Dec-25: No site rebuild this year

Normally I do a complete re-work of the site at Christmas but this year I've got another major website project on the boil and the re-design of this one will have to wait until that's all sorted out. So, sorry, but you'll have to suffer the current layout a little longer. If anyone has suggestions for changes or new stuff please let me know -- I think we had more race results this year than ever before and I'll shortly be mailing all the organisers begging for even more in 2002. The BTA are still sending in the forms from the event registration, we got over 100 on Christmas Eve, and these are being added into the race database. As promised, we will be adding an event location field as well (where the organisers have told us) and that should happen in January.

Anyway, thanks for all stopping by -- we get over 1,000,000 page requests a month now so we figure that people still think it's worthwhile visiting! Enjoy what's left of Christmas and have a great New Year. Hopefully I'll be back racing in 2002, if not I'll be there in some capacity or other.

Real triathletes at Leybourne Lake

Right about the time most of us were getting out of bed this morning -- some from Deal nursing sore heads -- a group of real stalwarts were doing Mike Russell's infamous Christmas Day open water event at Leybourne Lake. The sting in the tail is that wetsuits are not allowed... James set a new course record, even after going wrong on the run, and this was Ben and Lesley's first open water event. Respect -- and serious concerns about your mental and physical health!

Dec-12: Race calendar filling...

Anyone tracking the 2002 race calendar will notice that it's gradually beginning to fill up. We now have the first batch of sheets from the BTA as well as all the emailed details from organisers and the data is being pumped in but it does take time so please keep checking. Over Christmas we will be adding an additional field to the database that gives the location of the event (which is sometimes not obvious from the name) and some "potted" search buttons as well. If organisers spot mistakes please let us know - you don't all have perfect handwriting!

Why don't we use the BTA's database? Anyone who attended the AGM will probably know the answer to that one -- it can't output the fields we need to build the file and actually takes longer than checking the 2002 sheets against the database we have built up over the past three years. That's why the BTA website uses our race calendar...

The BTA have asked that all organisers and club secretaries please get their forms in by December 20th so the information can go in the Handbook. Several people have sent forms in without signing them - it's on the back!!

Dec-09: New rulebook published

The new BTA Competition Rules for 2002 are now up on the BTA's website. Do take the time to read them as there have been a lot of changes -- and we don't just mean FFLs...

Nov-29: Christmas Aquathlon

Black Country Triathletes are short on numbers for their 400m 5k swim run event on December 9th at Ounsdale Leisure Centre and you know it makes more sense than traipsing round the shops... Anyway, it's at 8am so you could do both! Contact Paul Gamston on 01902 871691.

Nov-28: Active Holidays

Active have a 10% discount going with 220 magazine and have kindly extended it to readers of this website. This link will take you directly to the details on their website. Please browse the site if you want to use your discount against any other camp or holiday, destinations include Sardinia (the Matt Belfield training camp) and Italy. For a brochure contact them on 0115 985 6830.

Nov-27: ETU awards

The ETU website lists their awards for the season just gone and GB athletes do very well indeed:

• Elite triathlon:
  Filip Ospaly CZE and Michelle Dillon GBR
• Junior triathlon:
  Jodie Swallow GBR and Sebastian Dehmer GER
• Elite duathlon:
  Benny Vansteelant BEL and Erika Csomor HUN
• Juniors duathlon:
  Henrietta Freeman GBR and Jorie Vansteelant BEL

Nov-26: AGM redux

UPDATE: A detailed email from a contact has pointed out that the last time the Male National Champion trophy was seen was when it was presented to Andrew Johns at Shropshire in '98. He didn't want to take it back to Switzerland and it got passed on for safe return to the BTA... How come you saw a picture of last year's champion, Marc Jenkins, holding it at Brighton? Because he was actually holding the Female one that Jodie Swallow let him borrow for the photos! Ah, so we do know where the Female one is then - in Jodie's trophy cabinet! Well, at least we hope that's where it is... As for the Male trophy, that's still missing and being hunted down.

A chance remark during a conversation about age groupers and trophies and a couple of enquiries later we think we might have uncovered a bit of a puzzle. At the BTA Awards Dinner we had both the National Champions; Richard Stannard and Jodie Swallow, present but neither were presented with any form of award or trophy for their efforts in this regard. At the time it didn't register but on reflection this seems very odd. I've asked Richard about this and he said that he had asked around about a trophy after Salford but there didn't seem to be one and Jasmine Flatters can't remember the BTA bringing anything other than medals to the presentation ceremony at Salford. Norman Brook doesn't know anything about trophies either, and nobody had suggested that they ought to have been presented at the Awards Dinner either.

So, can anyone out there remember from previous years whether trophies or awards have been presented to the National Champions - either at the championship event or at the awards dinner? If there aren't any trophies then it seems a pretty poor show and if there are trophies then where are they and why doesn't anyone seem to know anything about them?

Nov-25: AGM weekend

"Interesting" might be a good way to describe the meetings and events of the weekend. The race organisers and officials seminar was pretty lively at times with some excellent debate on issues a diverse as the 2002 rules changes, insurance and the proposed day membership/licence scheme. We haven't had any feedback from the age-group training day - anyone out there want to comment? The awards dinner, despite a distinct feeling of being back at school..., was admirably hosted by Dave Bellingham (in a shirt that could only be described as loud and clashed badly with my tie) and handed out IOC Volunteer Awards, the male and female Athlete of the Year which went to Richard Allen and Jodie Swallow, and the Event of the Year trophy which went to HIMUK/Llanberis.

At the AGM itself there were the usual reports from Norman Brook as Chief Executive and the various Executive Board members. Highlights were the introduction of the new Child Protection Policy for Clubs, the review of the year's performances by the elite and age group squads and the news of the BTA securing £25,000 to update its office technology with a new database system.

The only proposal put to the meeting for voting was Jem Lawson's amendment to confirm funding for the English Triathlon Forum and this was accepted after an amendment from the Executive Board.

Peter Coulson's opening address as the new Chair was short and proposed 24th November 2002 for the date of the next AGM which effectively finished the formal business for the day.

In the informal business we had questions on the age limits for bike insurance (Patrick Barnes discovered that he's too old for the current cover after he was knocked off at London), Peter Howard questioned the rumoured removal of the automatic qualification for top ten finishers in the current years world championships (it's not going to be removed) and Mark Cathcart asked about the BTA's policies on promoting the sport for physically challenged athletes. Clive Faine sought assurance that the Executive Board would continue to seek ways of providing some funding to support age group athletes.

Other news from the weekend is that Jasmine Flatters and Ian Pettitt have both retained their positions as age group team managers which is an excellent result and provides even more recognition for the work that they have done for many years in looking after the age groupers who travel to European and World Championships.

Nov-22: Breaking with tradition

In something of a suprise move the BTA has published the results (on their website) of the elections for the new Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer and Executive Board members before the AGM. I can't ever remember this happening in previous years, at least not officially. The results are that Peter Coulson is Chair, Dave Bellingham keeps the Vice Chair, Peter Beech Allen is Treasurer and Jasmine Flatters, Bethan Davies, Paul Groves and Dave Handley are the new Executive Board members. The stand-out result is Jasmine who polled over 400 votes which, as near as we can tell, seems to be a vote from everybody who actually voted! Let's hope the new officers can bring a period of stability and productive development at all levels of the sport and we can actually begin to see some of the proposed improvements begin to turn into reality.

Nov-20: South East Region AGM report

Report from Nick Sparkes: The South East Region's AGM was held on 17th November 2001 at Ardingly College with a small representation of the region present and welcomed. Despite a free training session under Glenn Cook from Bodyworks being held in an effort to encourage attendance "Pop stars" evidently won the vote... The chair would like all members of the region to know that the AGM is for them, and the committee exists to benefit the members of the region.

All posts remain the same for 2002:

Nina Foord - Chair Person
Yvonne Tuner - Treasurer
Nick Sparkes - Secretary
Paul Groves - Technical and Sanction Officer for SE

The region made a small profit of £185.34 in the year; the accounts are available for examination, and held to be correct.

Paul's report summarized a busy and eventful year for the region and all involved in race organisation, and looks forward to 2002 being even more so, identifying more referees will be needed to endure the programme runs smoothly and work is spread evenly, especially with several of the regional referees moving up to National work. Thanks to them.

The choice to communicate by email unless otherwise instructed has been a success, and this is to be extended. All members of the region who would like to be included in communications in the region, such as race dates, minutes and other useful information should email the secretary to be included.

The future for development looks good in the region too, with Emma Forward giving a comprehensive explanation of what is going to be happening, and what is currently available to clubs in region. Please contact the secretary or Emma for more details.

Two events already in planning for 2002 aside of the large number of races and training days already organised are a coaching seminar in the SE, and an initiative for a TriStar competition league where ALL athletes results count - not just the best ones!

All correspondence is welcome and should be directed to Nick Sparkes, regional Secretary, via email (

Nov-15: Don't lose your vote

The BTA are reminding members that the votes for candidates to serve as Officers and on the Executive Board must be in by the 20th so posting (first class) needs to done on Saturday to ensure that it's there for Tuesday morning when the polls close. These are important elections, don't waste the opportunity to make your voice heard.

For the record we (that's us, The Triathletes Homepage) support Ron Thorne for Chair with Dave Bellingham for Vice Chair plus Jasmine Flatters and Paul Groves for the Board. We feel that continuity of service needs to be maintained for the senior positions, both Ron and Dave have extensive experience on the EB, and that both Jasmine, currently co-opted to the EB, and Paul deserve election in regard to their extensive experience at national level. We don't have an opinion on the candidates for treasurer or for the other two board places.

BTA announces WC qualifiers for 2002

It doesn't seem to have been put on the BTA's website but in the information sent to race organisers there's a list of events that have ITU Triathlon World Championship qualifier status so I guess that's it's official now. The chosen events are: Shropshire (Jun-9), Windsor (Jun-16), Bournemouth (Jul-7) and Gullane (Aug-17). This, pretty much, satisfies the requirements of an event per month over the summer period and includes the National Championships so removing the ridiculous anomoly of the National Champion not necessarily being a qualifier for the Worlds.

The qualifiers for the ITU Duathlon World Championship and the long distance events have not been set, nor have the conditions for qualification -- we can now take up to 18 per age group compared to 12 in previous years.

One interesting side effect of the HIMUK announcement yesterday is that the plans that were being mooted for changing The Longest Day into a Nice-distance event may now be put back and, hopefully, scrapped altogether. There's never been anything official but the rumours were there. TLD is a successful event in its own right and I could never see the reasons for changing it.

Nov-14: HIMUK stays as a half

According to the HIMUK website the event will stay as a half Ironman for 2002 - something that was already indicated on the WTC website. Apparently over 80% of the responses to the post-race questionnaire wanted it to stay as a half: not suprising given that qualifying a year ahead on half the distance makes it a) "easier" and b) gets around the problem of the lake being borderline for a 1.9k swim and definitely too cold for the full 3.8k. OK, given a nice summer, it might make the additional 2 degrees and there's always the possibility of moving the swim to the sea (which is warmer) but it's still a fundamental problem for the event.

Hawaii for Christmas...

Well, Boxing Day actually by the looks of things and that's the triathlon and not a nice holiday... Looks like Eurosport will be running the event this year despite earlier worries that they were dropping most triathlon coverage. All we want now is for them to show the Janus Ironman Florida as well and we'll have a perfect Christmas. (Unless you also include doing Mike's wetsuitless open water triathlon as part of the seasonal festivities and, in that case, I'm afraid that there's no hope for you at all!)

New Under-23 category

The ITU and ETU have re-jigged the rules regarding who qualifies for Under-23 and Junior competition and the BTA will follow suit - harmony between national and international governing bodies, whatever next! It's a bit long winded but check out the details on either the BTA or ITU websites.

Nov-12: GB involvement in the ETU

It's nice to see Paul Groves getting the recognition that he deserves. Having spent the weekend at the ETU Technical Committee meetings he ends up getting elected Chair of the Committee which can only be a good thing when it comes to harmonising the rules across the frederations. Alan Spelling, another of the GB senior referees and well-known for his age group activities, he competed in all the major international championships this year, is named as the referee for the European Championships in 2002. Paul is also up for election to the Executive Board here in the UK and based on his performance at National and International level certainly deserves to be elected.

Nov-11: Other Brits abroad

At the Laguna Phuket triathlon, a somewhat odd 1.8k 55k 12k distance, Gavin Lewis took 7th, Mark Smoothy (listed as AUS but I'm sure he used to be GB...) was 8th and Jess Harrison was 4th female.

Other Brits at the Janus Ironman Florida included Jason Newsome, 59th in 9:45:13, Chris Wilson, 361st in 10:50:44, Stephen Hope, 495th in 11:12:29, Jane Boulton 513rd in 11:15:25, Iain Parsons, 537th in 11:19:22, Angela Walker, 548th in 11:21:10, Kieran Knight, 631st in 11:36:34, Roger Watts, 674th in 11:43:29, Adam Feather, 850th in 12:09:36, Joe Pardo, 899th in 12:18:09, Neville Jewell, 922nd in 12:22:23, Nigel Vuagniaux, 1173rd in 13:02:56, Nick Powis, 1405th in 14:08:06, and Michael Levett who missed the cut-off but finished.

Nov-10: Spencer wins in Florida

Spencer Smith just won the Janus Ironman Florida in a new course record of 8:21:25 beating Tony DeBoom by 7 minutes with Olivier Bernhard third!!! Second out of the swim in 49:26 he then stormed the bike to complete that at 5:28 elapsed time and then set off to cover the first mile in 6 minutes. His average pace over the marathon was 5:52... After two (relatively) disappointing attempts at Hawaii followed by a DNF with a suspected hamstring pull this year it's been a major obsession with Spencer to get one in the bag and he certainly did it in style. Katja Schumacher won the womens race in 9:25:58 Follow the action on the Ironman website.

Nov-07: POSE running days

Graham Fletcher will be holding two training days in December; the 8th at Hendon Police Training Centre and the 9th at the Hampton Community School in Hampton. The day, which costs £40, will consist of a detailed explanation of the mechanical model of the 'pose' method of running designed by Dr. Nicholas Romanov. Each section of theory will be accompanied by practical sessions where the technique can be learnt. Anyone wishing to attend should call Richard Downey on 020 8398 1041 or e-mail .

Nov-04: Brits abroad

Paul Amey, the Kiwi who transferred to GB, won at Noosa yesterday. His unexpected win in 1:47:59, not that he's not talented but he was a late entry into a class field, is probably down to the training put in for the Hawaii Ironman where he was DNFd last month. Full results should appear on the Noosa website.

Hurricane Michelle skimmed the coast of Mexico for Sunday's season closer in the ITU Cup and a Coastguard Authority ruling reduced the swim to 1000 metres and the bike leg was cut to 38.8km due to flooding. Steph Forrester came from the third group off the bike to overhaul everyone but Sheila Taormina (USA) to take second with Leanda Cave in 4th (results on the ITU website).

By the start of the men's race the wind had subsided a little and Richard Stannard was the first to exit the swim. A stray dog running onto the course ended the race for Chris Moffatt and others and Andrew Johns was unable to maintain contact with the lead bunch and finished 22nd. Greg Bennett (AUS) was the final winner... Richard Stannard was a DNF but it's not clear if this was also down to the dog!

The race was the final for this season's points and Chris Hill retained his World Cup title for 2001 with Craig Watson (NZL) and Andrew Johns finishing the season at second and third. Steph Forrester finished 10th in the rankings.

Nov-02: BTA announce Nationals

The BTA website has the following dates and venues for the various National Championships in 2002:

• Duathlon Championship at Swindon on the 28 April
• Elite Triathlon Championship (Legal Drafting) at a venue to be confirmed on either the 18 or 19 May
• Age Group Triathlon Championship at Shropshire on the 9 June
• Sprint Triathlon Championship at a venue to be confirmed on the 20 or 21 July
• Long Course Triathlon Championship at a Black Country venue on either the 30 June or 7 July
• Club Relay Championship and British Team Time Trial Championship at Nottingham on the 10 August
• Junior Sprint Triathlon Championship at Lochore Meadows, Scotland on either the 29 or 30 June
• Youth Super Sprint Championship at a venue to be decided on a date in July to be decided.
• Youth and Tri Star Regional Team Championship at a venue to be decided on a date in September to be decided.

The BTA are still looking for organisers wishing to host the Youth Super Sprint Championship or the Youth and TriStar Regional Team Championship. No announcements yet about the qualifiers for the 2002 World Championships at Standard or Long Distance in either Triathlon or Duathlon although one imagines that the Nationals at Shropshire are a pretty safe bet for one of the events.

Nov-01: Congratulations!

Sian Brice may have taken the year out from triathlon, apart from the odd bit of commentary work, but that's all been in preparation for this morning's arrival of Scott who weighed in at 8lbs 8oz. Sian, Paddy and Scott are all doing well - the question is, which Scott; Molina, Dave, Tinley or someone else!

Oct-29: SouthEast region AGM details

The SouthEast Region's AGM is going to be held on at 19:00 on Saturday November 17th 2001 at Ardingly College, Ardingly. Prior to the meeting, in an effort to encourage people to attend and contribute to the AGM, there will be a FREE swim coaching session from 17:30 with Glenn Cook and BODYWORKS. Included in this will be an open question and answer session (time pending) so bring your swim kit, goggles and towels along.

All items for the AGM agenda to be sent to Nick Sparkes () by 10th November 2001 at the latest and if you are planning to attend please let Nick know as soon as possible, so they have an idea of numbers both for the swim session and the AGM.

Oct-27: More Turkish Delight

Frustrated by having to be an official for the ETU race, Paul Groves and 41 other maniacs threw themselves into the sea at Alanya yesterday for the 5K swim. Paul describes the sea as being "flat for the first and last k but decidedly lumpy and confused in the middle...". He, and a number of others went a little astray in the middle section but his 1:42:10 did take third place in the over 35 category which won him a T-shirt! (The winner got a flight and hotel for a week, second place got hotel accommodation for a week...)

Other notables included Jess Harrison (5th woman in 1:16:03), Paul Robert Shaw (1:44:58) and Simon Kennedy who got cramp and had to be rescued by Alan Spelling. Several of the elite also took part; Dimitry Gaag, Tracy Hargreaves, Caroline Kearney, Vladimir Polikarpenko. Winner was Andrey Klijuyev (KAZ) in 1:07:09 with Olga Sokolova (RUS) the winning lady in 1:13:42.

Oct-24: Alanya action updates

Paul Groves is kindly phoning through updates as they happen. So far in the mens event we have: Vladimir Polikarpenko UKR 1:47:12, David Haines GBR 1:47:25 (successfully appealing against a DQ for having no number but getting fined instead), Leonid Ivanov RUS 1:47:33, Cedric Fleureton FRA 1:47:47 and Dmitry Gaag KAZ 1:47:58. Other GB finishers were Richard Haines in 13th, Alun Woodward in 21st, Simon Kennedy in 41st and Ed Dyer DNFed with a puncture 100m into the bike.

For the women we have Anja Heil GER 1:59:29, Leanda Cave GBR 1:59:53, Kate Allen AUS 2:00:10, Tracy Hargreaves AUS 2:00:11, Nadia Cortassa ITA 2:00:23. Despite her second place finish Leanda takes the European Championship. Other GB finishers were Annie Emmerson in 9th, Tanja Allen in 14th, Jo Hine in 17th and Jess Harrison in 30th. Full times and splits arer on the ETU website.

Financial confusion

The details of the matter are in a message posted to the eGroup but it looks like Mike Russell's series of races at Leybourne Lakes has fallen foul of a financial misunderstanding. He would like to make it clear that neither he or any of his races are connected with the Mid Kent Tri Club and, regardless of what happens in respect of the money paid, the races will continue to take place under his organisation. This includes the infamous Christmas Day race where you get time penalties for wearing a wetsuit! If anyone wants to confirm details they should contact Mike directly .

Oct-22: Brits abroad

It's the last gasps of the ITU and ETU seasons and GB athletes are still in the thick of it. At the inaugural Athens International triathlon, hopefully the site of the 2004 Olympics, Beth Thompson placed fifth with David Haines sixth and Simon Kennedy a DNF. (Why the BTA site calls him Daniel Haines is a mystery...) Full results on the ITU website. The final showdown in the ETU Cup is at Alanya in Turkey on Wednesday 24th and Leanda Cave, Annie Emmerson, Jessica Harrison, Anneliese Heard, Joanna Hinde, Tanja Allen, Alun Woodward, Richard Jones, and Richard Haines are all on the ETU's startlist.

Oct-15: BTA nominations announced

Nominations for the vacant positions on the Executive Board closed today and, unlike in some previous years, there will be elections for all positions vacant. A list of nominations is shown here, copies of the individual addresses will shortly be posted to the member's section of the BTA website.

• Chair - Peter Coulson; Derek Biggs; Ron Thorne
• Vice Chair - David Bellingham; Helen Cawthorne
• Treasurer - Peter Beech-Allen; Nicola Lewington-Moore
• Executive Officers (4) - Peter Beech-Allen: David Bellingham; Bethan Davies; Jasmine Flatters; Clive Faine; Paul Groves; David Handley; John Nuttall; Tom Roberts

In the interests of partiality it's only fair to point out that I've seconded for Jasmine Flatters and would have gladly done so for both Ron Thorne and Paul Groves if so asked.

Judgement day...

UPDATE: The BTA website reports that Mick English has been suspended as a member for 18 months with 12 months of that as a suspended sentence in recogniion of the work that he has done for the Association in the past. We have also updated the item below to correctly identify his as one of the founders of the TCE rather than the founder - he was also the President Elect of that organisation.

It's not often that the ex-Chairman of a sports association gets asked to attend a disciplinary tribunal but that's exactly what happened to Mick English last week. The past year has been rather turbulent for the man;

• he gets re-elected to be Chair of the BTA at the AGM in November 2000,
• one of the founders of the Triathlon Council for Europe as an ITU-sponsored alternative to the ETU in December 2000,
• resigns as Chair of the BTA in March this year after many of the GB Elite athletes protested against his involvement with the TCE,
• and then gets involved in a brawl with BTA staffer Dan Salcedo at the National Club Relays in August, apparently over an athlete moving from his coaching group to Dan's.

It was this final act that resulted in his being invited to attend an independent tribunal. The results of the tribunal would have been discussed at Saturday's Executive Board meeting and one presumes that their decision will have been communicated to him either over the weekend or very early this week. For once the Board is being extremely tight lipped about the situation so all we can suggest is that the BTA website is the logical place to look for any official announcements.

Oct-12: Spencer update after Hawaii

Oct-09: Paula Craig benefit reminder

Don't forget the fund-raising evening for Paula Craig on October 19th at The Warren which will include a buffet dinner, disco and a raffle. Lots of prizes have been donated; Sian Brice has given a bike, Julian Jenkinson a pair of Spengle wheels, there's a La Santa training camp and a whole year's worth of coaching and membership from East london Triathletes. For the less physically minded a film company have donated a dinner and film evening out. If you would like to either contribute to the prizes, attend the evening or just donate some money to the fund then contact Dave Hill, the MPTC organiser, by email at or by phone on 07941 427 424 or 01892 547 643.

Belated congratulations

A few days back we mentioned that Helen Cawthorne had done her first half marathon -- well, in the excitement of getting all the Hawaii news we completely forgot to mention the fact that Annie Emmerson had been running in the World Half Marathon Championships and came in 31st in 1:13:00, a personal-best time in cold, windy conditions. That put her as third placed Briton behind overall winner Paula Radcliffe.

Oct-07: Hawaii dropout toll is high

It looks like conditions at the Hawaii Ironman put paid to a lot of people's aspirations with both Spencer Smith and Paul Amey dropping out on the run. Other big name athletes like Jurgen Zack, Luc van Lierde, Peter Reid and Dave Scott also fell by the wayside.

