sigh of relief the ETU was having an extraordinary congress to sort out its problems. We understand that Peter Coulson, the new BTA Chairman, has been elected to the board along with representatives from Spain, Sweden, Italy, Hungary and Poland. Didier Lehenaff of France retains the Presidency while Erika Koenig-Zenz, long-time European board member and foil to the ITU has departed along with many of the old guard. The ETU may be out of the woods but this is only a temporary reprieve as they probably have to do this all again late in the year.

Jan-22: Want something tougher?

OK, so you've done an Ironman, now what? Well, how about Enduroman? Enduroman Chesil is a new endurance event which will be held annually over the first neap tides in September. It involves running, swimming and cycling along the beautiful Dorset coast and countryside -- but it ain't no triathlon...

The run is either 25 or 50 miles on Saturday 31st August and the course is designed so that all crossing points are either marshalled or are pedestrian crossings. Any athlete seen running in the road, on the wrong side of the road or not using one of the crossing points will be penalised and the time penalties will be heavy. The cycle is either 70 or 165 miles on Sunday 1st September 2002 and is designed on a course that keeps the speed of the bike to a minimum for safety. The route also has forced stops, some athletes may have to wait longer than others! And, finally, the swim of either 9 or 18 miles which will either be on Saturday 31st, Sunday 1st or Monday 2nd depending on tides and weather conditions. This will be in the waters along the length of the Chesil bank. The tide runs parallel with the beach; the water is deep, which allows swimmers to position themselves no more than 2 metres from the shore for safety.

Who thought this one up? The organiser is Edgar Ette, the man who did the single-handed London to Paris in July last year (see 220 for coverage)... Further details and entry forms from Edgar by email at , by phone on 01305 860438 or visit his website at http://www.enduroman.com/

Jan-20: POSE running session

Graham Fletcher is running a follow-up day to last year's POSE running session. It will be held on Sunday Feb 17th at the Hampton Community School and Nicholas Romanov himself will be taking the sessions. Cost is £40 and you can get details from Richard Downey on 0208 398 1041.

Jan-16: Bill Black seminars

Bill Black, long-time triathlon coach for many of the elite athletes, is running two training day clinics. Sunday 10th March is for sprint and standard distance athletes while Sunday 24th March concentrates on the half and full Ironman distance. The seminars will be held at Wilson's School in Wallington, Surrey and cost £50 per day including lunch and refreshments. Contact Bill by email at or phone on 01276 857849.

Jan-15: HIMUK definitely has a new owner

Ron Bell has told us that the contract to run ironman UK is in his hands and their new event website is due to go live tonight with full event details and entry forms. The event will still definitely be a half Ironman in 2002 with 30 Hawaii slots and will be based entirely at Llanberis with corresponding alterations to the bike and run routes. They are also opening a new event office: phone is 08700 112811, fax is 08700 112911 and all 2001 competitors will receive email notification of the new details shortly.

Jan-14

IM South Africa in doubt

UPDATE: It's now confirmed that IMSA will not take place in 2002 but it is hoped that the race can continue in 2003.
It also looks like Ironman South Africa may have hit the deck: they lost their major sponsor, had to move venue and now the exchange rate with the $ (WTC gets paid in dollars) has worsened, so making the event uneconomic. No definite confirmation yet.

Wheel Centre site closing down

It isn't all roses in the world of websites as we hear that the Wheel Centre will cease operating from the 1st week of February 2002. The closure has been caused by their inability to generate enough advertising coverage and the fact that high banking charges meant that they couldn't take credit card payments. So, they're having a closing down sale and they would like the word spread so they can clear out the stock and recover some of their investment. The sale prices are pretty good so it's worth visiting the site. It's worth contacting them for a quote on items not listed.

Jan-10: London Triathlon gets points, not cup

Ever since we saw that London was listed in the ITU Cup Series we've suspected that 2002 wasn't the year it ws likely to happen and the news out today (we don't get sent PR by them so we have to get it from Katherine Williams or, later, from Steven Downes) is that London's organisers balked at the cost. The race, now set for August 11th -- just one week after the Commonwealth Games tri in an attempt to keep some of the good athletes here, will have ITU Points status because that only requires a guaranteed prize fund but won't be going the whole way to an ITU Cup event. The ITU's additional costs of $130,000 would have strained the budget too much but the organisers are hoping for a title sponsor which would allow them to do it for 2003. Which, strangely, is the year that was always planned for an ITU Cup event in London with the BTA making presentations at the Montreal Congress (although the proposed venue was Hyde Park at that stage).

Jan-08: TI workshop for London

Now that Terry Laughlin's Total Immersion method has a foothold here in the UK through Ian Smith it looks as though it's gaining momentum [sorry, that's not meant as a pun...] with the Manchester weekend on Feb-2/3 being sold out. A second weekend is now being offered in Chelsea on Feb-9/10 and will be led by Terry, Shane Gould from Australia, Kevin Millerick from the US and Ian Smith. Anyone interested should go to the Total Immersion website or email Ian Smith on .

UPDATE: The TI website suggests that the Chelsea weekend is a 3-stroke one and not freestyle-specific. Worth checking out before you book.

Bruce Winter Series

The dates for this popular Scottish series of run, bike then swim events are now confirmed in the race calendar.

Jan-07: Tour of Wales dates announced

The ten events making up the 2002 Tour of Wales races are now confirmed (Llanelli Duathlon, Mar-17; Swansea Valley Duathlon, May-6; Blaenavon Triathlon, May-19; RCT Triathlon, May-26; Cosmeston Sprint, Jun-2; Brecon Triathlon, Jun-8, Prestigne Triathlon, Jul-21, Cosmeston Long Course, Aug-4; Excalibur, Sep-1; Bala Triathlon, Sep-22) and you can find details and entry forms on their website. The series is open to anyone, not just Welsh athletes!

Jan-01: Happy New Year

As promised, we've extended the race calendar to include a location (where we know...) and we've added some pre-prepared searches for the most common look-ups. Enjoy!