Here's a thought though. Why is it that when the going gets tough; Fredericia, Salford, London, Hawaii, whatever the distance, we always end up with a much higher percentage of the women finishing than the men? I mean, and with no disrespect, there's Spencer dropping out at mile 2 on the run while Karen Smyers finishes despite throwing up most of the way round. Is there something about women that inherently makes them better suited to the long hard grind? Childbirth is, I guess, one biological reason that this happens but a lot of the women out there racing haven't produced offspring so it's got to be built in. There's an interesting picture in Dan Empfield's bike park survey that he thinks throws some light on the matter as well. Anyway, any comments?

Here is a final list of finishers; top ten men and women and all the Brits we could find.

Oct-06: The story unfolds

UPDATED: Unless you're prepared to pay it looks as though the Hawaii Ironman coverage from the official site will be limited to short updates although they now have the swim and T1 results up -- in athlete number order which is a bit odd... Inside Triathlon are giving regular updates on their website and Triathlete Magazine are giving a less thorough coverage on theirs. Our favourite correspondent over the past few years, Dan Empfield of Slowtwitch, is also in action again this year with more inside details than the others. Be sure to check out his pictures from the bike park!

Oct-01: First achievements

From the BTA office at Loughborough, Bethan and Maria completed their first ever triathlons on Sunday. You can find results from the Sport 2000 Super-Sprint Triathlon on John Schofield's website.

Also completing a first at the weekend, this time a first marathon, was Helen Cawthorne who ran 3:00:30 at the Robin Hood Marathon to finish second.

Sep-24: Home Nations

The Home Nations Triathlon, hosted by Wrecsam Tri at Bala in North Wales, took place on Sunday. It was also the Fire Service National Chapionships. Full results are on www.ukresults.net. Wales won the Home Nations with Marc Jenkins taking first place ahead of Andy Tarry and David Haines. Beth Thompson was the first female home.

Sep-23: Army Triathlon Association Sprints 2001

On a wet miserable day 124 athletes turned out to contest the championships, a good number considering the delays for F & M had interfered with a lot of peoples seasons and quite a few "stars" where involved elsewhere. Nontheless the course was in superb condition and the PT staff at Bassingbourn had done a marvellous job as always, we really must hold a civvie race here one day.

Mark Livesey demonstrated the kind of form that he has shown all season and blasted away on the swim leaving the field floundering in his wake, he exited the water with a lead of over 1 min 20 seconds and held on to the finish. Kate O, Brien who had a great Inter Services race also led the women from the off and Sonia Hurst was beaten into 2 nd place for the first time in many years in an Army Triathlon event.

Winners were:

Major Unit Team Winners where DLO (REME) Butters, Durrant, Snell, Green, Minor Unit Team Winners where ATR (Bassingbourn) Galbraith, Floyd, Lidlow. Full results on the Army Triathlon website.

Deal Tri surpass the century

Over the 2001 season Deal Tri has shown itself to be a serious contender at all events. The incredible figure of over a hundred podium positions has been attained by the club including a 1st, 2nd and two 3rds at National Level. If the range is expanded to include top ten results then the marker goes off the scale and includes 6 top tens in National Championships, 8th Place at the World Long course triathlon championships, 5th place at Half Ironman UK and a qualifying slot for the Hawaii Ironman and 9th place at the Windermere lake swim Race. The accolades have been attained by juniors, seniors, vets, males and females and have included Aquathlon, Duathlon, Triathlon, Open Water and Pool Swims, Cycle and Run Races. We still have to wait for the end of September to come before the final UK Tri League results are out but the Deal Tri members have raced well in their first season in the league. With over 275 members Deal Tri really can boast to be the biggest and best tri club in the world.

Simon Morse, Deal Tri Captain (club website)

Sep-21: HIMUK on TV

Highlights from the bluesure Half Ironman will be shown on ITV on Sunday 23rd September at 2.30pm. The following regions will be carrying it; Meridian, Anglia, Channel, LWT, Order, Yorkshire, Granada, Tyne Tees.

Latest on Richard Clives who crashed on the bike course is that he is now in the high dependancy unit and is definitely improving. His chest injuries are on the mend, he is fully concious and can remember most of the time leading up to the accident. His head imjuries will take a little longer to mend, but he is expected to recover completely in time.

Sep-16: Great Britain age group team wins Trophy in Rimini

At last night's prize ceremony, Great Britain was awarded a massive trophy for the most age group titles at the ITU Duathlon World Championships. The only problem is....how will Jasmine get it on the plane home?!! Needless to say, there was much celebrating amongst the age groupers until well into the night last night!

Full age group results are available at http://www.fitri.it/

The final day saw sunshine for the first two races and torrential rain for the final Junior and under 30s. The GB age group team increased its medal haul by a further two golds; Dan Corner in 25-29 and Chrissie Radon in 20-24 and three bronzes; Helen Titterington in 30-34, Juliette Clark in 35-39 and Martin Roscoe in 35-39.

The elite teams also picked up the Team gold for both Elite Women and Elite Junior Women. Well, actually, Jasmine Flatters picked up the medals for them because nobody from the Elite team came along (apparently the organisers had told them the wrong time and we have since been told that they did come to support the age group races in the afternoon).

The outdoor awards ceremonies had to be stopped because of the rain, thunder and lightning but the main awards will take place later this evening. The total GB treasure chest after three days of competition was NINE individual Gold medals, TWO team Gold medals, TWO silvers and FIVE bronzes placing the GB team in a league of its own.

Special thanks to Jasmine for updating these pages while I've been doing referee and draftbusting duties.

Sep-15: Gold for Henrietta in the Junior Elite

Henrietta Freeman is the new ITU Duathlon World Junior Champion after the most amazing sporting performance of the weekend so far. She finished in the lead pack on the first run and took an early lead on the bike, moving further and further away from a pack of four riders entirely on her own! She built up a lead of about two minutes by the end of the six laps, but the next group were chasing her hard on the second run. Nicola Spirig, last year's World Champion, running side by side with Laure Gervais from France, had Henny in their sights. On the second and final lap of the run, Laure picked up speed, started to run away from Spirig and was closing on Henny. As they entered the finish straight, Laure sprinted past Henny with only a few feet to go before the line. Henny saw the shadow as Laure approached, and managed to push herself to keep with Laure right to the tape. After a few minutes of deliberation amongst the technical officials, Henny was declared the winner!

Another gold medal to add to the tally from yesterday, bringing our total to seven so far!!

Tom Sargent finished in 15th place in the Junior Men's race in Rimini today.

In the men's race, nothing was going to stop Benny Vansteelant from keeping his crown, and he won the race having lead all the way round. Like Henny, he rode the entire bike course at the front on his own and kept the lead on the run.

For the Brits, Gary Gerrard placed best at 24th with Paul Lowe finishing in 31st and Fergus Maclean in 43rd.

Silver and Bronze in the Women's Elite

This report is being posted by Jasmine, as Henry is working as an official on the elite race.

After torrential rain overnight here in Rimini, the elite women's race started in damp, cold and windy conditions, but an exciting race was about to unfold, with some great British performances. On the first run, a breakaway pack formed, including Annie Emmerson, Michelle Dillon, Vicky Pincombe and Hungarian Erika Csomor. Steph Forrester lost some ground and found herself in the second group at the end of the first run.

Into transition, Annie, Michelle and the Hungarian were first out onto the bike, but Vicky lost a few vital seconds changing her shoes. She soon caught the others and these four then worked together all the way around the bike course. The sun finally started to shine by the third lap of the bike and Steph maintained her position in the second pack who were chasing hard, but failed to make up any ground on the leaders.

Into T2, again Vicky lost a few seconds changing shoes, which left the way clear for Annie, Michelle and the Hungarian to keep ahead throughout the second run. Running shoulder to shoulder, these three approached the finish together, but it was Erika from Hungary who was just able to sprint past Michelle in the final finish straight. Michelle took the silver medal and Annie the bronze. Vicky Pincombe put in a tremendous performance to come fourth, with Steph finishing in seventh position.

Sep-14: GB bring home the bacon

The first day of age group competition at the ITU World Duathlon Championships saw spectacular results for the GB Masters. In the morning Caroline Wickham won bronze in 40-44, Chris Mawer won gold in 45-49, Josie Heffernan won gold in 50-54 and Elaine Statham won gold in 55-59. In the afternoon, with a freshening wind and light showers at the far end of the bike course, Tom Davies won gold in 40-44, and Julian Goater won gold in 45-49. In the final section of the day which started with a significant shower and gusting winds and saw several crashes in the early part of the bike, Cyril Leigh won gold in 60-64 with Dave Gardner taking silver in the same category. It is currently unconfirmed but we believe that Eric Barber won bronze in the 65-69 category.

Jasmine Flatters, GB Age Group Team Manager described it as "a great day at the office!". Tomorrow sees the Elite athletes taking to the course with hopes lying on Steph Forrester, reigning women's champion.

Updates tomorrow as the races unfold.

Racing starts today

Last night's opening parade of nations was led by Team USA as a mark of respect for Tuesday's events. Racing starts today with male and female masters and the physically challenged. Not that anyone will be much challenged by the bike on this dragstrip of a course but there are some interesting "chicanes" which have been added to break the ruler-straight seafront course. The run is a different matter with a lot of twists and turns in the four lap/two lap route. Temperatures could be in the mid to high 20s but there is quite a breeze this morning which could help take the temperatures down. It won't help on the bike as the wind only ever blows across the course rather than down it.

Sep-10: Cotswold Sprint results

These are now out of their email hell and are up on this website.

Llanberis update

It's a day since the winner crossed the line and HIMUK has just published the "unofficial" results on its website. We've got a slimmed down version as a nicely formatted table if you want.

Sep-09: European Youth Championships

Staged as a relay with each athlete completing a 200m 5k 1k (14/15 year olds) or 300m 8k 2k (16/17 year olds) at Slawa in Poland the competitors had to face cold weather (14°C) and very strong wind and high waves. GB scored a gold in the male 14/15 category: Oliver Freeman, Alex Duce and Gareth Evans, and a silver in the female 16/17 category; Helen Tucker, Alex Hardy and Rachel Hughes. More details on the ETU website.

World Long Distance Championships

Benny Vansteelant (BEL), somewhat predictably, won the race at Venray in 2.45.20 with Karin Thurig (SUI) winning the women's race in 3.00.53. Annie Emerson placed 5th in 3.08.00, Wayne Smith was 22nd in 2:56:56 and Mark Hamer 31st in 3:03:30. More details on the race website.

News from HIMUK

Looks like Richard Allen has won the UK's newest major event, the bluesure Half Ironman at Llanberis in a time of 4:07 and that's despite thinking that he had gone wrong on the run and backtracking, wasting a minute or two. There's not a whiff of news from the official website -- not even confirmation of van Lierde's withdrawal -- that news is on the main Ironman site. All does not seem to have happened according to plan; the lake was around 13° (it had to have been or they would have shortened the swim...), athletes have had problems finding their bags (these were transferred between T1 and T2) so people have been waiting to get their warm clothes and the promised coke was not provided on the run (many athletes rely on this to keep going over the final leg). All these are probably minor issues that can be easily dealt with (not the temperature, obviously) but it does show what an enormous undertaking such an event is for the organisers. And the silly thing is that athletes remember the small stuff... More information as we get more reports from athletes.

Anyway, here's the top ten men and women. Note that the third woman has a 2 minute penalty included and that Susanne Davis is an age grouper and not an elite. Many thanks to Paul Groves for ringing these through, all the spelling mistakes are ours not his!

Last minute events

Athletes still looking for late season races which aren't full might try the "lastminute" tri organised by One Step Beyond at Southwell. With distances of 400m, 20k, 5k on a course that's described as "fairly flat" it should appeal to first timers or seasoned athletes looking for and end-of-season blast. Entry forms on Punishing Events website or from One Step Beyon on 0115 919 0096.

Sep-08: van Lierde out of HIMUK

We can't get any confirmation but enough sources are carrying the story that there must be some truth in it. Seems like Luc van Lierde has decided not to take part at Llanberis after all - but no definite reason behind the last minute decision. Hope the weather holds off and the rest of you all get a good race.

Sep-07: Dates coming in for 2002

We normally put out a call to race organisers to send us dates when the Christmas decorations go on sale in the garden centre next door but John Lunt's Human Race have beaten us to is with provisional dates for their pre-London warmup Breakfast Run which will be on March 24th and, more importantly, the PepsiMAX Royal Windsor Triathlon which is pencilled in for June 16th. Both are now in the database - hopefully others will join them soon.

Sep-06: Atlantis Triathlon cancelled

Due to fears about a resurgence of Foot and Mouth, the Atlantis Leisure Triathlon which was to take place on Sunday (Sep-09) has now been cancelled.

Sep-02: Inter Services Triathlon at Brighton

Report from Paul (Oz) Wright

This event broke with tradition and was incorporated into a civilian race for the first time, namely Brighton, to show the public just how good the three Services could be, and the strength in depth that they possess. With more than the usual one man and his dog spectating, the 72 athletes from the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Airforce got under way at 0815hrs in conditions that would not have embarassed David Haselhoff. The championships took place in a completely isolated wave and it was easy to see that early leader Rick Collard (RAF) was forging ahead with Mark Livesey and Chris Stuart (both Army) close behind. In the ladies race Vicki Norton looked strong and led both Kate Unsworth and Sonia Hurst who had beaten her in the Worlds at Edmonton recently.

Onto the bike it was Rick Collard first but a broken seat post put him out of the running to leave Mark Livesey clear of Chris Stuart with Gary Gerrard in third. The race developed and, unfortunately for some, time penalties and eventual DQs would come into play. The reigning Mens Champions, the Army were packing well and anticipating victory but storming through on the run were Gerrard (Navy) and Ben Livesey (RAF) who was flying. Vicki Norton was holding onto a large clear lead for the ladies, however both the Navy and the RAF could not field full teams and the Army were certain to retain this title. The vets race was still nip and tuck, anyones to win with a bit of effort.

When all was done and dusted the Inter Services Male Winner was Gary Gerrard (Royal Navy), Vicki Norton (Royal Navy) won the ladies again, Gary Gerrard was also first 35+, with long time racer Stu Dinwoodie (Army) the Over 40's winner.

However highly prized the indivual trophies may be, the raison d'etre of the Inter Services remains the Team Trophies. Lt Col Barry Lillywhite from the Army Sport Control Board was present to award the following:

Inter Services Male Team Champions: The ARMY
Inter Services Female Team Champions: The ARMY
Inter Services Veterans Team Champions: The ARMY

For Bert Appleton, Stu Dinwoodie and Rich Brady for whom this will be their last Inter Services Championships it was a fitting way to end. As Bert said, "with this and the England result last night, it's been a b****y good weekend." Full results are on the Army triathlon website.

Derby Triathlon is full

If you were thinking of entering the Derby Triathlon then don't bother as it has filled to capacity. Race details on their website.

Colemanballs...

So, you watched the London Triathlon on BBC Grandstand? Spot any deliberate errors? Like, as Steve Rider introduces the segment and says that they had 20,000 entries - even the London Triathlon's own publicity machine doesn't push it quite that far! Or, in Gary Imlach's introduction where it's the third biggest triathlon in the world (er, NOT! - it wasn't even the biggest in the UK this year) but only had 1,000 entries... Perhaps the best bit of "balls" was Mr Storey's comment that Jodie Swallow was "...swimming as a former international swimmer would swim." Er, yes, quite!

I know we should be grateful for the coverage, and we are, but it would be nice if the production people actually checked some of the stuff that gets put down as commentary.

Aug-31: Set those videos

The London Triathlon will be on this Saturday's (Sep-01) Grandstand between 1:50pm and 2:50pm while Windsor will be shown on Channel 5 on Wednesday (Sep-05) between 04:05am and 05:05am -- that's early in the morning but I'm sure you'll all be up for it!

Aug-29: Sevenoaks have spaces

The organisers of the Sevenoaks Triathlon on 9 September 2001 still have some spaces available. The event is over 400m, 27 k and 8k and if you want more information call them on 01892 536817 after 8.00pm but before 9.30pm.

Aug-27: London results up... sometimes!

If you get to the results page on the London Triathlon website and the links don't work, don't worry. Just keep refreshing the page and they do appear. Someone a lot sadder than me (Sorry!!) has counted them up and found that they had 1274 finishers, counting a relay team as one finish and not three as the previous promoters used to do. Sadly there's no record of how many DNFd so we can't give a count of how many registered on the Saturday and judge whether they are up or down on last year.

Update on Paula Craig

Following the tragic accident earlier this year when an 85-year-old driver smashed Paula Craig off her bike and drove on leaving her with a broken arm, leg and spine and committing her to a life in a wheelchair the Met Police Tri Club are raising funds for her through a series of initiatives. Dave Hill, the joint secretary of the MPTC, has arranged a fund-raising evening on October 19th at The Warren which will include a buffet dinner, disco and a raffle. Prizes have already been donated; Sian Brice has given a bike, Julian Jenkinson a pair of Spengle wheels and a film company have donated a dinner and film evening out. If you would like to either contribute to the prizes, attend the evening or just donate some money to the fund then contact Dave by email at or by phone on 07941 427 424 or 01892 547 643.

Paula herself is remarkably positive and has already started swimming again and has declared an intention to race in the 2003 London Marathon wheelchair section. The Age Group team at Edmonton, she was almost certain to have qualified at Bournemouth, have all signed a book that will be presented to her and at Fredericia all the excess photos of GB athletes were collected and donations from these are also raising money for the fund.

Aug-26: Lessing and Swallow win London

Little to say at the moment as I'm totally knackered from two intense days of crewing (Eton) and reffing at London but Simon Lessing won the mens from Richard Allen and Richard Stannard. Stannard led out the swim with Moffat, Hates and Lessing in pursuit. Despite crashing on the bike which led to him losing the group on the bike he then re-formed with Richard Allen. Simon pushed out on the run quickly passing Moffat who ended up 4th. Tim Don looked uninspired having lost both the front groups on the bike and Stuart Hayes pulled out.

In the women's race Jodie Swallow won by a mile, well, 80 seconds but it looked like a mile, from Michelle Dillon and Henrietta Freeman having led from the swim by over a minute and maintained this lead throughout the bike and run. Neither winner scored the Citroën car for beating the Olympic times - an unlikely possibility in the conditions. Andrea Whitcombe cycled most of the course with a flat proving, as was the case at Salford, that the women are far better at toughing it out than the men!

Good new venue but some criticisms of the bike course in the unexpected rain. James Amey who crashed badly in the elite race, and Patrick Barnes, knocked down from behind on the bike, are both apparently OK after hospitalisation. Results are now up on the London website.

DNF: Hayes, Stuart; Leighton, Nigel; Mackie, Rory (ZIM); Haines, Richard; Haines, David; Baldelli, Benvenuto; Dyer, Ed; Greenberg, Mike (CAN); Twigg, Craig; Simon, Oliver; Dixon, Matt; Mulhern, Ewan; Bayliss, Mark; Amy, James; Redwood, Mark; Clark, Dave (AUS); De Veerse, Fredrick

Lesley Patterson and Richard Jones win National Sprint Championships

We have the full results up, no other information than the above.

Aug-25: Brits in action in Lausanne

Marc Jenkins continued his run of good results with a 7th place in 1:55:57 at today's ITU Cup race. Winner for the men was Reto Hug (SUI) in 1:53:59 while Siri Lindley took another victory in the women's race in 2:07:09. Annie Emmerson placed 5th in 2:09:13 and Leanda Cave was 11th in 2:10:46. Full results are available on the Datasport Timing website.

Aug-24: Van Lierde to race at HIMUK

According to a report on the xtri.com website, Luc Van Lierde will be racing at the bluesure Half Ironman in Llanberis. Last time we can recall seeing him race over here was at Bath on that sombre Sunday when Princess Diana dies in Paris -- since then he's won Hawaii twice. The event should make an ideal warm-up for the Hawaii Ironman but the article states that Luc's entry is not yet confirmed for the Big Island event.

Aug-23: Brighton stats

Some interesting statistics on Brighton with 1,300 entered over two days. Saturday has almost 1,000 novices, sprints, etc, while Sunday has around 300 doing the Olympic distance. To date we believe that there are 10 elite men and 3 women.

Aug-22: East London appoint another coach

East London Triathletes have announced the appointment of Paul Williams as swim Coach. Paul joins the roster of Bob Fenton, the Club's running guru and Greg Bryce, the Club's cycling Coach, giving a coached session in each discipline every week. Further details can be found on the club website.

Places still available in Tewkesbury Triathlon

If anyone wants to do a sprint race on Monday the Tewkesbury Triathlon are still taking postal entries and will be - by prior arrangement (ie a telephone call to the organiser on 01684 773225) - taking entries until 2pm on race day (race start is at 4pm). Entry forms are available from club website. They currently have 150 competitors but can easily accommodate 100 more.

Elite field for London

Kelly Holmes will be starting off the elite race at this year's London Triathlon on Sunday. Five time World Champion Simon Lessing will be challenged by rising star Tim Don while the women's race will be a close fought battle between favourite Michelle Dillon and rival Jodie Swallow. Other strong contenders include Henrietta Freeman, Annaliese Heard, Beth Thomson and Andrea Whitcombe. In addition to winning the London Triathlon title and part of the record prize fund, the elite competitors have an added incentive; Citroën, Official Car of The London Triathlon, is offering a new C5 (V6 Exclusive), worth £23,800 to both male and female winners if they beat the 2000 Olympic Gold Medal time (1:48:24.02 male and 2:00:40.52 female).

The elite field is just one of the attractions of this year's event. For the first time, the London Triathlon will have an indoor transition and finish. Each lap of the bike and run route will pass through ExCeL, a 60,000 sq m exhibition centre, providing fantastic viewing for spectators. Rod Alexander, Chairman of the London Triathon, commented "Our aim has not only been to improve the presentation and image of the London Triathlon but also to encourage new members to the sport of Triathlon. We want everyone to have an enjoyable experience and to help us make the London Triathlon a key date in the UK's sporting calendar."

Over 2,000 competitors, comprised of club triathletes, companies and fun runners will be competing throughout the day, with the first race starting at 7am. Entry is free to spectators, with expo and restaurants open to all. For more information see their website.

Confirmed elite

Female - 12 noon start
Sue Clark, Michelle Dillon, Henrietta Freeman, Holly Gibbs, Alexandra Hardy, Annaliese Heard, Samantha McGlone, Lenke Radova, Mieke Suys, Jodie Swallow, Beth Thomson, Andrea Whitcombe.

Male - 12:25 start
Richard Allen, Benvenuto Baldelli, Mark Bayliss, Andrew Cairns, Paul Clements, Matthew Dixon, Tim Don, Edward Dyer, Peter Gardner, Mike Greenberg, Richard Haines, David Haines, Daniel Hayes, Stuart Hayes, Simon Lessing, Andrew Lloyd, Nigel Leighton, Rory Mackie, Chris Moffatt, Ewan Mulhern, Dan Plews, Mark Redwood, Bryan Rhodes, Anthony Shippard, Oliver Simon, Richard Stannard, Peter Swaine, Craig Twigg, Andy Tarry, Tim Weeks, Alun Woodward Chris Volley, Chris Chamberlain

Aug-20: Spelthorne full

The Spelthorne Triathlon on September 23rd is now full with 300 entries in by this morning. We are holding a few back as replacements for the inevitable dropouts but we will not be running a waiting list nor will there be entries on the day. Apologies to anyone who missed out, perhaps next year?

Aug-19: Oldershaw wins Longest Day

Following up on his appearance in the World Long Distance Championships at Fredericia two weeks ago, Lawrence Oldershaw won the Black Country Triathletes Ironman distance event in 9:00.26. Two Ironman distance events in three weekends, he must qualify for some kind of insanity award as well! Preston Eckloff placed second in 9:32.58 with David Clamp (Elite Team Manager in Fredericia) third in 9:.38.11. Scotland's Maggie Crebber was the first woman home in 11:12.59. Results should go up on their website in the next day or so.

Brits abroad

The sixth round of the ETU Cup was staged in Geneva on Sunday as a non-drafting event which obviously suited Annie Emmerson. She exited the waters 2:20 after Anisimova, and gained 1:50 on the bike entering the second transition only 30 seconds down the on leading 6 women. She took the lead on the second of four laps and made this her third win of 2001. Catriona Morrison placed 5th. Simon Lessing led the mens race out of the swim by 10 metres, increased this on the bike and ended a clear winner by a minute over Chris McCormack (AUS). Full results and a report on the ETU website.

At the ITU Cup race in Tiszaujvaros, Hungary, Richard Stannard placed 11th with Richard Allen a DNF. After last weekend's astounding performance at the National Championships where he ran better than we have ever seen him it is interesting to note that Stannard's run split of 32:34 ranked 12th compared to Martin Krnavek (CZE) who won the event and clocked a 30:55. Mind you, at 36° it was a trifle warmer than Salford! Annaliese Heard placed 14th for the women. Full results and a report on the ITU website.

Aug-17: TV early in the morning

Two of Europe's top triathletes, Simon Lessing and Annie Emmerson, will be featured in a new Channel 4 television programme being transmitted on Saturday August 18 at 7am as part of a new series of programmes based on the ETU European Cup series being produced by HotHouse Productions.

Tri with a difference

If you fansy comething a little bit different then why not consider Marlow Rowing Club's 'Rowers Revenge Triathlon' on Sunday 7th October. The event is already 50% subscribed and entries will close on Saturday 29th September or when the limit of 200 athletes is reached (which is currently more likely!).

Athletes row 4000m on a rowing machine, cycle 25km and run 7.5km. All activities are centered around Higginson Park in Marlow with racing starting at 10.00 and going on till around 14.00. Entry forms and more information can be found on their website or or on 07798 604481.

Open water swim sessions

If you are looking for an open water swim session then why not try Keynes Country Park, part of the Cotswold Water Park Complex and the same venue as the Cotswold Sprint Race on the 9th Sept. Located 5 miles from the Spine Road junction of the A419 Swindon-Gloucester Road, follow the signs for Keynes Country Park, sessions take place on Saturday mornings from 9.00 - 10.30 and cost £1.75. A lifeguard will be in attendance for the full 90mins. A number of experienced triathletes will be on hand to help and give tips. The lake is surrounded by a path so running post swim is also an option. Quiet flat roads around the venue also allow for easy cycling. The lake is open to all and is currently 24 degrees Celsius! For more details contact Gavin Lancaster of Total Fitness Bath Tri Club on 01793 765259.

Aug-15: Hythe Aquathlon cancelled

The organiser of the popular Hythe Aquathon, due to be held on the Oct-7, has had to cancel the event for this year due to work committments. It is intended though to reschedule the event for 2002, and hold an additional race to form a mini series at reduced prices. Information from:

Roth reborn

While Roth is no longer an official WTC Ironman event with Hawaii slots, this was their last year as part of the WTC circuit, the event will continue. The organisers have promised to keep the same course, probably the fastest in the world with several sub 8-hour performances in recent years, and, because they don't have to pay out all sorts of fees to the WTC, they are reducing the price and increasing the amount of pre and post race activities. For details on the Quelle Challenge Roth visit their website.

Aug-07: The Derby Triathlon

The new promoters of the Derby Triathlon, Punishing Events, are looking to attract youth and junior competitors into the sport by reducing the entry fees for 15-20 year-olds to £9 compared to the normal £16 (BTA) or £19. The event is a pool-based 400m 18k 5k and is likely to attract a field of around 300.

For further information or an entry form please go to punishingevents.com or contact Pete Jackson on 01332 523831.

Jul-30: Spencer wins at Carlsbad

Looks like Spencer Smith peaked a week too late as he won the Carlsbad Triathlon (1k, 25k, 5k) with Paul Amey coming in second and third placed Mark Lees a minute down on both of them. Michellie Jones took the womens event, again by well over a minute/

Jul-29: Career best for Jenkins

Marc Jenkins placed 4th at Corner Brook today behind Martin Krnavek, Filip Ospaly and Chris Hill. Siri Lindley continued her winning streak in the women's race.

GB Juniors go Enduro in Graz

The GB Junior squad gained some valuable experience racing in Graz on Saturday where they took part in the first Junior Enduro-style event to be staged. Racing twice over a 200m swim, 5k bike and 1.2k run Holly Gibbs placed third in the ladies event with Helen Tucker 5th, early leader Alex Hardy 7th and Karein Sindall 9th. Best placed male was Lee Thornhill in 5th with Dan Plews 11th and Danny McKeating 14th.

Anyone who fancies a go at this sort of event can try it out for free on August 25th at the AquaPura SuperSprint event at Eton. For details see the Human Race website.

Jul-27: ITU Worlds on Eurosport

British Eurosport will be covering last weekend's ITU Triathlon World Championship from Edmonton, Canada at 17:30 on Thursday 2nd August.

Jul-25: Date change for Hampshire Fire Rowing Triathlon

The Hampshire Fire Rowing Triathlon has changed dates to 30th September 2001. Athletes already entered will be notified shortly, anyone entering with the old form should mark it with the new date. For further details see the event website.

Jul-24: Maw reflects on Edmonton

There's an interesting piece in The Times today where Graeme Maw, the GB Performance Director, reflects on the elite at Edmonton. Perhaps the most telling is the last paragraph where he agrees that someone, somewhere will want to know what all the funding has actually accomplished.

Jul-23: Age groupers sustain GB presence in Edmonton

We took six elite men, six elite women, three junior elite men and four junior elite females supported by no less than eleven staff (not to mention the Executives) and the sum total of the medals was one Bronze to Jodie Swallow. Sure, the weather conditions were poor and the road surface seems to have been primed with grease judging by the number of crashes but the outcome was certainly not the one that we had hoped for.

On the other hand, we took a host of age groupers supported by Ian Pettitt and Jasmine Flatters and they staggered home with four Golds and two Silvers... Sort of puts the whole thing in perspective, doesn't it. Those that paid out of their own pockets to race (and, incidentally, to underwrite the elite event) once again ended up the real heroes of the hour.

Perhaps, one day, all those age group athletes will get just a little bit of the funding and backing that they deserve.

Jul-22: World Championships weekend

As the ITU World Championships unfold in Edmonton this weekend you can try to keep track of the various events through the race website. The promised webcast is now up and the event photo gallery is good.

The men's race was won by Peter Roberson (AUS) with Chris Hill (AUS) second and Craig Watson (NZL) third. Best placed GB athlete was Andrew Johns in fifth with Tim Don 13th, Marc Jenkins 16th, Richard Allen 28th, Spencer Smith 36th and Richard Stannard 37th. Full results are on the event website and there's a report on both this and the women's race on the BTA website.

In the elite female race the honours went to Siri Lindley (USA) who also won Wednesday's Aquathlon and is only in the championships as a wild card entry. Michellie Jones (AUS) and Joanna Zeiger (USA) filled out the podium (Ed: the ITU site keeps referring to Zeiger as German...). Nicole Hackett, last year's Champion, crashed badly on the bike in the wet and slippery conditions, no update yet on her condition, while GB hopes seem to have faded to nought with Leanda Cave being our best placed athlete in 17th. Michelle Dillon was 22nd, Andrea Whitcombe 23rd, Heather Williams 33rd and Steph Forrester was a DNF after completing both swim and bike. Annie Emmerson, the sixth GB athlete, pulled out on the second lap of the run and isn't shown in the results. Full results are up on the event website.

The BTA website reports on the junior elite races that Jodie Swallow took bronze, Catherine Hare was fifth while Henrietta Freeman finished 15th as she struggled to recover from a disappointing swim. Former champion Annaliese Heard had to settle for 18th after crashing her bike twice. Nicola Spirig (SUI) was the overall winner. Best GB performance in the Junior men was Daniel Hayes who placed seventh. Fraser Cartmell was 39th and Eliot Challifour 44th. Overall winner was Sebastian Dehmer of Germany. Full results for the men and for the women are on the main website.

Best performances of Saturday, in terms of medals, came from the age groupers and we have extracted a table of all the GB athletes. The main results page on the Edmonton site allows you to search for athletes in age group bands and by name or race number. Alternatively you can download the whole thing here. The Clydesdales are here and the Physically Challenged here.

Wednesday's Aquathlon results are up (some GB age groupers in the open event): go to the main page, select the Race Info tab at the top of the page and then the Aquathlon results are there for the elite, media and age groupers.

Jul-19: Stannard takes silver in Aquathlon

Despite not having any results up yet (the race was yesterday) we do know that Richard Stannard took the silver medal in the World Aquathlon Championships. Hopefully this is a foretaste of what's to come on Saturday and Sunday in the main events -- the result, that is, not the speed of the website!

Jul-17: Tune in to the web this weekend

A live webcast of the World Championships in Edmonton this weekend will be available online at the official website of the ITU. The elite women's and men's race will be streamed live from the feed provided by host broadcaster, CBC and the commentary will be fed from the race day commentary team. The elite press conference, interviews and presentation, (as well as the age group, junior and PC categories) will be covered by live commentary and live camera on location and in transition zone.

The video and audio signals are streamed in Windows Media Player format, the Windows Media Player is available free at: http://www.windowsmedia.com/download. The webcast page will also have a basic results and news service that will be updated at regular intervals throughout the race. Following the races, the highlights will be edited into 2 x 2 minute news feeds, via Pro-Active TV and compressed to accompany the official results.

Toronto on TV

The ITU World Cup race in Toronto will be on ITV in the early hours of Thursday morning (2:55am). VideoPlus code is 9870797.

Dales race gets trimmed, duathlon still on

The Dales events organiser, Harry Waugh, has today reluctantly had to announce the cancellation of the Triathlon and Quadrathlon events from the Yorkshire Dales calendar on 5th August 2001. Having spoken at some length with the owner of Semer Water and surrounding land, he has had to accept that Semer Water is now closed and therefore unavailable, despite earlier promises that there would be no access problems.

What this means is that there is no triathlon or quadrathlon for 2001. The duathlon, however, will still be held although on a revised route, over revised distances, and start one hour earlier than originally planned at 0900. This event will now be based entirely at Helwith Bridge and will comprise the following routes and distances: Run 1 - Helwith Bridge - Old Stainforth - Horton Road - Helwith Bridge - 4 miles approx; Cycle - Helwith Bridge - Ribblehead Viaduct - Ingleton - minor road to Clapham then (briefly) via A65 to Austwick and back to Helwith Bridge - this is an (approx) 23 mile route and there will be 2 laps; Run 2 - 2 laps of the Run 1 route. Total distances are therefore 4-46-8 miles.

The Yorkshire Dales events will be back on the usual courses in 2002. In the meantime, Harry hopes to hold a spring and autumn duathlon over this year's course from 2002 in addition to the main Dales events. All current entries to the Dales events will be honoured, either with entries to this year's event or by carrying forward to 2002. Any enquiries to Harry on 01581 600350 or by email to .

BTA "out of the ITU"

No, it's not quite what it seems and it certainly isn't another ETU/TcE style issue but it does look as though the ITU is getting its own back on a number of countries by reducing their membership of the ITU to "provisional". A total of 17 federations; Germany, Great Britain, Russia, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Liechenstein, Yugoslavia, Ireland, Israel, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and the Cook Islands, have been informed that they won't have voting rights at the Congress in Edmonton this week. The reasons vary from being $10 short on the payment to the ITU to not having made constitutional changes that the currently disputed Perth Congress asked them to. Of course, some countries have constitutions that require their members to vote on changes so it would be impossible for those changes to have been made in the time...

As far as we can tell this does not affect athletes taking part in the World Championships, it's just another political manoeuvre by the ITU's executive to make sure that they stay in control.

Jul-13: Lessing out, Stannard in

According to a news item posted on the BTA website it looks as though Simon Lessing has withdrawn from the GB elite squad for the World Championships. Despite his recent win at Hannover the story quotes early season injury, the birth of his first child and a need "for a longer-term focus on the Commonwealth and Olympic Games". Richard Stannard replaces him in the men's team, joining Andrew Johns, Tim Don, Marc Jenkins, Richard Allen, and Spencer Smith.

Jul-09: The Island Games

We've been so focussed on other events that it wasn't until Katherine Williams sent us a note that we even realised that the Island Games were on...

"Henry - kind of some cool results from the Isle of Man for the July 7-13 Island Games for competitors in 14 sports from 22 small-island countries. I pulled the tri results from Sunday's race off their website, the start of which was witnessed by the Earl and Countess of Wessex (Edward and Sophie) as they spent a day going around Douglas, watching the sports and presenting some medals. There were 47 finishers in the men's race, proving that triathlon is alive, well and competitive in some very little-known places (triathlon-wise)."

The men's race was won by Paul Clements (Jersey) in 2:00:25 with James Amy (Jersey) second in 2:01:25 and Chris Volley (Isle-Wight) third in 2:03:59. For the women, Melissa Messervy (Jersey) won in 2:18:37 with Natasha Abels (Jersey) second in 2:25:38 and Samantha Kemp (Jersey) third in 2:27:27.

The Dales is still on

Another race suffering from the continuing threat of Foot and Mouth is the Dales Quadrathon/Triathlon/Duathlon on August 5th. The organisers have asked us to clarify the situation. Semer Water is confirmed as being open, so there are no problems with regard to the swim or canoe sections. For the duathlon, a modified run route has been devised. None of the roads on the cycle route have been closed to wheeled traffic of any sort and so there is no ascertained problem with regard to any part of the route. Pen-y-Ghent, the final run section, is not available as things stand at present. Harry Waugh has a modified run route which he is verifying at present but, again, should not present any problems as this will be a road route and so will not pass through any affected land. Obviously, he is clarifying the position with the local farmers etc but does not see a problem at this stage.

In short, then, the events are on. Contact Harry on 01581 600350 or by email at . He has an entry form on his web site at www.newluce.freeserve.co.uk Alternatively, you can visit www.ukresults.net where you can get an entry form and full course details and information.

Jul-08: Double Gold at Hannover

In a final European warm-up for the ITU World Championships both Annie Emmerson (1:52:32) and Simon Lessing (1:41:26) were the winners at the ETU Cup race in Hannover. In the women's field Heather Williams took 10th (1:55:04) with Caroline Wallace 13th and Jess Harrison 16th. The ETU results have Tracy Hargreaves down as GB -- I thought she was AUS but maybe someone knows better... Kevin Clark placed 15th in the mens field. Full splits on the ETU website.

Brits racing at Toronto

The last ITU World Cup race before the World Championships at Edmonton was held in Toronto yesterday in cool, wet conditions with a very cold (13.5C) swim. Homeboy Simon Whitfield won in 1:50:32 from Chris McCormack (1:50:45) and Miles Stewart (1:50:53). Andrew Johns placed 8th in 1:51:18 while Tim Don DNFd. Siri Lindley won the women's race in 2:00:04 from Barb Lindquist (2:02:15) and Nicole Hackett (2:02:41). No GB women took part. Full results and splits on the ITU website.

Mafra update

Latest news is that GB scored Gold in both female junior and female elite relays today.

Best GB result in the mens senior race was Garry gerrard, 9th in 2:00:06, while Andy Tarry was 14th (2:00:58) and Paul Lowe 30th (2:05:02). For the women, Vicky Pincombe was 4th in 2:11:12, Juliette Clark 8th in 2:17:30 and Helen Cawthorne 11th in 2:21:44. Apparently Katherine Hare was DQd for drafting a bunch of male juniors while placed 2nd which could have seen a clean sweep of the medals.

Jul-07: More from Mafra

In the mens elite event Benny Vansteelant took his 21st consecutive international win. The womens elite race was won by Irma Heeren with Britain's Vicky Pincombe taking fourth. More details should appear on the ETU website.

Important update for Age Group team members going to Edmonton

Due to a much inferior exchange rate and an increase in the Entry fee from that originally stated last June, all Age Group Team Members are requested to forward a further £30 Entry Fee to BTA HQ. This can be done direct by credit card over the phone or by mail to BTA HQ, PO Box 25, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3WX. (Letters explaining this should arrive in the post from Saturday 7th July, onwards.)

Jul-06: Update from European Duathlon Championships

The BTA website is reporting that Henrietta Freeman took Gold and Karen Sindell the Bronze at the European Junior Duathlon Championships today in Mafra, Portugal. Katherine Hare was disqualified.. The first GB Junior Male home was Tom Sargant in 10th place with Charles Milne 22nd, Phil Anthony 24th and Jonathan Stedman 25th. More details should appear on the ETU website.

Jul-05: GB elite and juniors squads for Edmonton

The BTA has announced a full squad of six men: Richard Allen, Tim Don, Marc Jenkins, Andrew Johns, Simon Lessing, Spencer Smith and six women: Leanda Cave, Michelle Dillon, Annie Emmerson, Steph Forrester, Andrea Whitcombe, Heather Williams for the ITU World Championships in Edmonton.

The junior team includes three men: Fraser Cartmell, Eliot Challifour, Daniel Hayes and four women: Henrietta Freeman, Catherine Hare, Anneliese Heard, Jodie Swallow. The squad includes the current world junior champion, Anneliese Heard, and current European junior champion, Jodie Swallow.

The athletes travel to Edmonton on 15 July, with the exception of Andrew Johns and Tim Don, who will race in the Toronto World Cup on 7 July. The team staff comprises: Graeme Maw (team director); Chris Jones (head coach); Glenn Cook (coach); Graham Fletcher (coach); Richard Hobson (coach); Darren Smith (coach); Fiona Lothian (team manager); Bert Appleton (massage therapist); John Gregory (technical support); Rod Jaques (doctor); Rachele Quested (physiotherapist).

Jul-03: GB Orca kit is here

The new GB Orca kit has all arrived at TRI UK and Ali and Emma have spend the weekend parcelling up orders for Edmonton and Frederica. The leisure kit is arriving this week so Emma and Ali are faced with the whole proccedure all over again... Orca have decided to embroider the track jackets for a better result, which has led to about four days slip in the delivery.

TRI UK are concerned that people may have an issue with the fit. This is what they say:

"We have all tried the garments on and all the sizes we chose for ourslelvses fitted perfectly. ie one of our race team is ALWAYS a medium, and sure enought he fitted medium perfectly. BUT he said it was a stuggle to get into it, but he persevered and when it was on it felt 'tight' but not uncomfortable and he said that once in the water, for example, he could see it would feel great. For example my cropped top was tight and 'clamped' everything! I struggled to get it over my shoulders but once on it was FAB. When I took it off I expected to have red marks on my shoulders etc but no marks at all."

"Basically we have had a few people call us today panicing about the fit. Some have listened to us, some haven't, and at the end of the day everyone is entitled to wear kit how they want to. But I want to emphasise to everyone that this kit is TECHNICAL and will not feel like a lycra singlet etc. It is designed to be like a second skin and will perform best when worn like that. BUT if anyone is not happy then they are more than welcome to send it back. Mark the package on the outside with 'GB KIT' and we will turn it around with different sizes,.or refund, or whatever. Also people need to get organised and ORDER their kit. Don't leave it to the last minute. We need time to get this kit out to everyone!!!"

The BTA also have an FAQ about the uniform on their website.

Volunteers needed

In another example of triathletes volunteering to assist a researcher and then failing to deliver the goods we got the following message from Lynsey Bullock who attended Windsor and handed out questionnaires on nutrition. Seems the response has not been good so here is an appeal for others to help.

"I am carrying out research regarding triathletes and their nutrition. I am studying for a MSc in human nutrition at Kings College London and the research is part of the course requirements. The research is questionnaire based and I need athletes, competing this season in Olympic distance triathlons, to complete the questionnaire for me. It takes approximately 15 minutes to complete the questionnaire and hopefully the research will be used to benefit athletes like yourself. I need a sample of at least 100 questionnaires and am getting a very slow response rate from the 700 that I have already distributed. I am writing therefore to ask (plead!!) you to circulate this message throughout your club and take the time to fill in the questionnaire attached. It can be printed off and mailed back to me (address is on the questionnaire) or faxed back on 020 7848 4185. Alternatively it can be answered on the attachment and straight back to me. The time taken for completion of your most recent Olympic triathlon would also be useful. Your time would be greatly appreciated and return of the questionnaires as soon as possible would be very helpful."

Jul-02: Leybourne Lakes on Eurosport

The olympic distance race at Leybourne Lakes on July 15th will now be covered by Eurosport and has also acquired a major sponsor in Berkeley Homes, who now own the lake used for the race. In order to raise the profile, the organisers are now accepting more entries to maximise the TV coverage, which will be part of a triathlon profile and give the sport in the south a welcome boost. Details can be obtained from Mike Russell on 07802 812403, 01892 730934 or (Note from the webmasters: inside information tells us that this one's going to be a cracker!!)

Jul-01: Lessing wins at Echternach

In another pre-Worlds warm-up race, this time an ITU Cup at Echternach in Luxembourg, Simon Lessing survived a broken headset on his Cannondale to win in 2:04:07. As the time suggests, this is another tough course with a major climb to break up the field. Simon Thompson (AUS) was second in 2:04:34, Martin Krnavek (CZE) was third in 2:05:17 and Richard Allen came in 4th in 2:07:23.

For the ladies, Kathleen Smet (BEL) won in 2:19:15 with Sibylle Matter (SUI) second in 2:20:22 and Andrea Whitcome making up ground on the bike and run to take third in 2:23:42. Many thanks to Paul Groves for the finish line reporting.

ETU Cup racing at Sopot

Terrible weather conditions forced the organisers to postpone the start of the women's race at the ETU Cup event in Sopot, Poland for 30 minutes and shorten the bike to 18.5km, as parts of the original road were flooded. First was Tracy Hargraves (AUS) in 1:04:08, Leanda Cave was second in 1:04:17, Evelyn Williams (NZL) third in 1:04:38 and Jessica Harrisson came eighth in 1:05:54.

The mens race took place in better weather but still with a shortened bike course, as for the women. Dmitry Gaag (KAZ) won in 57:40 with Eric van der Linden (NED) second in 57:42 and Richard Cunningham (AUS) third in 57:44. Richard Jones' 57:48 gave him fifth place. See the ETU website for details.

BTA office update

Just to confirm, the new address is: British Triathlon Association, PO Box 25, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3WX. The new telephone number is 01509-228321. If you are visiting the offices, which are open 9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday, the actual address is Brockington Building, Loughborough University, Loughborough.

Jun-30: National Relays and other race updates

First some news from Total Fitness about the National Relays, Clumber Park (National Sprint Champs) and TFN SupaSprints. Entry forms for the Clumber Park Sprints (the National Sprint Championships) on August 25th and the totalfitness-uk.com SupaSprints on Sunday 5th August at Holme Pierrepont, that's the same weekend as National Relays, are available online from the One Step Beyond website.

Clubs needing entry forms for the National Relay Championships on 4th August at Holme Pierrepont just simply email their address to and entry forms will be sent out. All the above events take place in private parks, with either completely closed or partial closed roads for the bike and run sections. This year there will also be an official party on the Saturday night after the relays at a local health club. Free to everyone and guaranteed entry.

Jun-27: Want to be a club coach?

Jun-26: Final round-up from Carlsbad

The final sets of results from the weekend are now up on the ETU website. These include all the age group results and the team time trials. The elite and junior elite time trials, over which there was some controversy at the GB team only taking men, saw the GB team of Kevin Clark, Chris Moffatt and Richard Jones placed 9th while the junior squad of Danny McKeating, Fraser Cartmell and Daniel Hayes did one better at 6th.

Jun-25: Brits at Nuenen

At the Triathlon Nuenen, an ITU Points Race in the Netherlands, Simon Lessing took 3rd in 1:44:26 (compare that time to the Europeans...) with Alun Woodward 22nd in 1.49.25. Both Nigel Leighton and Duncan McKerracher DNFd. For the women, Heather Williams was also 3rd in 1.58.28 with Andrea Whitcombe 4th in 1.58.39.

Attention all age group athletes!!

Ian Pettitt has one week to finalise the GB Age Group Teams and Team Breakfast orders for both Edmonton and Fredericia.

For Edmonton, he is still awaiting 48 returns of the Official Athlete Information Form. 127 of the Team have so far ordered 184 places for the Team Breakfast, but with 65 of the team still to reply, he may have to find a bigger room or turn away those that have not responded so far, if numbers cannot be finalised this week.

For Fredericia 37 athletes have ordered 53 Breakfasts, but with 78 still to reply it is difficult to book a suitable venue. Please note the requested Athlete Information forms are not required for Fredericia.

Please respond to Ian as soon as possible. Ian Pettitt's email is

Jun-23: Age group results

Nothin known for certain yet but we expect to see something up on the ETU website. Reports from Carlsbad suggest that the following have age group medals: Golds to G Lancaster, D Gamble, M Booth, C Radon (F) and L Cliff (F). Silvers to D Driver, S McLeod (F), K Unsworth (F), L Sawyer (F) and A Knights (F).

BTA confirms junior squad for ITU Championships

The BTA website confirms that, following their outstanding successes at the European Championships in Carlsbad this weekend, Jodie Swallow, Daniel Hayes, Catherine Hare and Anneliese Heard can now all look forward to the World Junior Championships. The four athletes will be joined in Edmonton by Henrietta Freeman who missed the European Championships due to exams. All five of these athletes have met the qualification criteria set by British Triathlon.

Paul Groves reports

This morning started early for all the Brits with the Junior Women heading for Lake Rolava for their 09:00 hrs start. Nigel FARROW, experienced photogrpaher, noted that Jodie SWALLOW looked pre-occupied. Well, she had every reason to be so as she was here in the Czech Republic to defend her title.

Having won the European title at Stein and then the World University title later in the year she was here to show those who doubted her strength on the bike that she could hold her own not only in the swim but also out on the bike - and of course on the run.

Her speed in the water took her 15 seconds clear on the first lap of the three laps around the picturesque lake. Out onto the bike she had increased her lead to 30 seconds with Anneliese HEARD in second. We all expected Anneleise to join her but as we moved down the course to the centre of the Spa Town we clocked her having a 56 second lead.

As she pulled away on the bike that lead grew to 2 minutes and then to 2:30. Once out on the run it was never going to be in doubt. Jodie SWALLOW managed to clock the fastest swim, the fastest bike and the fastest run split. It prompted Henning MULLER, Vice President of the ETU, to comment, "What has she been doing during the winter months to get so fast on the bike?" Well, the simple answer is, TRAINING.

And hasn't it paid off!!

Catherine HARE had a strong swim placing her fifth as they set off on the bike. She held on well in the bike to clock the sixth fastest split and then ran well to finish second Brit in 7th place beating Double World Champion Anneliese Heard.

The crowds had lifted the athletes as they negotiated the tough course and with the prospect of the Men's Race coming at 11:00 and with live TV coverage from Eurosport the streets were filled.

It was not to be as easy for the men and the seeds of victory were sown early in the day by Filip OSPALY. He promised to provide one of the Czech commentators with a special birthday present.

The crowds here gave great support to him as he ran around the streets of Karlovy Vary but first they had the swim to contend with. Richard STANNARD swam to form and led the early part of the race with ease. Just behind him and having a superb swim was Stuart HAYES and it was these two who set off at the front end of the cycle. Very soon a huge pack of some 20 athletes were racing through the streets of the spa town. Spencer SMITH made a valiant break away but was caught by the fast moving pack.

Disaster struck STANNARD as he collided with Czech athlete MILICHOVSKY. The collision stripped out a number of spokes and STANNARD had to run with his bike to the second transition. By this time the pack had broken down to see Spaniard Ivan RANA head out onto the run with flying Dutchman Eric van der LINDEN and local hero Filip OSPALY.

The roaring crowds urged OSPALY around the course and in the final lap he struck against the two others who had held with him. A strong run from AJ saw him take fourth place and STANNARD, despite the cruel twist of fate that wrecked his bike, showed true grit and carried on for the finish. He was later heard to say, "When I wear a GB vest, I race to finish!" Brave words from a brave athlete.

DNF HATES Stuart GBR Retired on the run having had the second fastest swim and 18th fastest bike

From speaking to Katherine WILLIAMS (Tri Digest) it would seem that this was the closest finish for many years.

So, the scene was set for the women. After a surprise start it was Leanda CAVE GBR and Joelle FRANZMANN GER who led the swim. Out on the bike they held the lead on all seven laps with that tortuous climb. The average lead was 58 seconds but they had clearly worked too hard and the chase pack, with Annie EMMERSON, Michelle DILLON and Belgian Kathleen SMET looked dangerous.

Reports came back to the commentary box once the run was underway that CAVE was looking tired and losing pace to FRANZMANN but as she was losing touch so the storming pair of EMMERSON and DILLON were gaining. They took twenty seconds out of the leader in the first kilometre and as each step was taken got closer and closer to overtaking the German athlete who surely was feeling the strain from the testing bike ride.

It was then a race between the Orca clad duo of EMMERSON and DILLON and a fast finishing SMET from Belgium. As they rounded the last corner it was DILLON in first place, SMET in second and EMMERSON still in contact in third. The huge crowd of Brits did their best to lift Annie but that is how it stayed.

The senior men in action -- live on TV

Just caught Eurosport's coverage and all the GB men seem to be away in the main pack. Certainly saw Richard Stannard, Stuart Hayes and Tim Don going out on the bike. Marc Jenkins currently leads on the bike by a couple of hundred metres, he broke away on the cobbled hill and Spencer had a major wobble with his front wheel catching in a rut. On lap 4 the pack has re-formed with about 20 or 21 athletes including all the GB squad and it's very unlikely that any of the chasing athletes will be able to bridge the gap so the winner will come from the main group barring accident or disaster. Good commentary from Ian Sweet and Sian Brice and you can even hear Paul Groves doing the main commentary in the background.

After a bit of confusion among the commentators as to whether they had done six or seven laps (the athletes knew and did the full seven) a smaller pack of perhaps 12 or 14 athletes made T2 in 1:27:26. Spencer was in the first block out along with Ivan Rana (ESP) and it seemd that all the GB squad were still together at that point. On the run Ivan Rana of Spain too a commanding lead but suffered cramp on the second descent and was overtaken by Ospalay of the Czech republic. In front of a home crowd it was too good to miss the opportunity and desoite a gallant fightback from Rana to the line Ospalay took the title in approximately 2:03:55 with Rana seconds behind and Van Der Linden (NED) in third. Andrew Johns, the defending champion made up ground to 4th place while Tim Don faded from third on the first lap to take 8th place. Marc Jenkins was 9th and Spencer 11th. No news yet of the rest of the GB squad.

Swallow gobbles up the opposition

The BTA website is carrying the news that Jodie Swallow tore the Junior Women's field apart on the bike and the run and finished almost three minutes up on second placed Nicola Spirig.

Jun-22: European Junior Championships: Hayes takes fifth

Report from Paul Groves who is commentating in Carlsbad.

The Junior Men were due off at 18:00 - just when the heavens opened and the rain came down in torrents. There was no real advantage to where you stood at the swim start and it was the German athlete, Steffen JUSTUS who led the swim. He won last year at Stein and was wearing No 1.

He led the first section of the bike too but that lead was soon eaten into by the chase pack of 20 or so. The roads were treacherous with many sections of cobbles and there was much concern for the youngsters as we saw seasoned athletes crash out in the qualification heats yesterday.

The Juniors had the same awful hills to negotiate. Three laps with a killing 100m climb over a 500m stretch of cobbles. The lead pack was soon down to 17 and we were pleased to see Dan HAYES sitting in there. Our other hopes, Stuart ASHLEY and Frazer CARTMELL were off the pace but coping.

As the cycle section ended it was clear to see that the 8-strong German team had not done enough to place their 2000 European Champion in an unassailable place and it was the Swiss athlete, Sven RIEDERER who took off first on the 5k run.

If the cycle course was tough then the same had to be said for the run course with two laps of hilly roads around the centre of the town. The crowds were out in force despite the weather and the athletes were cheered around the laps.

A great GBR contingent were there, GB Tracksuits clearly visible and they were there to cheer Dan along as he climbed up the placings. The eventual winner was going to be from either Switzerland or France as RIEDERE was joined by the French Sylvain SUDIRIE. A final surge for the line secured the title for the Swiss with Dan improving on his performance in Stein by 10 places and moving from 15th best to a truly well-deserved 5th place. This also means that he has qualified for the Worlds in Edmonton as well.

Stuart ASHLEY DNF on the cycle.

Hawaii slots announced for HIMUK

Just as your webmaster is forced to withdraw from HIMUK through injury they go and announce the Slot Allocation for Hawaii 2002 on their website! Any competitors who have aspirations of qualifying will need to bring the Hawaii 2002 entry fee with them ($407) as they will need to commit to Kona just hours after the HIMUK finishes. And, for those with forward planners in their diaries, the date for Hawaii 2002 is October 19th.

Jun-21: What are you doing this weekend?

The GB squad races Saturday in the European Championships and with all the GB qualifiers it looks like it could be a cracker. Don't forget, it's live on Eurosport from 10am, the first time since Sydney that we have had live coverage of an event. (OK, I know the Hawaii Ironman gets live local coverage but that's different...)

Simon Lessing races at Neunan in the Netherlands on Sunday along with Andrea Whitcombe and Heather Williams

Main race in the UK is the Weymouth Middle Distance event on Sunday -- I'll be down supporting the wife and several other Spelthorne athletes there so the news will be a bit sparse, I'm afraid!

Qualifiers at the Europeans

Andrew Johns, Tim Don, Marc Jenkins and Richard Stannard all qualified in the first heat, Richard Allen, Stuart Hayes and Spencer Smith qualified in the second. Richard Allen was second in the heat and Spencer apparently ran all the way with Luc van Lierde. Many thanks for all the SMS messages from the race -- you know who you are! We've also been sent a picture of Spencer running in the pouring rain - don't know the photographer's name but many thanks [email protected], whoever you are!

Jun-20: GB age group squads update

The Great Britain Age Group Teams for Edmonton and Frederica are very nearly finalised with only a few triathletes to confirm. At this moment it looks like the team for Edmonton (Olympic Distance) will contain 192 members and the team for Fredericia (Long Course) will contain 114 members.

With the final flurry of changes as people have had to make up their minds one or two places have now become available in certain Age Groups (please see the updated lists on the BTA website) - If you wish to be considered for any of the spare places contact asap.

Jun-19: CG2002 management team

The Team England management team for the Commonwealth Games should be confirmed today with Team Manager Ian Pettitt appointing Glenn Cook as Assistant Team Manager/Coach Liaison and Bert Appleton as Team Sports Masseur. The appointment of the Team Physiotherapist will be made shortly.

Jun-18: Times coverage on Windsor

There's a nice piece by David Powell in the Times today on the Johns vs Smith finish at Windsor (the printed paper has a photo as well) but it's interesting that there's no mention of the ladies race where, arguably, the better story of a rejected GB athlete making up over two minutes on the run was unfolding. Still, that's sport for you...

Jun-17: OK, we were half right...

Andrea Whitcombe was the winner in the women's elite having come from behind by several minutes to overtake both Lisbeth Kristensen (2nd) and Heather Williams (3rd) on the run. Julie Dibens did the swim and bike but, as pre-announced, did not do the run. However, in the final finish straight it was going to be an awful close call between Spencer Smith and Andrew Johns. Spencer has raced and won six times at Windson, AJ has raced twice and come second on both occasions -- not today! Less than three seconds in it (times to be confirmed) and AJ was the winner with Spencer smiling but second. Both are now en-route to the Europeans in Carlsbad where AJ is the defending Champion. Overall, a superb Human Race day out with the weather fairies working overtime to hold off the rain.

Jun-16: They came, they registered, they racked and, tomorrow, they race

Sounds heroic? Well, for the 1350 people who braved the torrential rain and registered for the PepsiMAX Royal Windsor Triathlon it was an interesting day. Bright spells punctuated by heavy showers was the forecast and that's what we got -- except that the showers were more like tropical downpours! All those bikes lovingly wrapped in polythene, just waiting for tomorrow. And just who will win? My money would be on Spencer Smith and Andrea Whitcombe.

Jun-13: Brits abroad at the weekend

From the Triathlon de Beauvais website it looks like a good selection of Brits enjoyed a second successful weekend racing in France. Andy Tarry took first place in 1:56:54 (18:13, 1:06:37, 32:04) with Chris Lee ninth in 1:58:34 (18:23, 1:07:59, 32:12), Stuart Hayes 10th in 1:58:39 (17:51, 1:06:55, 33:53), Richard Stannard 12th in 1:59:01, Anthony Shippard 32nd in 2:02:27 and Chris Volley 41st in 2:11:09. For the women, Michelle Dillon took first in 2:09:13 (20:50, 1:13:16, 35:07) with Anneliese Heard sixth in 2:13:23 (19:44, 1:14:22, 39:17) and Jessica Harrison 10th in 2:15:49 (19:45, 1:14:24, 41:40).

Jun-12: Events that are on, despite what people think

The Foot and Mouth crisis may have slipped from the headlines during the past few weeks (I think there was an election on so things like that have a habit of vanishing in case they lead to the politicos geing asked awkward questions...) but some events are still suffering from the effects.

The Sandwell Mountain Bike Triathlon on Sunday 22nd July 2001 is definitely still on. The race is an 800m open water swim followed by a 16km mountain bike ride and then a 5km run. The race is definitely on but entries are slow coming in. The bike course is the same as this years Red Bull 24hr endurance race 23/24th June 2001 so it should be a challenge! Contact Derek Handley at or on 0121 552 3919.

The Leybourne Lakes Olympic Distance Triathlon on July 15th is also definitely on. The organiser had had phone calls telling him that it's off but he knows a lot better! Entries are being taken and there's a chance that it may also be televised by Meridian TV. Entry forms available from .

North of the Border

The STA are running the following coaching weekends: 21/22 October - Womens Only, 27/28 October - STA Members and 24/25 November - Swim Specific Coaching. They are also putting on coach education courses, both Level I and Level II, at Aberfeldy on 17/18 November. If you are interested in more information please contact the STA and they will send on the details.

Jun-07: Llanberis training camps

BIG Triathlon are organising a series of Llanberis training weekends. Dates are 22-24 June, 06-08 July, 13-15 July, 03-05 August and 10-12 August. There is a limit of 30 participants per training weekend and the cost £99 per person. To book a place phone the BIG Triathlon office on 08700 777773 and speak with Marian Evans or email your preferred weekend and contact details to .

ITU on ashthma trail

Last year in the run-up to the Olympics the ITU President, Les McDonald, made some remarks about the apparently high percentage of registered asthmatics among the elite. The implication was that the inhalers were, somehow, being used as performance enhancers. Anyway, it looks like the whole issue is back on the agenda again according to this article by Steven Downes on the Inside Triathlon website. What is really shocking is the revalation that the ITU had budgeted just $2,000 for drugs testing last year. The cost of disputing a single case in the courts could make this seem like pocket change.

Lessing delivers

Lisa, that is, and it was a girl. Amélie Alexandra Lessing was born in Bath on the 5th of June at 9:27 am to her very proud parents, Simon and Lisa. Vital stats are: weight 8.8lbs, length 58cm, hair brown, complexion like her dad. A quote from Lisa: "She is so cute, it was worth the 12 hours of labour" while Simon said "She is the most beautiful little girl in the whole world!". And we all say "Ahhhh!".

More GB team announcements

The junior elite teams for the ETU European Duathlon Championships being held in Mafra, Portugal on the 6th July 2001 were announced today. The team will include three junior women and three junior men: Henrietta Freeman, European Junior Triathlon Silver Medallist, Katherine Hare, and Karen Sindell plus Jon Stedman, Phil Anthony, and Charles Milne.

Four elite athletes, two men and two women, have been selected for the ITU World Long Distance Triathlon Championships in Fredrica, Denmark on the 5 August 2001. The four are Kim Harvey, Nikki Treacy, Laurence Oldershaw and Mike Prince. Further selections will be announced based on athletes proving fitness. The team manager is Dave Clamp.

Jun-05: GB elite named for Carlsbad

BTA Performance Director, Graeme Maw, has announced his elite squad for the European Triathlon Championships, which take place in Carlsbad, Czech Republic on the 21-24 June 2001. The team includes four of the team who went to the Sydney Olympics; Tim Don, Andrew Johns, Steph Forrester and Michelle Dillon, plus former World Champion Spencer Smith, World Junior Champion Anneliese Heard and European Junior Champion Jodie Swallow.

Men: Tim Don, Andrew Johns, Richard Stannard, Spencer Smith, Marc Jenkins, Stuart Hayes, Richard Allen. Women: Steph Forrester, Michelle Dillon, Analeah Emmerson, Beth Thomson, Leanda Cave, Jo Hinde. The Junior teams are: Men: Dan Hayes, Frazer Cartmell, Stuart Ashley (subject to ETU granting a wildcard). Women: Jodie Swallow, Anneliese Heard, Catherine Hare.

The BTA are also fielding a time trial team for both men and junior men but not for the women. Full details on the BTA website.

Sponsorship for the TFN elite

We missed this one last month so they gave us a polite reminder! wellbeing.com, the interactive TV channel and website from Boots and Granada and triathlon specialist store - Total Fitness, has sponsored an elite triathlon team - Wellbeing TFN Racing. The line-up includes Jodie Swallow, World Student Champion and European Junior Triathlon Champion, and Andy Tarry, double National Champion in Sprint Triathlon and Duathlon. For more information see their website.

Jun-04: GB squad at Zundert today

It's a national holiday in Holland today and at the ITU race in Zundert Andrew Johns finished second behind Luc van Lierde with a host of GB athletes in the field. From the women's race, Annie Emmerson took third with Leanda Cave fourth. Full results at the race website and a report from Steven Downes is on the Inside Triathlon website.

More Brits racing at the weekend

Tim Don and Michelle Dillon went to Marseille and won the sprint distance race. Tim's winning time was 56:13 (10:31, 31:32, 14:10) with Chris Lee 32nd in 58:49 and Anthony Shippard 37th in 59:28. For the women, Michelle won in 1:02:30 (10:28, 35:52, 16:10) with Jessica Harrison 3rd in 1:04:21 (10:24, 36:00, 17:47) and Anneliese Heard 4th in 1:04:26 (10:25, 35:57, 18:04). Results taken from Triathlon Digest.

In an earlier report we thought that Simon Lessing had stayed home, his wife Lisa is due to give birth, but according to a report on Kjerag he raced in the Open event and won that. Apparently he had forgotten to register for a French license by the deadline and so wasn't allowed to enter the main race. His decision to race in the open, non-drafting standard distance is an interesting one - he hasn't raced in a non-drafting event for several years.

At PowerMan Austria Wayne Smith finished 22nd in 3:35:41.

Jun-03: Athlete injured

We first heard this news last week but waited until today to post it - it has already appeared on the BTA website.

Paula Craig of the Met Police Triathlon Club, was seriously injured last week whilst out training in the Milton Keynes area on her bike. Paula was struck by a car, which is believed to have been travelling at 65 MPH and which then failed to stop. It is understood that her injuries are serious and that she may be left permanently disabled. She is expected to remain in hospital for some time. The report on the BTA website says that the police later stopped a vehicle in connection with the accident and were believed to be interviewing an elderly gentleman who was driving the vehicle at the time.

Our thoughts go out to Paula and her family and we'll keep you posted with the latest news as we get it.

Brits at Seville

No official GB team went to the ITU's European Elite Qualifier in Seville because of the current dispute between the ETU and ITU over the race's status. However, three elite athletes did go to race in their own right and get points -- and with the BTA's blessing. Heather Williams placed 8th female in 2:09:36 (20:11, 1:06:36, 42:49) while Stuart Hayes placed 17th male in 1:50:59 (18:26, 58:14, 34:19). Richard Stannard was a DNF on the bike and Spencer Smith, who was definitely there, simply doesn't show up on the results at all. For a complete story, check out Steven Downes report on the Inside Triathlon website.

Charity work

Remember Bobby Brown -- the GB triathlete who did the run across Australia? Well he's about to undertake an attempt on the John O'Groats to Lands End record of 10 dayes 2 hours. He starts on June 20th and will be raining money for Cyctic Fibrosis. If anyone wants to join him for a bit of the route give him a ring on 07909 921 793. Let him rest a bit first as he just broke the record for distance on a treadmill in 24 hours; he beat the previous record of 120 miles with an amazing 121 miles in 21 hours 35 minutes. Just think about that the next time you're down the gym!

May-31: Multisport Tunbridge Wells -- RIP

There aren't that many triathlon-specific shops in the UK -- and losing one that has been as supportive of the sport as the Tunbridge Wells-based Multisport is a particularly significant blow. It isn't clear why the Directors withdrew their support -- suggestions that there wasn't enough business in the area just don't ring altogether true -- but as of Wednesday it looks as though Mark and Jason Horne don't have a shop to run and the South East has lost a very good friend in the sport. We hope something works out for you soon.

Launch of London 2001

SBI, the new owners of the London Triathlon, gave a press briefing today at the ExCel exhibition centre on Docklands. Also appearing were Simon Lessing, who was waiting for news of the imminent arrival of his first child, John Raadschelders, the Dutch race organiser, and Norman Brook of the BTA. It was strange being at the site of the 1998 London, the last one organised by Human Race, and seeing all the new development on what had been a blank lot. Indeed, ExCel will form the centrepiece of the event with the transition area and finish being inside the building and each lap of the bike and run going through it as well.

Listening to the presentations also put the clock back to when Michael Smithwick's Esprit first announced the event; it will be the 3rd largest triathlon in the world (Esprit once claimed it was the largest), it will be 25% bigger than last year (3,000 entries expected, again...) and so on. The claim was also made that it would be the first event ever to have an indoor transition -- not so, one of the original London events in the 1980s had an indoor transition and we're pretty sure that others have too. However, as Rod Alexander of SBI said, this represents a new beginning. In 1999 when they first looked at buying the event he said that it was "creaking at the seams in terms of resources and management" and he's not far from the truth there. Now there is a much more polished promotion team, a professional race organiser and the feeling that money will be spent to make it happen, and happen properly. It's even getting BBC coverage with highlights on Grandstand a week after the race.

Some details have yet to be finalised; the elite may have a different bike route that takes them down to Tower Bridge and the City before looping back to the age group course, there is no title sponsor -- and SBI have accepted that they may not get one for 2001, the details for the corporate relay are still to be finalised. What is sorted is that the event has a prize purse of $25,000 for the first 10 elite men and women and that the individual entries are now full with 1,600 places taken. The remaining slots will be filled by the charities and by the relays -- remember that they count a team as 3 individuals which always skews the numbers.

Will the event be better? The venue is better, the promotion team is better -- that much is clear. There is every indication that the race organisation will be significantly better than in the past two years but only the event itself will tell the final story. One thing is for sure: having paid £500,000 for the event it's unlikely that SBI can afford for it to not be better on the day. They need the repeat business to attract a title sponsor and begin to recoup their costs.

May-30: Spencer back on form

Annie Emmerson, reporting in Katherine Williams' Triathlon Digest, provides news that Spencer raced in the Valencian Regional Triathlon Championships staged in Cullera last weekend. Spencer, who has a home in Spain and trains there, had company from Ivan Rana in what should have been a quiet local championship. Apparently Rana led out of the water but Spencer took the lead on the draft-free bike and was well clear after the run. Ostensibily the training is in preparation for Carlsbad byt we think he was fine tuning for Windsor...

May-28: Windsor is full

John Lunt's Human Race have confirmed that the PepsiMAX Royal Windsor Triathlon is now officially full. They are running a reserve list which will used to fill up any spaces caused by dropouts in the next two weeks but your must mark your forms "RESERVE LIST" or they will just be returned. See the Human Race website for details.

Derby Triathlon update

The organisers of the Derby Triathlon on September 16th have announced that entry forms are available. The distances have changed slightly for this year with a shorter 400m swim and 18k bike, with a 3 mile run to finish making it an ideal event for novice and seasoned triathletes. To promote the sport for juniors (15+) they are doing a special £9 rate compared to the normal £19 (non-BTA) or £30 relay entry fees. Form can be obtained by email from or downloaded from the race website.

May-27: Report from Milton Keynes

Andrew Johns won the Milton Keynes triathlon today in an outstanding performance from a man who looks on form. He went away from the field which included Tim Don, Richard Allen, and Stephen Clark after breaking away on the swim.

Andrea Whitcombe, taking part in her first UK open water olympic distance race, demonstrated that she will be one to watch over the summer season when she won the women's race by a significant margin.

Final results will be available from Tuesday late afternoon on the race website.

May-24: South West Region revamps its race series

The BTA South West Regional Series has been revamped. They have introduced a simpler method of working out points scored and fewer events needed to quality for the final results. There will also be increased publicity for the series with results and standings being made available online.

There are eleven events spread around the Region and throughout the season. Competitors have to complete at least four events, including one open water swim to score maximum points. If you do more than four events it is the best four that count. The best placed competitor in each 5 year age group will receive 100 points, second best 99 points, and so on. The person with the most points at the end of September wins their Age Group. The series races are:

May-23: Milton Keynes update

The Personal Assurance Milton Keynes Triathlon on May 27th is up to 400 entries and will close on Friday -- so get those forms in if you want to race against Tim Don and Andrew Johns. Well, race on the same course! Tim and Andrew are also presenting on the Saturday afternoon at the Personal Assurance building. For details check their website.

May-21: Brits abroad this weekend

In the Isuzu Ironman California on Saturday Paul Amey came 8th in 8:54:37 (47:55, 4:59:21, 3:03:25). The race featured a one-two for the DeBoom brothers, Tim won in 8:22:14 (47:49, 4:46:25, 2:44:22) with Tony second in 8:27:13 (47:49, 4:46:05, 2:49:20). Full results on their website.

May-19: Big races fill quickly

John Lunt has announced via the eGroup that he expects Windsor to be full by next weekend -- entry forms on the Human Race website for those of you still dithering. Voted the best race in the UK for the last two years, and the only place you'll get to toe the line alongside Spencer Smith, it's a race just has to be done. My entry is in, I just hope I can get fit enough!

According to a press release sent to the Triathlon Digest it looks as though London will close entries on the same day -- Friday 25th May. Folowing the date change to August 26th they are claiming a 25% increase in entries over 2000. Interestingly they took the first 1000 entries and then put all the rest into a ballot which will be drawn next Friday. Entry forms for the hopeful are on their website.

May-16: Fancy an Aquathlon?

The organisers of the Steyning AC Swim/Run Relays and under-12 race at have shamelessly asked for a plug for their event at Steyning Swimming Pool, West Sussex on Bank Holiday Monday. The full distance event is 500m and 4.5k with three people per team. There's also an under-14 relay race over the same distance and an under-12 race over 150m and 1.5k. For details send two SAEs to The Big Race, 2 Priors Close, Upper Beeding, West Sussex BN44 3HT or phone 01903 815541.

More from the weekend

Apart from the high profile races at Rennes and Funchal at the weekend we also had a contingent (I almost said a "large" contingent...) out at the Volcano Triathlon on Lanzarote. Apart from the well publicised DQ of a prominent GB athlete for swapping his bike after a wheel broke (a very harsh application of the rules) we had a serious result for Richard Jones who came 2nd in 1:59:40 behind Christoph Mauch (SUI) who won in 1:59:11 and beating the legendary Thomas Hellriegel (GER) who did 2:00:10. Also in the top ten were Richard Hobson, 8th in 2:06:12, Sara Anning, 5th lady in 2:23:10 with Paula Craig 9th in 2:31:05 and Lisa Rowbottom 10th in 2:34:28.

May-15: Annie's in The Times

There's an interesting article in The Times today about Annie Emmerson.

May-14: New date and venue for NW Sprint Championships

The Crewe and Nantwich Sprint Triathlon on Sunday 22nd July 2001 will now be the host for the BTA North West Regional Sprint Championships 2001. The championships were originally scheduled for Rivington, sadly cancelled due to the foot and mouth outbreak. The eligibility criteria for the Championships are that the athlete should be a member of a BTA-affiliated club based in the Region or an independent BTA member living in the Region. (The Region is Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Lancashire, Merseyside and (as of this year) Cumbria). For information or entry forms contact Claire Birdsey of Crewe & Nantwich Borough Council by email at .

May-13: Brits racing abroad

In the ITU Cup race at Rennes in France; Michelle Dillon placed second in 2:00:21 (22:32, 1:02:30, 35:19) behind Siri Lindley (USA) in 1:59:32 (21:28, 1:02:48, 35:16). Heather Williams was 24th in 2:05:52 (22:05, 1:03:02, 40:45) with Joelle Franzmann (GER) third in 2:00:56 (21:27, 1:02:49, 36:40). In the mens race Andrew Johns placed second in 1:46:00 (19:46, 54:13, 32:01) to Craig Watson (NZ) winning time of 1:45:45 (19:50, 54:09, 31:46) with Reto Hug (SUI) third in 1:46:03 (19:42, 54:18, 32:03). Marc Jenkins was 43rd in 1:51:41 (20:07, 56:32, 35:02). Full results, race report and splits on the ITU website.

At the ITU Points race in Funchal on Madeira there's another GB contingent including Annie Emmerson, Leanda Cave, Richard Stannard and Richard Jones. The BTA website reports that Annie Emmerson was first, Beth Thomson third, Jo Hind in fourth, Julie Harrison fifth and Bella Comerford sixth. In the men's event, Richard Stannard was fourth with Stuart Hayes fifth and Andy Tarry eighth. had mechanical problems on the bike and finished ninth despite a very fast run to get back into contention.

May-09: Senior ETU official in libel battle with the ITU

It looks like the dispute between the ITU and the ETU is turning personal. Erika Koenig, the ETU's general secretary has received written threats of legal action her critical article that was published last month on the Triathlon Live website. An Austrian-based lawyer, acting on behalf of the ITU and Ms Christine Brown (the niece of ITU official Loreen Barnett), wrote to Ms Koenig last week threatening action for libel over the article unless they received an apology and retraction, and payment of less than US$400. The governing executive board of the ETU today announced its full support for Erika.

May-07: Age group qualifiers for ITU Duathlon at Rimini

Following the National Championships at Swansea last weekend a first cut of the qualifiers for the ITU World Duathlon Championships in Rimini, Italy on September 16th has now been posted to the BTA website.

Guildford Gurgle series cancelled

The swim-run series based at Guildford Lido and organised by the Phoenix Tri Club has been cancelled owing to administrative difficulties.

May-03: We weren't drafting... ...honest!

Remember the National Duathlon Championships last weekend? Well, there were some comments made about drafting in the age group waves and, as we all know, nobody EVER drafts. Sorry people, the technical people were there and they were taking pictures of you not, er, drafting... Take a look at these two shots and then ask yourselves, just what defence you have against being two-footed? We aren't printing names or otherwise identifying the guilty, that would be inappropriate in this forum, but do remember that the BTA have the technology and they will be using it.

For those that can't remember the rules, imagine you're inside a box 10 metres by 3 metres and you're pushing it around the course with your front wheel. Nobody gets inside that box and you can't get inside anyone elses. You want to pass another person -- you've got 30 seconds. Simple, isn't it?

ETU takes on ITU over Seville

So much in sport these days is about who has the rights to do what. We all know that the WTC owns the rights to the Ironman brand but it looks like the recent peace between the ITU and the ETU is about to be broken over who has the rights to stage a European Championship. The ETU announced today (regretfully, it says) that it has been forced to commence legal proceedings to prevent the staging of what it calls "a bogus regional championship event" which is being held in Seville, Spain, under the auspices of the ITU. The ETU maintains that it is the only organisation within Europe with the rights to stage a European triathlon championships which it plans to hold in Carlsbad, Czech Republic, on June 21st to 24th.

"This really is a course of action of the last resort," general secretary, Erika Koenig, speaking on behalf of the ETU executive board, said on Thursday. "But we have to protect the commercial properties of our organisation, which represents all 39 national federations throughout Europe." Accordingly, the ETU's lawyers have filed an injunction against the Spanish triathlon federation, the local organisers of the ITU 'regional qualifier' event, together with an application for damages.

More information from the ETU website -- we expect this one to go on for a while...

May-02: Salford gears up for the Quays Triathlon

Those who visited the Salford Triathlon last year may remember that they put on some additional events for both the local residents and visiting athletes. This year, Salford are developing a whole week of events for multisport and fitness enthusiasts in the North West culminating in the Quays Triathlon on the Sunday. On the Thursday night there's a S/R/S/R duathlon consisting of a 500m open water swim, 2.5k, 250m swim and a final 2.5km run while on Friday night there's a 10km run (senior event) and a children's 2.5km run. Saturday will see a parade, an open water 5k swimming event (under ASA rules -- no wetsuits)and Bell Boating.

The idea is to get lots of community involvement, make them feel part of the weekend and also to encourage athletes to get to the North West earlier. Entry to events is free or a small charge. Even if you are not doing the triathlon, you are welcome to do the lead up events. For up to date information and entry details contact the Triathlon Development Officer, Mark Tweedie (Ex NW Tri Champ) by email at

Apr-30: Norman Brook at Swansea

Having passed a few moments with Norman Brook at Stratford on Saturday I knew he was headed for the National Duathlon Championships in Swansea - another welcome change from BTA tradition where previous Chief Execs have seldom been seen at an event from one year to the next... Even better news is the report that he openly praised those competitors who had resisted the temptation to draft and warned the rest that this was the year that drafting gets stamped out. There are even rumours of video cameras being used to capture the offenders in action. Consider yourselves warned! Oh, and anyone who's still not sure what a set of illegal shifters looks like can see them on the BTA website.

Ken Maclaren goes on tour

Ken Maclaren; athlete, commentator and writer, former international and 220 contributor, has now turned seminar presenter and will be giving his "How to Race Faster, it's not just about the training..." seminars at various venues around the UK this summer. Current confirmed are: Windsor, Saturday 16th June at the Copthorne Hotel; Fishguard, Friday 29th June (the weekend of the Pembroke Triathlon); Salford, Saturday 11th August (the weekend of British Triathlon Championships).

Prices are not yet confirmed, Ken hopes to keep it down to "the equivalent of a price of Guinness..." and you can pre-book a place by emailing him at . For more information on the seminar and details of how to book a special session for your club, visit the KinEli website.

Apr-29: Racing round-up

The weekend saw nearly 1,000 people racing at the Triathlon Expo in Stratford and the Swansea Valley Duathlon and National Duathlon Championships, won by Richard Jones (1:47:31) and Bella Comerford (2:00:54). Danny Hayes and Anneliese Heard took the junior race and there's a report on the BTA website.

We also had GB elite racing the ITU Cup race at St Anthony's in Florida. Heather Williams was supposed to be in the female elite, won by Carol Montgomery (CAN) in 2:01:56, but she isn't down as a finisher, while for the men we had the prospect of Simon Lessing in his first race since London last September. However, despite being on the ITU lists while the event was happening, Katherine Williams reports that Lessing wasn't even there as he has apparently sustained an Achilles injury while training. Simon Whitfield (CAN) won the mens in 1:48:52 with Richard Allen 11th (1:51:58), Richard Stannard 21st (1:53:31) and Chris Moffatt 31st (1:57:22). Special thanks to Eric Schwartz and Katherine Williams for getting us the results so quickly. The full splits and a race report are on the ITU website.

Apr-27: Shropshire's on as well...

This may well become a regular feature for 2001 - events that really are on but people seem to have forgotten them!

Latest in the queue for a bit of plugging is the venerable Shropshire Triathlon - ten years old this year. I've never raced this one but it consistently gets good reports. The swim is in a Mere (no boring old lake here then!) and it is said by National Referees to have the most spacious transition area of all events in the series! The bike course is along quiet rural roads, most of which is in North Wales and used as a time trial route for all local clubs. The run is an interesting T shape, which enables you to gauge your position before you head back to a stunning finish on the banks of the Mere.

The event will be part of the National Series and there will be all the usual trade stands (almost said 'suspects'), live commentary and results will be posted as quickly as Stuart Mullage can manage. Entry fee is £40.00 for BTA members and includes a t-shirt and lunch voucher. Contact The Sport & Recreation Service on 01743-255071 for details.

Apr-26: Races still on and needing support

The Mid Kent Midweek Triathlon Series is still definitely on and has no problems associated with the Foot and Mouth outbreaks. Entries for the series will close next week and there will be no entries on the day. Email the organiser ()for details or an entry form.

Biddie Ford, organiser of Market Bosworth has been plagued with rumours that the race is cancelled - it is NOT!. Forms and other information available on their website.

Apr-23: Updated results from Cefalu

The ETU website now has the confirmed results from the Sicilian race: Annie Emmerson was first in 41:31, Leanda Cave was second in 41:46, Jessica Harrison fifth in 42:37 and Beth Thomson sixth in 43:07. Richard Jones finished eighth in 38:54.

Whitcombe on form again

Andrea Whitcombe continues her run of form in Australia with a second place at the Banana Coast Triathlon in New South Wales. According to a report on the Australian TriDu website she chased the local favourite Pip Taylor to a close finish.

Apr-22: Brits racing abroad this weekend

At the ITU World Cup in Ishigaki, Japan; Loretta Harrop (AUS) won in 1:56:45 with Steph Forrester 5th in 1:59:22 (18:20, 1:02:55, 38:07) and Michelle Dillon 8th in 2:00:45 (19:35, 1:03:34, 37:36). For the men, Ivan Rana (ESP) claimed his first World Cup victory in 1:46:17 with Andrew Johns 6th in 1:47:12 (17:17, 56:07, 33:48), Tim Don 7th in 1:47:16 (17:16, 56:38, 33:22) and Marc Jenkins 15th in 1:47:53 (17:15, 56:41, 33:57). The ITU website has the full results.

At the ETU Cup race in Cefalu, Sicily Csabe Kuttor (HUN) and Britain's Annie Emmerson won amid a storm of controversy, not only in the race but in the judges room afterwards, according to the ETU press report.

Csaba Kuttor (HUN) in 37:35 and Britain's Annie Emmerson in 41:31 were clear race winners, in an event which had to face problems blown up by what one official described as "apocalyptic weather conditions", with near gale-force winds, hail stones and thunder storms forcing a one-hour delay in the start times of both men's and women's races.

Instead of the originally planned swim-bike-run-swim-bike-run Enduro format, organisers were forced to switch to a single 400-metre swim across the harbour, followed by a bike-run-bike-run. In the women's race, sea conditions were so choppy that several competitors were washed on to the beach early on and had to fight back. "It was the worst conditions I've ever had to swim in," Emmerson said after collecting her 2,000 Euros winner's cheque.

Race organiser Gerrit Curcio said, "The safety of the competitors was always our first concern. We only took the decision to race after very careful consideration. We are delighted therefore that we were able to go ahead and stage the event safely." The short distance cycle rides and runs otherwise contributed to some close racing. Kuttor, runner-up in the previous ETU European Cup event in the Azores earlier this month, just outsprinted Australia's Richie Cunningham on the final 1,500-metre run.

In the women's event, it was a British one-two, as Emmerson, in her first triathlon of the season, beat the in-form Leanda Cave (41:46). (No official details yet on the other GB athletes but we believe the other two GB girls finished in the top 10; Jessica Harrison is believed to have finished 6th and Beth Thomson 8th but these are unconfirmed.)

Apr-19: Commonwealth Games support staff needed

Ian Pettitt, the Triathlon Team England manager, is looking for applications for the position of Assistant Team Manager/Coach Liaison, Team Physio and Team Masseur. Applications should be made in writing, stating which position you are interested in and accompanied by the names and addresses or two referees, to: Ian Pettitt, England Team Manager, 16 St Richards Road, Deal, Kent CT14 9JR by June 7th. Applicants will be interviewed in London on June 12th.

Apr-18: HIMUK is full

We just had word from Simon Blackburn that the Llanberis/Half Ironman UK event is now officially full! Anyone who has entered the race online but has not yet forwarded their two photos can secure their start place by ensuring these arrive at the BIG Triathlon office no later than 28th April. Should the photos not arrive by that date then these start places may be re-allocated to someone on the Reserve List.

We may have been cynical at the start but to have filled 1,400 places with over four months to go is an impressive achievement. Fingers crossed that it all goes smoothly on the day and we have an event that meets expectations and gets GB athletes off to Hawaii for 2002. With a full Ironman planned for next year it will be really interesting to see how quickly that fills - three of the qualifiers this year were filled within days.

New BTA website goes live

It's been a while coming but the new and, we hope, improved BTA website is now live at www.britishtriathlon.org. As with the past two attempts to get the BTA into the electronic age, there's been a degree of us helping them. However, this time around Chief Executive Norman Brook, unlike his predecessors, has taken the idea seriously and they are posting news and additional content to the site on an almost daily basis. While the content isn't all there yet, we are still developing a member's area and links to commercial sites offering deals for members, the basics are in place. The race and club databases share the resources from the Triathletes Homepage and we are looking to extend the capabilities for both sites in time for the 2002 season. Enjoy, and please send any suggestions or comments to the BTA.

Apr-16: Triathlon on TV -- or not...

There's been a bit of debate recently about the coverage of triathlon on television this year now that Eurosport has decided not to include triathlon in its schedule. Anyone following the ongoing debate between the ITU and the ETU might be forgiven for thinking that it was all a lot of fuss about nothing as the ITU have arranged for over 100 broadcasters to get material. However, there's NO guarantee that any of these will give the material any airtime at all and, even if they give airtime, the majority of the coverage will be on minority channels. What do we mean by a minority channel? Well, something like the BBC reaches a potential 50 million homes in the UK while a minority broadcaster like ON Digital hits perhaps 1 million homes... Even services like Sky with over 10 million subscribers are showing triathlon only on their Sports channels and not all subscribers take those. The ITU figures, quoted by Julia Micklewright, SSM's ITU Event Manager, are that they reach 400 million households in 100 countries. Me, I'd rather have a guaranteed hour a month of the sort of coverage that Eurosport used to provide than the occasional snipped buried deep in a Transworld Sport compilation programme on Sky Sports 3 at 2am...

Thanks to Steven Downes for the mail on this, we've posted his full message to the eGroup.

Gamagori update

Finally got some better results for Gamagori: Tim Don 3rd in 1:47:26, Andrew Johns 9th in 1:48:38, Marc Jenkins 20th in 1:50:49 and for the women, Steph Forrester 4th in 1:58:11 and Michelle Dillon 11th in 2:00:52. The ITU website is still spitting out JavaScript errors...

Apr-15: More Brits doing well abroad

Certainly looks like this was a good weekend for the travelling circus that is the GB Elite!

On Saturday at Praia da Vitoria Leanda Cave (2:13:55) repeated last week's victory with Heather Williams (2:18:43) placing 8th while Stuart Hayes placed 3rd (1:57:57) in front of Richard Stannard 1:58:17) and Richard Allen 1:58:57). Full results on their website.

On Sunday at Gamagori in Japan Tim Don placed a hugely impressive 3rd behind Chris McCormack (AUS) and Matt Reed (NZL). Results should be on the ITU website but it's been giving JavaScript errors all weekend and they seem to be running a bit behind the times... Katherine Williams found this website with a full set of results.

Apr-13: Wolverhampton cancelled

The Black Country Triathletes have had to cancel the Wolverhampton Olympic race on 24th June due to Foot and Mouth. The decision that was made due to the lake currently being closed along with the canal path and the farmer, whose field they use having cows. All competitors who have already paid will receive a full refund as the club has not incurred any costs at this stage.

Apr-12: Race updates

Looks like the ITU got itself sorted out with regard to the World Duathlon Champs (thanks to Louise Williams for the heads-up) as there's a scrolling message on their website saying that it's definitely on September 15/16.

That fabulous 10k time by Pierre Yurow in Florida at the weekend may not have been so good after all! Reports in Triathlon Digest indicate that he only did three laps not four... ...and he's not even a BTA member so we aren't sure why they gave him GB elite status!

Jodie Swallow's part in the Seoul Womens Relay was pretty significant, she helped the team to an overall 8th place with a 20:53 for her 6k leg. Overall time for the team over the 26.2 mile event was 2:28:18. There's a glowing report on the UK Athletics website.

Apr-11: Tyne Tri get a new website

Well, they did ask very nicely for a mention so, please, go visit their new home and make them feel welcome on the net!

The world starts to turn

The Scottish Triathlon Association has announced that, in the light of current guidance from the Scottish Executive and the UK government, the 2001 triathlon and duathlon competition programme will go ahead in Scotland with very minor changes. Race organisers have been asked to make adjustments to routes to ensure competitors are not at risk of coming into contact with livestock. Anyone wishing further information is asked to contact race organisers or John Whittaker, the STA's competitions director on 0131 454 0900.

We heard on the radio this morning that Richmond and Bushy Parks are going to re-open for pedestrian and then vehicle traffic over the next few days.

Maybe it's just the Spring weather...

Apr-10: Brits racing abroad

Trawling through the weekends news, courtesy of Katherine's Triathlon Digest, it looks as though a few GB athletes have been off conquering the world. At the Pan American Triathlon Championships in Clermont, Florida, Pierre Yurow may have only finished in 51st place but he turned in a 30:45 10k - over two minutes faster than anyone else in the field. At the Minolta Ironman in Australia, Chris Lee placed 34th in 9:22:54. In the Gatorade Series race at St Kilda (Australia, not Scotland!) Beth Saddler placed 5th in 1:06:37.

Apr-08: Hereford duathlon update

Mike Parry, organiser of the Hereford Duathlon has confirmed that the event is definitely on for Apr-22 at the Hereford Leisure Centre.

Leanda Cave wins at Ponta Delgada

An ETU press release confirms Leanda Cave (GBR) and Dmitry Gaag (KAZ) as the leaders of the 2001 European triathlon tour after winning yesterday's first stage held in Sao Miguel, the biggest of the nine tropical islands composing Azores. The race was a sprint distance of 750m, 20k and 5k. In the women's race, Germany's Anja Heil emerged from the chilly (15C,) water in the lead (9:16), ahead of Cave, Lucie Zelenkova (CZE), and Nina Anisimova (RUS). The Russian was immediately dropped on the bike and the trio started the run with a comfortable 30s margin over a second group including Anisimova, compatriot Olga Generalova, and Australia's Tracy Hargreaves. Surprisingly, Heil was not able to drop her mates on the run, and it was Cave who finally made the decisive move in the second lap (17:55, fastest female run split) to win in 59:33, ahead of Heil and Zelenkova.

In the men's race Gaag was 7th after the swim (8:50) behind Spaniard Raul Cordoba (8:33), Csaba Kuttor (HUN), Jarmo Hast (FIN), Nicolas Becker (FRA), Duarte Marquez (POR) and Frederik Van Lierde (BEL). Gaag cruised during the bike to take a commanding lead as soon as the run started. The surprise came from Germany's Falk Cierpinski, new to the elite triathlon ranks (previous European junior duathlon champion and son of the 1976 Montreal marathon Olympic champion), who came from behind and aggressively attacked Gaag in the second lap. But Gaag pulled away in the last straight to win in 53:44, 5s ahead of a deserving Cierpinski (15:33, second fastest run) and 12s ahead of a great Kuttor (15:34, third run split). Simon Kennedy placed 24th in 57:30.

Full results should be available at either the ETU website or the Ponta Delgada site.

Apr-07: More details on Cleveland

Cleveland Short Course Triathlon on June 3rd has been cancelled because the lake has been closed and part of the run route goes through an infected Foot and Mouth area! Full refunds will be given to all entrants. Any queries can be sent to Ben Leaver Please note that the Sprint (May-06) and Long Course (Jul-01) are still on.

Lancashire Flyer still on, but moved

Due to foot and mouth problems, the Lancashire Flyer (6/5/01) has yet another new home for 2001. Catforth, near Kirkham, is no longer available so (subject to the necessary permissions) this event will now be held at West Pimbo, Skelmersdale, with direct access off the M58 motorway.

The race will now be in the following format: 4k first run - 2k out and 2k back on traffic free tarmac paths then a 25k multi-lap bike (probably 6 or 7 subject to accurate measurement) around the estate and then a 4k second run as a repeat of the first run.

The organisers regret the need to move from the planned country location but, in the circumstances, it is either put a race on where they can or abandon completely, as the calendar later in the year will become too congested. Anyone who has already entered and does not wish to race at Pimbo can have their entry withdrawn - no cheques have been banked. This event will still be the North West Regional Championships as far as they are aware, further information is available on their website or by emailing the organiser at

Apr-06: East London Triathletes get sponsorship

In a bid to out-do Deal Tri, currently appearing in that Lucozade advert featuring Mr Don, East London Triathletes just announced their sponsorship by Top Banana Sports who will supply bike kit, clothing and servicing, and Tri and Run who will supply ELT club racing apparel. Greg Bryce, the Tri and Run's owner also coaches the club. All their new club kit will feature both companies logos.

First it was Asics, now it's Orca...

In a somewhat surprising volte face, the BTA issued the following press release today. For those with short memories, here is the original announcement.

The British Triathlon Association has announced today that their international teams will turn out this season in previously unreleased ORCA Elite Racewear. The association had previously announced that they were to sign up with Asics.

Explaining the decision to change kit sponsors so late in the season, Norman Brook, Chief Executive of the British Triathlon Association stated: "The Association has placed a priority on providing the highest standard of technical clothing for our elite athletes as well as ensuring that the cost and style suited the needs of our age group competitors. During the design stage, Asics was in consultation with our Performance Director, elite and age group athletes. It soon became apparent that there were difficulties in obtaining the best technical materials available and that impending staff changes at Asics would not help these difficulties. The BTA then initiated discussions with ORCA to see if they would step in and take over their commitments."

Following discussions with ORCA's Scott Unsworth, and their UK agents TRI UK, a new kit deal was agreed this week which will see both elite and age group internationals compete in Orca's new Elite Racewear range. The clothing will be in red, white and blue colours with Union Jack and Great Britain logos. Britain's premier sponsored race team, the TRI UK Race Team, are already wearing the new ORCA Elite Racewear and several athletes have already tested the new kit out in training, with excellent reviews.

The British Triathlon Association has agreed with ORCA an initial two-year contract, which gives them the right to extend the contract for a further two years.

Athlete representative, Sian Brice was enthusiastic about the new kit. "The kit is outstanding and it looks good too. The new ORCA kit will give Great Britain's athletes a real lift in competition this season."

The agreement between ORCA and the British Triathlon Association will see TRI UK act as distributors of age-group kit and in future years, a range of BTA branded merchandise. Orca Elite Racewear will soon be available and orders are now being taken through TRI UK on 07000 874854, through their website and at event trade stands. Chris Boon, co-owner of TRI UK stated "TRI UK is delighted to be in partnership with ORCA and the British Triathlon Association. We will be seeking to ensure that all members of the Great Britain team, whether elite or age group, are satisfied with their kit before they go off to this years World and European Championships."

Asics are not to withdraw totally from sponsorship of Triathlon having agreed that they will sponsor the National Children and Youth Series for the next two years.

Apr-05: More changes

Southwell Sprint Triathlon in Nottingham on Sunday 13th May will take place. The only change to the already popular event will be that the run will now be out and back laps, rather just an out and back. The organisers say there are still a few places left, the limit is 500 and already over 400 have signed up. If you fancy your chances against the likes of Andy Tarry, Craig Twigg or Jodie Swallow, you can get an entry form from their website.

The Cleveland Short Course triathlon on June 3rd has been cancelled.

Due to circumstances beyond their control, the actual day of the race at the Triathlon Expo has changed from Sunday 29th (7am to 12pm) to Saturday 28th April (12.00pm to 6.30pm). The Triathlon Expo itself will not be changed, only that it will be open until late on Saturday evening.

For those wishing to see the "on stage" presentations (free), they will be as follows on Saturday 28th April only; 9:00am show opens, 11:30am Robin Brew (Robin Brew Sports) Swimming tips, 1:30pm Stuart Hale (Advanced Performance) TBC, 3:30pm Julian Goater (Feel Good Factors) Running tips. All the top retailers in triathlon will be at the show with all the latest bikes, clothes, wetsuits, shoes, gadgets, etc.

The Mid Kent Midweek series is definitely ON. That's the good news... The not so good news is that numbers are being restricted by the police. Dates are May 16th, June 20th, July 18th and August 22nd. All dates are Wednesday nights with a 7pm start. Entry forms available via email from , no entries on the day this year.

The North of the Tyne Triathlon, which was to have been held on 27th May, has been cancelled. Unfortunately, the bike route (and any alternative) is virtually a tour of the farms in South Northumberland infected with Foot and Mouth...

Due to lack of advance entries for the Lomond Biathlon and Junior Triathlon next Sunday (8th April), the organisers have had to cancel them. It's hoped to reschedule them later in the year when all the uncertainty over Foot and Mouth is over, any updates will be posted to their website.

Apr-04: More race changes

We just heard from the BTA that both the Ringwood and Applemore Triathlons, part of the New Forest Series, are cancelled and that the Pendle Triathlon has been postponed to September 2nd.

The Taunton Deane Triathlon is now postponed from 13th May to 2nd September.

Ironman South Africa results

We know that several GB athletes did this, top of the bunch was Mary-Rose Cross from Scotland who placed 24th in 12:06:40 (1:07:51, 6:15:49, 4:33:46).

Apr-03: Pools on the Park is off

We've heard through the eGroup that the Pools on the Park Aquathlon, scheduled for Sunday April 8th, has been cancelled.

Hey, that boy can run!

Having known Tim Don for more than a few years I'm sure he won't mind the cheeky headline but we've had news that he ran a 3:47:71 for 1,500m in Stellenbosch last week. Mmmm, looking good! We can only presume he had all that hair cut off to reduce the drag a bit... Tim is up for the first two ITU Cup races in Japan so it will be interesting to see how he fares. (Thanks to Tim Grose for the info.)

Spencer updates

The Inside Triathlon website has a report from Ironman South Africa with a comment on Spencer's hospitalisation.

Triathlete Magazine's website also has a longer story about the injury, what happened and his schedule for the rest of the year now that he's out of hospital. Thanks to everyone for sending in the details!

Apr-02: Another race on, but no competitors

What's happening here? We're in the middle of a Foot and Mouth crisis which is seriously denting the race calendar and when there are races nobody seems to want to do them! As if the pleas for help from Sevenoaks weren't enough, we now get the following from the East London Triathletes:

East London Triathletes Dragonslayer is still ON

Traffic free bike course, off road runs, noon start, showers, parking on site... What more could you want from a duathlon? So, why isn't our race getting more entries?

The Eastway Cycle Centre in London is possibly the perfect venue for a duathlon yet entries are still only dribbling in? We have a mid-morning start so you will not have to get up in the middle of the night. We have on site FREE parking. Changing facilities which include HOT showers. The course is guaranteed to be free of traffic. There appears to be plenty of people willing to moan about races yet when we hire the venue and put on the race the turnout appears to be woefully low. We even have a transition area supplied by our good friends at Human Race.

Just what do I need to do to make the event a success?

The cost is only £20 for BTA athletes and it is mentioned in the Handbook and the latest copy of 220. You have mentioned the race on your site a couple of times and we've been plugging it on the eGroup. Should we charge an arm and a leg for the race, make you register the day before and charge competitors for parking... Would that make it more popular?

I am beginning to despair of the racing community. Oh, by the way, you can download an entry form from our website...

Brian Martin, Chairman ELT

UK Athletics selects Swallow

Presumably she must have known yesterday that she had been selected for the GB and NI team for the Seoul International Women's Road Relay but she didn't say anything at the FILA Breakfast Run. Katherine Williams kindly forwarded the press release from UK Athletics, which states:

Women triathletes make better runners

Well, according to the results from yesterday's FILA Breakfast Run anyway! Jodie Swallow, Junior European triathlon champion, took the 7 mile distance in 39.33 which was good enough for 4th in the field. The race was won by Kevin Tilley in 38.06.

In the two-lap race (reduced from 16 to 13.5 miles because a Foot and Mouth-related course change) duathlete/triathlete Juliette Clark won in 1.26.26. The overll winner was Gary Staines in 1.10.03 with veteran Ironman Nick Kinsey coming 2nd. Throughout the field there was a smattering of triathletes; Robert Holloway, Neil Keirs, John Tims, Alan Nicholls among other, many preparing for the London Marathon in 3 weeks. Full results and pictures are on the Human Race website.

Mar-31: Spencer Smith out of Ironman South Africa

This was to be the weekend that Spencer Smith started his Ironman campaign with a reasonable chance of taking the Ironman South Africa event - although Lothar Leder was always going to be an interesting threat. But anyone who logged onto the World of Endurance website that's covering the event would have been greeted by the headlines that he has been rushed to hospital with suspected septicaemia, a blood infection that's possibly linked to meningitis.

We'll let you know more when we have better information.

Mar-29: More goings-on in Wales

Due to the Foot and Mouth crisis, the National Mountain Centre has had to re-structure its course programme. As part of that re-organisation they are running two Adventure Racing Skills Training Weeks. The courses are designed to help experienced athletes and triathletes develop the additional skills and experience they need to make the transition to adventure racing.

These skills covered on the course include: kayaking and open boat paddling, abseiling and essential ropework skills, day and night navigation by map and compass, the basics of mountain first aid, emergency procedures and the principles and practice of lightweight camping. The 5-day course is running at the 'break-even cost of £250 which includes full board, all instruction and technical equipment usage.

Darwen Tri is on

The Darwen Tri is definitely on. The run route, which usually goes onto the hills, has been changed due to the Foot and Mouth crisis to a road run of around 4.5 mile. The date is now May 27th rather than the 20th stated in the BTA handbook and costs £16. For applications please send a SAE to: 48 Garden Village, Darwen, Lancashire BB3 2HJ or Tel:01254 775612 - ask for Paul. Alternatively you can apply on the universal entry form. A proper entry form can now be found on John Schofield's UK Results website.

Update from HIMUK

Latest information from Half Ironman UK (Llanberis) is that they already have over 1,000 registered competitors - with applications still coming in! There is a limit of 1,400 starting spots and anyone still thinking of entering is encouraged to either download the entry form or enter online via our website (where you can also see the competitor list).

Elite UK athletes already committed to race include the male BTA Champions at Sprint, Olympic and Long Course (ie Messrs Allen, Jenkins and Jenkinson) which should make for an interesting competition over the Half Ironman distance. Not to be outdone by their colleagues in Kona, HIMUK will be announcing a revised race course in the next few days. Maps and profiles are currently being completed and will be available on the official race website by early next week.

Although the new route includes nearly 3 miles of cycle track, all competitors should be aware that BIG Triathlon have contingency plans in place to ensure that the race day route completely avoids any areas (in particular footpaths, bridleways and fields) that might prove contentious in the event of FMD persisting until September. The complete event (transition areas, bike route, run route and Expo area) has been designed to use only public highways and hard-standing (tarmac) areas and careful consideration has been given to follow the guidelines laid down by MAFF, the Wales Tourist Board, North Wales Tourism and Gwynedd County Council.

Sevenoaks is on

The Sevenoaks Swim-Run on Easter Sunday (April 15th) is going ahead. Although the numbers are still low the organisers feel that the race should go ahead, bearing in mind the number of races which have been cancelled due to the Foot and Mouth crisis. They still need more entries and will accept entries on the day (£15) up to 6.30 am. Entries on the day will not be eligible for prizes. Any queries please call Mark or Jay on 01892 517040.

Mar-28: Squashing some rumours

Both Winsdor (Jun-17) and the Terrapin Triathlon (Jun-10) have been getting reports of rumours that they are cancelled due to the Foot and Mouth situation. This is not true, both events are going ahead and currently have no reason to suppose that they will be prevented from taking place -- although both are obviously taking advice from their local police, NFU and MAFF as appropriate.

The Scots, mad for it...

BBC Scotland have teamed up with the Arctic Team Challenge to select a Scottish team to enter this summer's inaugural event in Greenland between July 21st and 29th. The team will be filmed from their inception right the way through to the race itself.

They want to find four people (men and women) to make up the team. They don't need to be a professional but do need to be fit, passionate (huh!), enthusiastic, prepared to keep going under any conditions and willing to push their bodies to the limit and beyond... The team has to be prepared to run, kayak, mountain bike, travel across glaciers -- and much more besides! (I'm getting worried about this press release...)

Mar-26: Bedworth is still on

The Bedworth April Fools Day Aquathlon is still on. Details by email from

Children's bikes wanted

The organisers of the Chapel Tri-Stars Triathlon Club in Southampton are looking for children's size racing bikes for their club. Anyone got anything lurking in a shed? Contact by email, he'd love to hear from you.

Sandwell Aquathlon cancelled

The Sandwell Aquathlon on April 8th has been cancelled, although it'snot clear that it's a Foot and Mouth-related issue. For details contact Derek Handley at the Oldbury Tri Club.

New catalogue from TRI UK

The new mail order catalogue from TRI UK features, among other stuff, the new wetsuits from Orca and the new tri-colour triathlon kit that they put forward for the BTA bid. Looks nice, and it will be very interesting to compare it to the Asics kit when that gets released. TRI UK have also secured stocks of the Bento Box and its sister products. What's a Bento Box? It's a really neat little pouch that velcros onto the frame and holds your food! Sounds stupid -- it isn't! We predict that these and the fabulous Seal goggles will be the two things that you'll see everyone with this year. The catalogue is being widely distributed or you can get it via their website.

Mar-25: More events still going ahead

The Wrecsam Sprint Tri on April 29th is on. Both the local Council and NFU have given go ahead and only an outbreak in the local area will stop it. Contact Steve Smith 01978 350576 or

Deal Tri's Dover Spring Aquathlon is definitely taking place on Easter Sunday the 15th April, at The Duke Of York's RM School, Dover. For full information and course maps, plus entry form have a look at their website or just key in "best tri club in the world" into any search engine...

Mar-23: Swindon Duathlon is ON

Lorraine Ferris has confirmed that the Litespeed Swindon Duathlon will be going ahead on May 20th. The Allied Dunbar Centre has confirmed that their grounds, currently closed as a precaution, will be reopening in April. Although the cycle section is on country lanes the local police say there is not a problem with cycling on the roads, as per MAFFs recent directive. For entry forms email .

Salford Triathlon website up

Mark Tweedie has let us know that Salford Triathlon website is up and running.

Mar-22: Hagley Duathlon postponed

The Black Country Triathletes have postponed the Hagley Duathlon from April 8th to October 14th as a result of the Foot and Mouth crisis.

Mar-21: Sevenoaks is on, so please enter...

The Sevenoaks Duathlon (500m swim, 5 mile run) is currently still on for Easter Sunday (Apr-15), but using a new run course to comply with the Foot and Mouth restrictions. However, they have not received many entries and will be forced to cancel if they do not receive further entries. Any questions should be directed to either Mark or Jay on 01892 517040.

BTA gets a virus, did you get it too?

Despite a regular maintainance and anti-virus strategy, the BTA's computer system was infected at the end of last week by the W97M/Titch.D virus. The virus is harmless but hides so that you do not know you have got it and attaches itself to all Word files. The virus is then spread through attachments. The BTA's anti-virus software failed to detect this variant and as only two or three people informed the office that they had received it on e-mails, presumably the anti-virus packages of others has not seen it either. Anyone who has received an e-mail from the association in the last ten days with a Word file attached may well have received the virus even with their anti-virus software running. The BTA had to download a specific patch for this variant from their anti-virus suppliers. You may wish to check your files...

Latest official update on Foot and Mouth

As the Foot and Mouth crisis continues to show no signs of relenting, the impact of the disease on sporting activities is currently being reviewed by the government, to allow some outdoor events to continue.

The new guidelines given by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food (MAFF) bring hope to outdoor sport - "You can't play in the dirt yet, but tarmac is back on the menu." Events that take place on public roads and are not in restricted areas can go ahead. As a courtesy, organisers should liase with their local branch of the NFU and MAFF which details and update the government guidelines on a daily basis. The MAFF helpline is on 0845 0504141.

In response to the problems arising from the crisis, the BTA have offered to pay sanctioning officers travel costs where an event organiser requires an additional visit to be made to re-sanction an event as a result of a Foot and Mouth related change.

Good news for a change

The Hillingdon Duathlon has moved from its traditional home to the Minet Park cycle track (just off the Hayes bypass) and will definitely be on this Sunday. The London Region AGM will follow on afterwards so stick around and help us make decisions about how the region develops now the BTA are funding us properly.

The organisers of the Cambridge Duathlon on 1st April would like to confirm that the event is still on. It's been cleared with the MAFF. There are still plenty of places available and entry forms are available from Iain Stemp, 8 Burkett Way, Impington, Cambridge CB4 9XU Email or from their website

The Lomond Biathlon and Kids Triathlon on Sunday 8th April are also on. The run follows an out-and-back course along the River Leven cycle track from Balloch to Renton so is unaffected by foot-and-mouth restrictions. Similarly, the kids bike and run take place in the park adjacent to the Vale of Leven Swimming Pool. Entry forms - use the Standard Entry Form from the centre of the STA handbook or for a Word97 version with fees (STA/BTA members £6, Non-members £7, Juniors £3, payable to Lomond Tri Club) should be returned by 5th April to Malcolm Minto, 32 Steele Crescent, Balloch G83 8AW or phone 01389 758392

The Human Race's Breakfast Run will stop taking entries on Friday morning and will post a status on their website on Tuesday. Some on-the-day entries may be available but they've had so many they won't know until they've put all the lists on the computer.

Mar-20: Snippets

We mentioned the Dragonslayer Duathlon the other day but got the distances down as kilometres rather than miles. So, it's a 3M 20M 5M race -- sorry!

Mar-19: So, who'll be at Salford then?

Graeme Kempson sent in the following information from the BTA about their plans for elite representation at Salford this year. Why this year, rather than next? Well, the course will be open for any of the Commonwealth Games hopefuls from any of the countries so it makes sense to try out the course in advance -- not to mention that it's the National Championships.

The British World Class Performance Squad, under the direction of recently appointed Performance Director Graeme Maw, are all expected to participate at the 2001 Pre-Commonwealth Games Triathlon Event in and around Salford Quays (including the cities of Trafford and Manchester) on August 12th.

In recent years, date conflicts have prevented many of the top tier of athletes racing both in Britain generally, but in particular at their own Championships. [Actually, there's an ITU race at Yamaguchi in Japan on the same day...] In the last two or three years which led up to the Sydney Olympics, these athletes chased a higher level of international competition as well as a higher World Ranking that would enable them to be eligible for selection for the Olympics.

This year, many of the squad will be chasing selection for their own home country team for the Games in 2002. They will therefore probably need to take advantage of the facility of showing well on the Commonwealth Games course, which could well be part of the selection process for some of the teams.

There have been no announcements of retirement from any Athlete since the Olympics, so the cities of Salford, Trafford and Manchester could well be hosting the Olympic Squad of Brice, Dibens, Dillon, Forrester, Allen, Don, Johns, Lessing as well as up and coming athletes such as Heard, Swallow, Hayes, Freeman, Plews, Challifour. Perhaps ex-World Champion Spencer Smith might return to this race distance and seek selection.

It is highly likely that Commonwealth countries will also be anxious to blood their prospective representatives' for the Games on the course, and send many athletes of their own. Not since the 1993 Manchester World Championships (won by Spencer Smith) will Britain have seen such a quality of field at Olympic distance in this depth. In 2001 though, spectators will be assured of more spectacular viewing. It is a truly mouth watering prospect!

This one's on too, but sheep are banned...

At least one race organiser is maintaining a sense of humour while all around him are losing their events/hair/money... This just came in from Peter Crook!

We have had lots of calls asking if our Hampshire Fire Duathlon at Thruxton on April 8th is still on. Could I ask you to publicise that, following discussions with the airfield and race track, the race is definitely ON. This includes the childrens event on the same day. The whole event takes place on the track, and it is only a short distance from the A303 so there is currently no risk involved with foot and mouth. Although we probably will impose a ban on live sheep as mascots!

It's ON and it's FULL...

The Fontygary Triathlon on April 15 is now FULL. The race is not affected by Foot and Mouth and is still on, the race packs to be mailed out this week. Further details on their website.

Whitcombe continues her winning way

Simon Parker reports that Andrea Whitcombe's triathlon education continued on Sunday at the Anchorage Triathlon in Port Stevens. This was her first Olympic distance race and another victory. She won in the pretty impressive time of 1:58:20. In second position coming out of the water, Andrea passed the leader in transition and then proceeded to head the race to the finish line, recording a time of 35:11 for the run leg.

More cancellations

The East Fife Triathlon on April 15th has been cancelled. The organisers will be arranging refunds and would still like to host an event later in the year, perhaps a midweek evening race over a mini distance course. Anyone interested in such an event should contact .

The Asics Ashbourne Duathlon at Carsington Water on April 1st 2001 has been postponed due both runs being on the footpaths surrounding the reservoir. The new date for the gruelling 12k - 40k - 4k duathlon will be May 20th. The race organisers recognise that there is every chance the problems won't be resolved by this date and have planned a new run course purely on roads so the race can still go ahead. The race is £16 (non BTA). For an entry form or any queries please contact Punishing Events on 01332 513299 or .

The West Wratting off-road duathlon on May 6th is cancelled as it was due to be run on farmland. It may be possible to re-arrange it for later in the year, contact Gordon Riley for information.

Mar-17: Live, at last!

Sigma Sport, the Hampton Wick-based cycling and multisport shop who provide a serious amount of support to both elite and local athletes (and have taken over the running of our Spelthorne Triathlon) have finally got their website live. Why finally? Well, without going into the gory details, just remember folks - when you register a domain name you want to make sure that it's really you that owns the name and not some dodgy ISP who then goes titsup.com and leaves you facing a long battle to get back something that you thought was yours... Go visit, make Ian and Jason's day!

Mar-15: Human Race gets hit too

Yes, even the Human Race catches it with the Foot and Mouth restrictions. At 5.30pm today (Thursday) John Lunt took a call from Hampton Court Palace, who do not want the estimated 2,000 runners going down the towpath on the April 1st Fila Breakfast run for the sake of their 500yr old deer stock. However, the race will still go ahead, it will just be a bit shorter, each lap will only be around 7 miles in length, and will go direct from Kingston bridge to Hampton Court bridge down the A308. New maps and details will go up on the Human Race website in the next 24 hours.

More F&M chaos...

Daz Wilson obviously got a severe talking to from the STA after his pronouncement on the Crichton Duathlon still being on -- it's now postponed until he can find a suitable date... If he can't get one sorted his next event is September 16th.

The British Duathlon Championships at Swansea Valley is ON, definitely! The organisers have re-jigged the run and everyone is happy so there will be something happening on April 29th. If you are planning to stay the night you need to be aware that there's an international rugby match the day before. The organisers are suggesting the Travel Inn at Bagle Brook, Baglan, and The Thistle Hotel Swansea Enterprise Park, both about 15-20 minutes from Pontardawe where the event takes place.

Also still on is the Dragonslayer Duathlon on May 6th. This is a 3M 20M 5M duathlon on a completely traffic-free course and costs £23 for non-BTA members. Showers and ample car-parking are available, entry forms from Dragonslayer, 21 Fieldhouse Close, South Woodford, London E18 2RJ or via email on

Mar-14: Inside Triathlon coming to the UK

When I had the pleasure of working for a California based software company one of the real delights was the fact that my monthly copy of Inside Triathlon used to arrive via the internal mail -- saving me 50% of the cost of subscribing in the UK. Better, in my opinion, than either Triathlete or 220 and highly regarded by others as well, the magazine will be on sale in your local W H Smith on May 3rd. Although still the US magazine, it has apparently had it's coverage of UK and European content extended for the overseas markets. Interestingly, the deal to bring it here was brokered by one James Poole, a name previously associated with the UK edition of Triathlete. More on their website.

Mar-13: Brits racing in Australia

At the ITU Points race in Devenport, Tasmania a clutch of GB athletes finished in the rankings. For the women, Women - Leanda Cave was 5th in 2:04:17 (18:30, 1;06;24, 39:23), Steph Forrester was 6th in 2:04:07 (20:09, 1:08:29, 35:50) and Bella Comerford 11th in 2:11:07 (22:40, 1:11:02, 37:25). Paul Amey started but dropped out either after the swim or on the bike. A race report can be found on the ITU website, these splits came from a report in Triathlon Digest.

Junior selection criteria

The BTA have issued the selection criteria for junior and elite athletes at the European Championships and for the juniors at the World Championships.

European Junior Triathlon Qualification

• Athletes who won individual medals in the European or World Junior championships 2000 will be pre selected.
• Athletes will otherwise be selected from results at the Eton Sprint Triathlon (20th May 2001), such that, if eligible, the winner of the Junior Elite race will be selected, plus other placings in order, up to the allotted Team number, allowing for the situations described below. (Athletes wishing to be considered for selection to European championships should enter as a Junior Elite competitor.)
• Athletes whose performance at Eton was influenced by a pre-declared illness (declared to BTA medical officer), or mechanical failure, can nominate results from the British Junior Championships (Terrapin Triathlon 10th June), providing they finish this race within 1:04 hours (male) or 1:09 hours (female).

World Junior Triathlon Qualification

• Athletes who won individual medals in the European or World Junior championships 2000 will be pre selected.
• Athletes placing in the top 10 at the 2001 European Junior championships will also be selected.
• Athletes will otherwise be selected from results at the Pembrokeshire Triathlon (30th June 2001), based on placings, up to the allotted Team number. Providing they finish this race within 2:05 hours (male) or 2:15 hours (female).

European Championships Senior Selection Criteria, 2001

• The top 3 ranked British triathletes on the ITU Points Table at year end 2000 pre qualify for the European Championships team.
• Other places will then be determined from 2 selection races (Funchal ITU race, May 13 and Zundert ITU race, June 4) as follows:
• An athlete placing top 3 at Funchal or winning at Zundert will be automatically selected, provided they are eligible. Remaining places, if any, would be chosen on a count back system, considering the athlete's best position, with preferential consideration given to placings at Funchal. [Rationale: The Funchal course is a similar profile to the European Champs, so needs bias towards it, as is therefore one we will fund WC athletes to. The Zundert race is of similar standard and easily accessible from the UK, so would give those WC athletes still uncertain after Funchal another opportunity, while giving those unfunded a chance to make their claims at low cost (they obviously could also fund themselves to both).]
• Teams for the Team Time Trials will be selected from the same 2 races by selection committee on developmental grounds, but will only be selected if they have the potential to medal. No athlete racing the individual race who is also likely to race the 2001 World Championships will be considered for the Team Time Trial.

Mar-12: Dan Empfield sums it all up

There's an especially well-balanced piece on the political gunfight that's been taking place between the ITU, ETU, TCE, et al on Dan Empfield's Triathlon Live website. If you want a rather fuller view on the picture, as compared to the purely BTA domestic issues, then it's worth a read.

Bobby Brown finishes in Australia

An email from Dave Bellingham gives us the news that Bobby Brown has now completed his Perth to Canberra running race. He finished seventh, completing the 4,355 kilometres 473 hours over 63 days -- none of these were rest days. The winer was a Russian called Kruglikov who took 305 hours. What's Bob's next challenge? Training to be a primary school teacher!

Crichton is still on

Race organiser Daz Wilson mailed the Scottish triathlon eGroup regarding the Foot and Mouth crisis and his duathlon.

Mar-09: Whitcombe wins

British Olympic 5000m runner Andrea Whitcombe followed up her third place last month with an easy victory last Sunday in her second triathlon of the year in Shoalhaven, Australia. Whitcombe completed the run nearly two minutes ahead in 1:27:17.

No stranger to high class international competition, Andrea has represented GB in the IAAF World Cross Country and European Championships and achieved a surprise Commonwealth 5000m silver medal in 1998. Last summer, Andrea smashed her personal best time over 5000m by 10 seconds with a 15:32.62 performance. She was rewarded with a place in the GB Sydney Olympic team.

Post Olympics, Whitcombe vowed to focus on triathlon. Her obvious talent and recent form suggests that the move has been an easy transition for her. Another former athlete, Scotland's Caroline Wallace also gave a promising performance amongst the Australians in Shoalhaven, finishing 4th in an overall time of 1:30:47. In the mens race Chris Lee placed 3rd in 1:18:26.

Mar-07: Handbook is out, equality explained

BTA HQ have informed us that the Handbook for 2001 is now available and should shortly be with the membership. If you're not a member and want a copy it will cost you £6 from BTA HQ, PO Box 26, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire LE65 2ZR

It's also interesting to note that a recent discussion on the eGroup about the "equality" questions on the BTA membership form has been rapidly answered by the following statement:

The membership scheme to join the BTA is currently also being used to monitor the ethnic backgrounds of participants attracted to triathlon and duathlon.

There have been a number of comments relating to the information requested on the BTA membership form and specifically as to why this information has been requested. The new form asks members to provide information on their ethnic origin, gender, and also to notify whether they are registered as disabled.

An effective equal opportunities policy necessitates the collection of information about members to assess the number of people from various backgrounds who are involved within the sport.

The BTA would like to stress that all information will be confidential and is used for statistical purposes only. The data will be used to assess the current situation so that measures to address any imbalances may be taken if necessary.

"All national governing bodies funded by the government are required to ask this information, and to produce and implement an Equity Policy. As an organisation that is committed to ensuring triathlon is a sport for all, and one which depends on government funding, we hope that our members will support this equal opportunities practice. For those members who are opposed to providing this information there is no obligation to complete this part of the form" stated Carole Billington-Ray.

If anyone would like more information on the BTA Equity Policy please email Carole at [email protected] or call the BTA HQ.

Keilder Forest duathlon cancelled

notifications that the run and mountain bike duathlon at Keilder Forest on the March 31st has been cancelled due to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

London Region AGM

The AGM for the London Region will be held at 10.30am on the 25th March 2001 at Minet Park Cycle Track, Springfield Road, Southall. The meeting will take place immediately after the end of the Hillingdon Tristars Duathlon, which takes place at 9.30am. Please note that the venue of this duathlon has moved from the Hillingdon Outdoor Activity Centre owing to the Foot and Mouth outbreak.

All London Region BTA members are welcome, and an official representative of each of the London based clubs can have free entry to the Duathlon. The formal part of the meeting will be fairly short, and will include election of the officials. Each of the positions is available, and applications are invited.

For further information on the AGM or the Race contact: [email protected].

PS Remember that British Summer Time starts on the 25th March!

Mar-06: BTA statement on Foot & Mouth

The BTA has taken advice from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Maff) regarding the holding of events during the Foot and Mouth outbreak and issued the following statement today.

Orders are in place that restrict public access to agricultural land and buildings, to close public footpaths and bridleways, and to restrict the movement of any person in and out of an infected area. Event organisers wishing to find out if there are restrictions in their area can call the Foot and Mouth Helpline on 0845 0504141 (local rate), or contact their local authority, or local animal health welfare office. They can also access the information online.

Individuals out training on foot or bike should not cross into a restricted area. Apart from the potential of spreading the disease, you will receive a considerable fine if you are caught doing so and are prosecuted.

As triathlon and duathlon events being held at this time are mainly local events, the BTA would encourage organisers to take advice from their local authority. Event organisers are urged by the Ministry to err on the side of caution and cancel or postpone events which involve large numbers of people travelling from different parts of the country.

The association intends to keep the situation under review and will consider its future policy should this crisis deepen.

The BTA has received enquiries regarding whether our insurance policy covers the cancellation of events. The BTA's insurance provides event organisers who are members of the association with Civil Liability cover to pay damages in respect of claims arising out of the conduct of the organiser made against the insured. It also provides legal liability for the claimants associated costs and expenses. Event organisers would need to take out additional cover if they wished to insure against their event being cancelled. (Our emphasis!)

Mar-05: BTA Executive Board accept resignations

Norman Brook, Chief Executive of the British Triathlon Association, has confirmed that the resignation of Mick English as Chairman was accepted at their meeting held in Milton Keynes yesterday (Sunday, 4 March 2001). He stated "The Executive Board wish to thank Mick English for his considerable work on behalf of this association as its Chairman over the past two and a quarter years. We hope he will remain active in the sport and trust that he will continue to promote the best interests of British Triathlon."

The association's Vice Chairman, David Bellingham, will chair future meetings of the Executive Board and will represent the association on formal occasions. The association's Honorary Treasurer, Andzej Warhaftig, will assume responsibility for working with the Chief Executive on day to day business matters.

Referring to the Triathlon Council in Europe, Brook stated "The British Triathlon Association has no plans to attend future meetings of this group. The group has not been established as a membership organisation and British Triathlon Association is not in membership of this group. The association will continue its membership of both the European Triathlon Union and the International Triathlon Union and we will work with all other European National Federations to encourage harmony between the European and World Governing Bodies."

The meeting also formally accepted the resignation of Adem Mehmet who had intimated his wish to step down from the Board back in February.

We had hoped that the Executive would have issued a statement on racing and Foot & Mouth, the STA issued one on Saturday, but we have had no response to our mail requesting information. With the large number of running races being affected and events like the Dyfi Dash already being cancelled in Wales, it's an organisers' worst nightmare. A clear statement from the BTA, and perhaps a clear indication of whether the BTA's insurance covers event cancellation would probably calm a few nerves!

Mar-04: Mick English steps down as Chairman

Mick English has confirmed that he has offered his resignation as Chairman of the British Triathlon Association to its Executive Board which is meeting in Milton Keynes today (Sunday Mar-04). It is not yet clear what steps the BTA will take to fill the Chair but it does seem that the political wrangling of the last three months has finally come to an end, at least at a domestic level.

In a statement released through the BTA today, Mick English said "During my time as Chairman, I have sacrificed my personal business in order to push through the changes that the Executive Board agreed were essential for the development of our sport. I have acted at all times with the best interests of the sport in mind and with the support of the Executive Board. However, the ongoing public criticism has, and is continuing to prevent the BTA from achieving the goals set by the Chief Executive, agreed by the Executive Board and communicated to the membership at the AGM in November when I was re-elected as Chairman, from being achieved. I believe the achievement of these objectives is essential for the sport of triathlon to grow within the UK. Whilst I will continue to support the various proposed initiatives through my involvement in triathlon at grass routes level, as I have done for the last 20 years, it seems my continued Chairmanship of the BTA is hampering the sports future development. I am not prepared to let this happen and have today offered my resignation to the Executive Board of the BTA."

"Over the past three months I have been the subject of criticism over my involvement in the Triathlon Council of Europe and concerning my working relationship with the athletes and staff on the World Class programme. This has attracted publicity, which has not been in the best interests of this association at a time when the sport should be building on its new-found status as an Olympic sport."

"My decision has been made easier by the success of the Triathlon Council in Europe (TCE), a pressure group aimed at encouraging the European Triathlon Union (ETU) to work with the International Triathlon Union (ITU) on their constitutions and rules. Progress towards the aims of this group was made last week with the ETU agreeing to meet the ITU, under the patronage of the IOC, with a view to harmonising constitutions and rules. It is in the sport's best interest that the ETU and ITU recognise each other and that they operate under a common set of rules. I believe that this achievement answers the criticism of the formation of the TCE."

"During my Chairmanship, I successfully recruited a high profile Chief Executive in Norman Brook and a top class Performance Director in Graeme Maw, who will position our elite athletes in order to improve their performance at the next Olympic Games. I have also endeavoured to work for the thousands of age group participants in our sport, in particular encouraging increased numbers and standards of races throughout the UK."

"I also felt it was important that the BTA had international influence and a seat at the table of the world governing body that has, under the leadership of Les MacDonald, ensured that triathlon has a secure future within the Olympic family."

Mick English was elected to the Executive Board of the International Triathlon Union in 2000 for a four-year period and remains President of the TCE.

Simon Lessing, speaking on behalf of the association's international athletes following Mr English's decision stated: "Mick's decision addresses our concerns and we no longer have any issues with him. Despite our differences over the TCE and the World Class Programme, we recognise that Mick has contributed enormously to the sport as coach, manager, event organiser and official. We hope he will continue to be involved in the sport and that through time the relations we previously enjoyed with him may be restored."

BTA Chief Executive, Norman Brook, commented "Mick English has been involved in the sport of triathlon since the early 1980's and has made a considerable contribution to the development of British Triathlon. We hope that he will not be lost to the sport."

Mar-03: Brits race in South Africa

With most of the GB athletes out at Stellenbosch for winter training it was expected that they would have a go at the South African Triathlon Championships.

Tim Don placed first in 1:57:06 (18:16, 1:02:47, 35:17), Marc Jenkins was second in 1:58:04 (18:24, 1:02:45, 36:05), Stuart Hayes 6th in 2:00:49 (18:22, 1:02:41, 38:53), and Craig Twigg ninth in 2:02:29 (19:06, 1:03:09, 39:18). For the ladies, Michelle Dillon placed second in 2:15:05 and Anneliese Heard was third in 2:15:49 -- no splits available.

Mar-02: Tough Ten and Reading Half cancelled

The Tough Ten running race organised by the Finch Coasters and due to be held this Sunday (Mar-04) is the latest victim of the Foot and Mouth outbreak. Anyone down to do the race should look at their website for details.

Next weekend's Reading Half Marathon with 6,500 runners has also been wiped out. Check out the Runner's World website for details.

Eurosport drops triathlon

According to a new item on Kjerag.com, Eurosport is to drop its coverage of the ITU World Cup in 2001. Worse still, their coverage of the European Cup series is also likely to be dropped. Vincent Chupin, Eurosport's head of acquisitions, is quoted as saying that the current disputes involving the ITU make it "very difficult for television to work with the sport". What do we get instead? Beach volleyball...

Eurosport are also supposed to be unhappy with the format of the programmes from last year's ITU World Cup and we have to say that we understand their concern. The amount of triathlon actually shown, as opposed to flashy editing and irrelvant comment, was decreasing rapidly. It isn't clear whether this move also applies to the Hawaii Ironman which Eurosport normally sources from NBC and then re-dubs.

Coming so soon after Channel 4's decision to drop the Tour de France it looks like the TV is going to get minimal use this summer...

Feb-28: Asics reply

I got the following email from Dean Jackson of Asics -- he actually sent it from a snowdrift in Scotland!

The GB kit deal for triathlon is for Asics a major exciting venture. Our involvement in triathlon goes back some 13 years and we are most excited at finally being able to supply the worlds most enthusiastic country of triathletes. Our sponsorship deal encompasses free kit, reduced prices and a significant remuneration to the BTA in order that the future of triathlon is secured.

Yes, we do sponsor three tri teams and due to the BTA kit investment each sponsorship deal with the three teams has been significantly cut (the pit is not bottomless). Myself being a triathlete for 17 years has meant I have met many acquaintances throughout the sport and although my friends work within the teams we sponsor I am sure everyone would agree I risk losing these friendships by my commercial decision to reduce local triathlon sponsorship.

We will endeavour to improve on the service given by Speedo and with the technical input of British elite and age group athletes on the product we are sure we can deliver our promises.

No transition is easy as all of us know. Our ankles have been vaselined, our lace locks are in place, and we are set for a speedy, trouble free transition.

Dyfi Dash Triathlon cancelled

The Dyfi Dash on March 18th has been cancelled due to the Foot and Mouth outbreak. The livestock movement restictions are in place right up to the event date and the organisers (Paul Feely and Cerist Tri) wish to work with the authorities to limit any possible spread which may be caused by the influx of a large numbers of competitors into the area.

We are sure everyone will understand and support their decision.

Feb-27: Total Immersion swim camp

There is the chance of a Total Immersion weekend workshop at the Institute of Sport, Cardiff on the weekend of 31st March / 1st April if sufficient people are interested. Senior TI Coach, Barbara Tomchim will be over here to lead the workshop, which will be marketed at the rates shown on the TI website. If anyone is interested interested please reply direct to

BTA confirms Asics kit deal

The following (edited) statement just came in from the BTA.

Norman Brook, Chief Executive of the British Triathlon Association, confirmed today that the association has agreed a two year sponsorship deal with Asics. Asics will become official suppliers of the Great Britain Triathlon Team apparel and will provide support to the sport at both elite and grassroots levels.

Brook confirmed that full details of the sponsorship would be announced next month at the launch of the new Great Britain Team Kit. "Asics are currently developing the new range of kit in consultation with some of our elite and age group internationals. I am confident that the new kit will be given a good reception by all internationals and that the other activities we have planned will involve all of our members in this new partnership with Asics."

The sponsorship has been agreed with Asics UK Limited a subsidiary of the Asics International, one of the Worlds leading sports brands. Dean Jackson, Marketing Manager, Asics UK Limited stated that "Asics are proud to be the official kit suppliers to the British Triathlon Association and would like to take this opportunity to wish them well in the year ahead."

When Speedo pulled out of the triathlon kit buiness last year there were known to be just two suppliers in the running -- quite who they were was a "secret", at least until Mick English told attendees at the BTA AGM! Most of the people we've spoken to were very keen on the idea of having Orca (the other candidate) as their kit has built a pretty good reputation and there didn't seem to be the supply problems that had always been associated with Speedo. One source told us that Orca had committed to providing two years worth of kit on day one and it was going to be in national colours as opposed to their trademark black and white. Conversely, we haven't yet heard a positive word from athletes about Asics kit -- they haven't had that much of a profile in the sport up to now. UPDATE: we've just been reminded that Asics provided support and sponsorship for the Multisports team and several age groupers (thanks to Catherine Hughes/Richard Puxty for that, how could we have forgotten the black, white and yellow strip?) during the years 1996 to 1998. Does anyone know if this deal is still going, the club website seems to indicate that it is?]

There are no firm indications as to what the sponsorship deal entails: we seriously doubt that there is any actual money involved. If Asics can deiver good quality kit that suits the athletes who have to pay for it (as opposed to the elite, who generally don't) and don't switch the colours so the age groupers need to buy new every year then they'll be doing as well as Speedo. Any further support for the sport in terms of getting kit into the clubs or providing financial backing for the age group athletes will be a bonus but, based on previous experience with Speedo, it's unlikely.

Feb-26: Mudman moves!

Owing to one of those nightmares that all race organisers dread -- in this case the venue double booked itself -- Saturday's FILA Mudman will now be on Sunday instead. Absolutely nothing to do with Foot and Mouth (more a case of foot in mouth this time!) and John Lunt's Human Race crew are making herculean efforts to contact all the 300+ competitors by email and snail mail as well as internet sites like his and ours to let them know of the change. So, if you know of someone who's doing the event please let them know that the whole thing is going to be 24 hours late... But then, after waiting for the birth of his second son, John's used to major events being a bit delayed!

Feb-25: ETU EGM in Vienna

All sorts of news out of the ETU's extraordinary congress in Vienna this weekend - mainly being reported by Steven Downes in Katherine William's Digest and then re-used with permission on the ETU website. Looks like Norman Brook was voted onto a commission to re-draft the ETU's constitution in the light of the recent ITU / ETU meetings that were brokered by the IOC. The ITU is doing the same thing to its own constitution; who knows, we may end up with the same rules / age groups / etc... Wouldn't that be an idea!

Anyway, it's worth reading if you want a clear(er) view of what the various National Federations have been up to this weekend on your behalf. We just went on a Robin Brew training weekend in the expectation that nothing too significant would happen as far as the age groupers were concerned. I'll bet we're a lot more knackered than the delegates!

Feb-22: The elite saga drags on...

Another message from comes from the elite in response to Mick English's last pronouncements... When will this end?

On December 12th 2000 a group of elite athletes headed by Simon Lessing, Sian Brice, Julian Jenkinson and Annie Emmerson petitioned the BTA for the resignation of the Chairman Mick English. Productive negotiations with the BTA Executive Board followed and a compromise was struck whereby, amongst other concessions, Mr English agreed to step down from his post as Chair of the BTA in November 2001.

For reasons unknown, Mr English has receded on this agreement. Further, Mr English has publicly threatened that the athletes who originally voiced their concerns will shortly be hearing from his solicitor. We can only assume that Mr English the Chairman of the British Triathlon Association plans to take legal action against the athletes that he, at present, represents. We are unaware as to whether this possible legal action is a personal vendetta or if Mr English is acting in his official capacity with the support of the BTA.

The athletes find Mr English's behaviour outrageous and insulting. They have at all times acted professionally voicing their concerns over Mr English's behaviour through the correct channels at Executive Board Level. Further, many hours of negotiations followed to try and find a compromise which would be the least damaging for British Triathlon. The possibility of the Chairman of the British Triathlon Association taking legal action against its members for voicing their concerns in an official manner should be very concerning for all.

The athletes representatives confirm that they in no way support Mr English. Further they wish to publicly distance themselves from any further actions that he may take in his official position as Chairman of the British Triathlon Association.

We will continue to support the BTA as our governing body and hope that they will shortly resolve this worrying situation for the good of ALL the members.

Julian Jenkinson, Simon Lessing, Sian Brice, Annie Emmerson on behalf of the athletes.

Feb-21: Snippets

Entry forms for the 2001 Rower's Revenge Triathlon are now available on their website

One or two events have taken the plunge with online race entry, John Lunt's Mudman is up on kjerag.com, but after years of talking we now have a homegrown service from Simon Parker called www.onlineraceentry.com (now defunct...). At the moment it just has Fontygary but they are hoping that the service will expand.

The Cambridge Triathletes website is back up following a system failure and now carries entry forms for their duathlon on April 1st.

If you thought that the ITU had gone quiet on the World Duathlon Championships in Rimini then you're only partly right. A delegation is due to visit and discuss a number of issues -- including the date!

Feb-19: Catriona Morrison storms New Zealand

Richard Jennings sends us more news of a Scottish triathlete competing in NZ. Catriona Morrison placed first woman in the NZ Seletion Race at Taupo, first woman in the NZ Sprint Distance Championship at New Plymouth, and first woman at the Wellington Sprint Champs. To finish, she placed fourth at the NZ National Olympic Distance.

Mick English's response to the elite

We received the following email from Mick English tonight. In a telephone conversation he confirmed that the letter will be going out the the elite athletes named within the next day. It looks like an already poor situation is about to get a whole lot worse.

Dear Simon Lessing, Andrew Johns, Julian Jenkinson, Sian Brice, Michelle Dillon, Julie Dibbens, Anneliese Heard, Richard Allen, Annie Emmerson, Jo Hinde, Linda Spencer, Stuart Hayes, Dan Hayes, Nigel Leighton, Duncan McKerracher, Stuart Ashley, Richard Stannard, Mike Canning, James Rich, Mark Dixon, Andy Rossiter.

This letter is to inform you that unless you can substantiate the accusations you have laid against me, I give you this opportunity to withdraw them within the next 14 days. This must be hand written and signed which must reach me no later that the 6th March 2001.

If not the next letter you will receive regarding this matter will come from my solicitor.

Mick English

Feb-18: Manchester 2002, a call for volunteers

It may well be over a year away but planning for the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester is already at the detail level. The following message came in to us for publication and we hope that some of you may be able to respond.

Next year Manchester will host the XVII Commonwealth Games, starting on 25th July, and culminating on 4th August. The top male and female triathletes will race on the final day at Salford Quays, at what is expected to be the most spectated event of the Games.

15,000 volunteers are needed for the Games as a whole, and a couple of hundred will be required to marshal the triathlon itself. As well as getting the satisfaction of helping this great event go well, and seeing top triathletes in action, volunteers will get an official Commonwealth Games uniform. It is hoped that many of these volunteers will be experienced triathletes, preferably those who are familiar with the course through having volunteered at the Pre Games Event on 12th August this year.

Volunteers need to be over 16 by 1st December this year, but there is no upper age limit, and they should live within daily travelling distance of Manchester. Because of the need to marshal the Pre Games event, recruitment for triathlon marshals is starting now, and anyone who is interested in volunteering both in 2001 and 2002 should contact Janine White on 01244 682490 or . Please let Janine know your name, address and phone number (and email if you have one), date of birth and occupation, and any special skills or experience (including sport related or volunteering experience).

Feb-16: Elite athletes vote "no confidence" in Mick English

We obtained this statement from Simon Lessing through Katherine Williams, we've yet to see anything official from the BTA.

On the 12 December, 2000 twenty-one British elite, and World Class Performance triathletes submitted the following vote of non-confidence to the British Triathlon Association Executive Board. Amongst those to sign the vote of non-confidence were the likes of Andrew Johns, Sian Brice, Simon Lessing, Michelle Dillon, Richard Allen, Julie Dibens, Julian Jenkinson, Annie Emmerson and Richard Stannard.

To the British Triathlon Association Executive Board,

The following Great Britain athletes wish to express a vote of no confidence in the British Triathlon Association Chairperson, Mick English, for the follow reasons:

• His destructive and negative attitude to all those involved in the World Class Performance plan (WCPP)
• His totally unprofessional approach in allowing his personal views to interfere with his role as chairperson, in particular his verbal abuse directed at or about certain athletes and members of staff
• His obvious inability to acknowledge any success and, indeed, the great progress that has been achieved by the WCPP staff and athletes over the last two years
• His proactive involvement in the newly formed Triathlon Council for Europe without at any time consulting the athletes (i.e. the people most affected by such actions)
• His complete alienation of himself from the athletes due to his poor communication skills and extremely rash and inappropriate behaviour leading to an unworkable situation

Signed by the British Triathlon Association Elite Triathletes.

After two months of time-consuming negotiations with the executive board they have recently issued the athletes with the following letter.

On the 12 December 2000 we received from you and twenty other athletes of international standard, members of the British Triathlon Association, a petitioned calling for the resignation of the Association's Chairman, Mr. Mick English.

In response to your letter representatives of the Executive Board met in January with four international athletes representing your group to discuss with them your concerns. At this meeting the representatives of the Board were informed that you felt relations between the athletes and the Chairman had dropped to an unworkable level and they no longer wished to align themselves with the approach being taken by Mr English and that the formation of the Triathlon Council in Europe and involvement in the management of the World-Class programme were of particular concern.

As a consequence of this meeting and further communication I have had with the Chairman and your representatives, I can confirm that the Executive Board has agreed to the following measures which we believe address the concerns which have been raised through your representatives

1. Mick English, Chairman of the British Triathlon Association, having noted the concerns of the athletes has agreed to stand down from his position at the next Annual General Meeting of the Association and to seek re-election for the final year of his period in office. He was elected in November 2000 to serve a two-year term as Chairman. In doing so he will enable the membership to either confirm his position or to elect an alternative Chairman.
2. The Executive Board agree that Associations international policy has the most far-reaching effects specifically on its elite athletes and it is essential that they should be represented at meetings which determine such policy, by more than just the Chairman. The Board has agreed that the Chief Executive should attend future Congresses of the European Triathlon Union (ETU) and International Triathlon Union (ITU) along with the Chairman and any other nominees. The Association's delegates to such policy making Congresses will act in accordance with the Association's policies and will agree collectively on our response to issues not previously decided by the Executive Board. Sian Brice, the International athletes' representative has been nominated to attend the Extraordinary Congress of the ETU, to be held later this month, along with the Board's other nominees in order that the athletes concerns may be voiced.
3. Graeme Maw, Performance Director and Norman Brook, Chief Executive, will take full responsibility for the day to day management of the World Class Programmes including communication with both staff and athletes. The Chairman will no longer communicate directly with the athletes or performance staff on performance issues other than through the senior management team.
4. A full voting position on the Executive Board has been allocated to an International athlete representative. Olympian, Sian Brice, will act as the Pro-tem international athlete representative and attend future meetings of the Executive Board. A process will be put in place to enable current Internationals to elect a representative. Due to competition and training demands, the athlete representative will be able to call upon an alternate when they are out of the country.
5. The Executive Board has listened to the athlete's view that British Triathlon should not be associated with the TCE and considers these views important as international matters mostly affect athletes of international standard. They have noted that the athletes hold the view that the Association should have no further involvement with the TCE. The Executive Board has confirmed that the association is not in membership of the TCE and has in recent statements has urged this group to pursue their aims through established democratic process within the ETU.

The Executive Board has received assurances from the Chairman, Mick English, that he intends to fully abide by these measures and you have our assurance as an Executive Board that we ensure that they are actioned appropriately.

We hope that you will now feel able to concentrate on the important matter of achieving excellence in international competition this summer

Yours Sincerely

Norman D Brook Chief Executive

The athletes will shortly be issuing a full statement outlining the details of these current events. We will also express our views and future intentions regarding this matter.

On behalf of the British athletes representatives.

Simon Lessing MBE

Feb-14: Clearing up more BTA confusion

Judging by the growing crop of events making erroneous claims about their status, it looks like making the position of Events Co-ordinator redundant at BTA HQ was not the smartest move... The lastest event to make claims that it can't live up to is the Hereford Duathlon. This is definitely NOT a qualifier for Rimini and the organiser has now been asked to re-print his entry forms and to take the reference off their website. The two qualifiers are definitely only Swansea Valley on April 29 and Swindon on May 20. As for when the Rimini race will actually take place -- the ITU's still out on that one!

Quite whether Brighton will also have to reprint its 60,000 forms (see earlier news item) is not clear.

Feb-11: WTA announce Tour of Wales Challenge

The WTA have sent details of their annual series of events around the country. Sponsored by TRI UK it includes prizes such as bike frames, wet suits, warm weather training, televisions, and microwave ovens! The registration fee of £15 includes one year membership to WTA with all the usual benefits, WTA Triathlon Magazine, a Tour of Wales gift worth £15 and discounted hotel rates, rail, ferry and air travel discounts.

Dates confirmed in the series include:

• Dyffi Dash 18th March
• Chirk Sprint 29th April
• Rhondda Tri 27th May
• Brecon Tri 9th June
• Newtown Tri 15th July
• Benbigh Sprint 12th August
• Bro Dyffi 19th August
• UK Half Ironman, Llanberis 9th September
• Bala 23rd September

Registration forms and further information can be obtained from World Masters Marketing UK, 25 Llwyn Menlli, Ruthin, Denbighshire LL15 1RG or email

Snippets

Entry forms for the Hereford Duathlon are now up on their website.

Feb-11: More racing in Oz

It's not just the Scottish who have their athletes down in Australia for the Winter. Simon Parker reports from Sydney that Andrea Whitcombe finished 3rd in the LAPD Sprint. Apparently the weather was "typically British; wet and cold for summer in Sydney (18C)". He also says that "when Andrea 'learns' how to ride a bike, things are going to start getting interesting."... Sounds like someone to keep an eye on.

Feb-10: Triathlete running across Australia

We haven't mentioned this one before, don't know why, but here's an update from Dave Bellingham on the progress of Bob Brown in the TransAustralia Foot Race.

Bob Brown, Britain's leading ultra triathlete, has passed half way in the TransAustralia Foot Race from Perth to Canberra.

24 athletes started on Jan-06 running 60km plus a day. Sadly the top Aussie ultra runner, Bryan Smith, died a few days ago in the race and 8 have dropped out. Russia's Kruglikov is leading with 167 hrs at an average speed of 13 km per hour. Bob Brown is 8th on 243 hrs and running strongly.

Feb-08: Sally Edwards seminars

If you've got a heart rate monitor then the chances are pretty strong that you've seen one of Sally Edwards HRM coaching or training books. Sally Edwards is coming to the UK and is presenting 8 seminars specifically for athletes and triathletes in March at various David Lloyd Leisure Centres.

She will be in Edinburgh on the 4th, 6th and 7th March , Bolton on the 11th, 13th, 14th March, Birmingham on the 18th, 20th, 21st March and Raynes Park on the 25th, 27th, 28th March. For more information contact Lorraine Brown, Heart Zones UK, Suite 303, 235 Earls Court Road, London SW5 9FE or ring (020) 7773 326667. She can also be contacted by or their website.

GB athletes abroad

From Katherine's TriDigest comes more news of the various elite squads training down in Australia. At the Brisbane supersprint (400m 15k 4k) on Feb-4: Kevin Clark second in 41:33, Nigel Leighton 10th in 43:34 while for the women Bella Comerford was 5th in 46:40, Leanda Cave sixth in 46:47, Leslie Paterson seventh in 47:38, Caroline Wallace ninth in 48:33 and Beth Saddler twelth in 49:09. Looks like the Scots really are having fun Down Under...

Race clarification, and confusion...

You thought that the ITU World Duathlon dates had been sorted out? Looks like someone still hasn't quite made up their mind yet! We got the following email via Jasmine Flatters (GB Age Group Team Manager):

I have just received this message and I thought you would all be interested to see it! It is straight from the "horse's mouth" ~ Ugo Fabbri is the Rimini race organiser.

We await the next instalment of this continuing saga...

Jasmine

 
From: rimini2001 
To: Jasmine Flatters 
Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2001 7:45 PM
Subject: Re: Rimini World Duathlon Champs 2001

Ugo, I have read that you are being asked by the ITU
to change your date to September 2. Is this true? 
When will the date be confirmed?

I would appreciate your answers as soon as possible 
and I look forward to many communications with you 
between now and September. I hope to bring a big team 
from Great Britain to race in Rimini. 

...................

Dear Jasmine,
at this time, nothing is changed: the only one ITU 
Official Release gave the W.C. to Rimini on the date 
that Rimini requested. Please look at the ITU Official 
Calendar too.

And, in case you thought that the ITU were the only people who couldn't get things sorted out... ...the entry forms for the Brighton Triathlon say that the event is a qualifier for the ITU World Championships in 2002 -- both for age groupers and elite! This probably isn't the case as, to start with, the elite have to qualify through the ITU ranking system and Brighton isn't an ITU event. For the age groupers, as the World Champs in 2002 won't be until November in Cancun it's highly likely that the qualifiers will take place in 2002 rather than a whole year previously. The situation in 2000/2001 was confused by the Olympics and is not the normal state of affairs.

Feb-05: BTA Sprint Championships date clash

It looks as though Saturday's BTA Executive meeting was stormy enough that nobody really bothered about the obvious date clash between the Sprint Championships at Clumber Park and Gullane (both on the 25th of August) and London on the 26th of August.

Talking of the BTA and race dates, we now have the whole calendar for 2001 but it's in a totally different format to ours so it will be a day or two before it gets added to our calendar. Interestingly enough we already know of several date changes that they don't appear to have... More on this when I've got the dates disentangled.

Feb-03: Human Race increases by one (again!)

In an effort to provide sufficient Technical officials for the 2035 ITU (Intergalactic Triathlon Union) Intergalactic Triathlon Championships on Mars, Human Race has instigated a development program to create officials. The process started two and half years ago [Ed, that's a lot of practice...] and the second phase began at 4.35 am this morning. (the 3rd Feb 01, (DoB.3,2,1)).

John's wife Nicola gave birth to another bouncing boy, 9lbs, 3oz (4,162 Kg) in Kingston hospital. Both are fine, the boy is still to be named. Parents were hoping for a girl to assist in the admin of the above championships... Technical CVs and photos are available on request.

Feb-01: Northern Region news

Two upcoming events in the Northern Region that they have asked us to publicise:

1. Northern Region AGM and presentation of awards for the North Grands Prix 2000 will be on Tuesday 6th March at County Hall Durham, 7.00pm
2. Inaugural Northern Region Triathlon Seminar will be held on Saturday 17th March at Springs Health Centre, Sunderland, 9.00am - 4.30pm. Speakers include Jack Maitland and John Mills and it costs £5. Further details from Jem Lawson: .

Jan-30: London has changed hands

As we predicted a few days ago, The London Triathlon has recently been bought by Sponsorship Bureau International (SBI). SBI is planning to invest in establishing the event as one of the World's leading triathlons and a major national event.

John Raadschelders, from Holland and best known for his involvement with PowerMan, has been appointed Race Director. He welcomed SBI's ownership of the event and commented, "I am extremely pleased to have a renowned company such as SBI managing and promoting the event and look forward to working with them to continue to build the profile of the sport."

Improvements to the route are already being investigated in order to take in some of the major landmarks of London; a new host venue, ExCeL (Royal Victoria Dock) has been contracted providing improved facilities for triathletes. The organisers hope the event will attract a better Elite field and thus obtain greater broadcast coverage and sponsorship.

For further information on this years race and an entry form, visit their website or call (020) 7559 2929.

We were interested to see no mention in the press release about Phil Templar, or indeed any mention of Esprit who have promoted the event in previous years. UPDATE: We believe that taking on this event cost SBI something in the region of £500,000 -- who said that triathlon couldn't be profitable?

Will they make up their minds?

Looks like the reports that the ITU Duathlon Championships were going to stay at Sep-16 may have been premature! In today's Triathlon Digest there's a piece from John Raadschelders (yes, him again...), chair of the ITU Duathlon Committee, stating: "The race, prematurely announced last August for September 16 in Rimini, Italy, will NOT be on September 16 after all. It is tentatively set for September 2 in Rimini. Apologies for the confusion."

BTA wants more coaches

The following press release came in from the BTA today.

The World Class Start and Potential Programmes

British Triathlon has secured backing from the Sport England lottery fund, to identify and support talented young triathletes with the long term potential to produce World Class results. The funding will support the development of a triathlon World Class Start and World Class Potential' Programme.

The 'Start' Programme will be aimed at identifying talented athletes aged 12 to 16 and providing guidance and support with the early development of their performance. The 'Potential' Programme will build on the foundations of World Class Start, developing performers to an International standard.

A range of support will be available to athletes identified through the Start and Potential Programmes including training camps, coaching, medical screening and treatment, sports science services, and representation at appropriate competition. In addition to this a grant scheme will operate to support athletes training costs.

World Class Coaching Support Team

British Triathlon is looking to appoint five World Class Coaches to support the regional delivery of the Start and Potential Programmes. The role will include identifying talented athletes at appropriate sites, running athlete assessments and supporting a regional World Class squad. Coaches will also be expected to support the national World Class Squads at camps and competition as required. An ongoing scheme of Professional development will support the appointed candidates in delivering coaching to appropriate standards.

An Honorarium of £1000 per annum will be paid to each coach. Any coaching carried out to support the World Class squads will be paid, and expenses will be covered for reasonable costs incurred.

Applicants should mail their CV with a covering letter to Judith Brand at British Triathlon Association, PO Box 26, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leics LE65 2ZR. The covering letter should also detail local facilities that are available to you for the delivery of World Class athletes support. If you would like to discuss the post further please do not hesitate to get in touch with Paul Buxton on 01494 431 326 or 07974 450 883. Applications should be mailed to British Triathlon no later than February 9th.

Jan-28: Steph Forrester wins at Canberra

Steph won the third race of the Triathlon Australia series in Canberra on Saturday in 2:03:32 taking the lead off Emma Carney who dropped out through injury on the run section.

Also racing abroad, this time in the Lanzarote Duathlon, were Joanna Hinde, 5th in 1:08:02 and Debbie Jones, 10th in 1:25:14.

Jan-26: Spencer confirms for Windsor

Spencer Smith, two-time World Champion (and also Junior Champion) has confirmed that he will be racing at Windsor on June 17th. Spencer has never lost at Windsor, his favourite UK event, as the course suits his strengths. It has a tough river swim (in the Thames) an undulating fast bike course, and a 3 lap, scenic run taking in the great Castle and Eton College. Defending Windsor Champion, Tim Don, has not yet confirmed his intention to race.

Spencer is currently down to race Ironman South Africa on March 31st, presumably with a view to having another crack at Hawaii later in the year.

Race details and an application form for the PepsiMax Royal Windsor Triathlon are available on the Human Race website.

Jan-23: Rimini sticks with September 16th

Katherine Williams' Digest has reported that the ITU's request for Rimini to change the date of the ITU World Duathlon Championships to September 2nd has been declined and the date will remain as originally set. There's nothing yet on either the ITU or duathlon.com websites about this.

Jan-21: Updates

Rob Lewis has just finished off the new Southampton Triathlon Club website.

It's looking like the much-anticipated return of Ironbridge to the event calendar this year is not going to happen. First we were asked to remove the contact details by the BTA and last week there was a report on the eGroup that the race was not going to happen. However, no confirmation yet but I wouldn't put money on there being a race there in July.

Jan-20: British Triathlon Association issues a position statement

The following press statement was issued by the BTA on Friday:

A meeting of the Executive Boards of the International Triathlon Union and the Triathlon Council in Europe with representatives of European National Triathlon Federations was held in Lausanne this weekend (13 & 14 January 2001). The British Triathlon Association has issued the following statement to update its members on the current situation regarding international Triathlon matters.

1. The British Triathlon Association is and will continue to be affiliated members of both the International Triathlon Union and the European Triathlon Union.
2. The International Triathlon Union and European Triathlon Union have both clearly stated that no athletes from any European Triathlon Federation will be debarred from taking part in any triathlon competition for which they are qualified.
3. There is concern amongst a number of European Federations that the International Triathlon Union and European Triathlon Union are not working together to promote and develop triathlon in Europe. The British Triathlon Association wishes to see the European Triathlon Union recognised by the International Triathlon Union as the regional federation for Europe. The association calls for changes to be made to the European Triathlon Union constitution to enable such a relationship to be formed. The association also calls for both the International Triathlon Union and the European Triathlon Union to come together to ensure the two conflicting sets of competition rules may be harmonised in the interests of uniformity within the sport.
4. The British Triathlon Association believes that competition in Europe should in principle be conducted under the rules of the International Triathlon Union. The European Triathlon Union should add to these rules where there is a need for rules to cover circumstances which are uniquely European but these rules should not be fundamentally different from those of the International Triathlon Union.
5. The Triathlon Council in Europe has confirmed that they are not a membership organisation. The British Triathlon Association confirms that it is not directly affiliated to the Triathlon Council in Europe. The council is comprised of a group of senior Triathlon officials from a number of the leading federations in Europe. They include Mick English, Chair of the British Triathlon Association, who sits on this group as an individual not as a representative of the association. Mick English is also an independent member of the Executive Board of the International Triathlon Union. This grouping has been formed to ensure that an official ITU regional qualifying competition for the World Championships can be held in Europe and to campaign for better co-operation between the European Triathlon Union and the International Triathlon Union. The British Triathlon Association is in agreement with their broad aims, but urges the Council to pursue these aims through established democratic processes.
6. The British Triathlon Association regrets that some member federations have felt it necessary to take legal action against the International Triathlon Union in the civil courts in Canada in order to resolve a dispute arising out of the International Triathlon Union elections in 2000. The association recognises that there are concerns over the cost of this action to the sport and hopes that this matter will be resolved to all parties satisfaction as soon as possible.
7. The British Triathlon Association calls upon the International Triathlon Union, European Triathlon Union and all National Federations to work together in the best interests of the sport of Triathlon and in the true spirit of sport. The association hopes that the International Triathlon Union will continue to support the work of all National Federations including those who have brought the legal action against them.
8. The British Triathlon Association confirms that the European Triathlon Union is making claims against the association for alleged debts relating to the cancelled European Duathlon Championships in Bath and non-payment of sanction fees for an event held previously in Ironbridge. Acting on advice, the association disputes that it is debt to the Union. Representatives of the association will meet with officers of the European Triathlon Union in London prior to the Extraordinary Congress in an attempt to resolve this matter to everyone's satisfaction.

Jan-18: Clumber changes date

The race director of the Clumber Park Sprints has confirmed that they will now be taking place on Saturday 25th August 2001 and not 28th July as originally intended. This has come about due to a an investigation and report presented to the National Trust regarding problems with bird nesting in the area. Entry forms will become available in the next few weeks.

Any queries can be put to Mark Shaw at Beyond Transition, 37 Trent Boulevard, West Bridgford, Nottingham NG2 5BB or ring 0115 9141337. His e-mail is

Jan-16: London Triathlon to get a new promoter?

There have been rumbles for a while but it does now look as though the London Triathlon will not only be moving to a new venue in 2001 but that it will also be getting a new promoter. More than one source has reported that Esprit, the company that first launched the event back in 1997, either has or is about to sell the title to another organisation. No response yet to my inquiries...

Jan-12: Tough enough for this?

We just got this email from the BBC -- sounds ideal Ironman training...

I am working on a new six part series for BBC2 called Tough enough for SAS selection?. The series will follow the efforts of 30 members of the public as they undergo a gruelling physical and mental course over two weeks modelled on the actual selection process of the SAS.

At the moment we are looking for contestants of both sexes from all over the country. Obviously, they would need to be extremely fit and committed to complete the course which will include mental tests during the race, river crossings, navigation, survival skills, an escape and evasion exercise, interrogation, abseiling, climbing, running about with weapons, counter terrorism, as well as endurance tests.

The course is designed so that only one person will complete it and win the prize (as yet unconfirmed). It will take place over two weeks in May.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Seb Illis
Tel: 020-8752-5854
Fax: 020-8752-7245
Email: [email protected]

British Triathlon Association Championship Events 2001

The BTA have released the details of their championship races and the new Challenge Series, which seems to replace the old Grand Prix. No details on the way this will work, hopefully that will all be in the next Tri News.

Note that the date for Clumber Park is not 100% confirmed as it has to be held after the end of the nesting season.

The following events will form the British Triathlon Association Challenge Series

Jan-09: Bits and pieces

There are still spaces on the BTA Coaching Day in Loughborough on the 14th January and there will also be free coached swim sessions (50 mins) at 10.00 am. and 4.00pm on Sunday 21st January at the University of Brighton, Eastbourne. All standards are welcome on both. For details contact Fiona Lothian, BTA Coach Education Officer on 07880 797 167 for further details.

Jasmine Flatters has discovered the official website for the ITU World Duathlon Championships at Rimini in Italy. Now, if they can agree a date...

Update from John Lunt: The Human Race expands, Richard Downey and Bea Massie-Taylor produced a bouncing baby boy at 11.42pm last night (8.Jan.2001) at Epsom General. He was a wopper, 8lbs 15 oz, name to be decided, all are ok. Richard is the business manager to Tim Don, Andrew Johns, Stef Forrester, and Jodie Swallow while Bea was the UK sprint Champ 1999, both raced the Worlds in Montreal 1999. Messages can be emailed direct on .

Jan-08: Power mad, or what!

Part of my real job involves keeping a watch on the technology news and the following headline from ZDNet today made me blink a few times...

ITU draws up 3G roadmap

...until I realised that it wasn't the same ITU!

One came, one stayed

News over the weekend from Katherine William's Triathlon Digest newsletter is that Paul Amey has switched allegiances from New Zealand to Britain, meeting the British Triathlon Association's December 31 deadline to file paperwork in order to be eligible for 2002 Commonwealth Games selection for England. Apparently Jamie Hunt, who had shown some interest in changing to Scotland, decided to stay with New Zealand.

Jan-06: ITU want World Duathlon Championship date changed

Apparently the ITU want the Italian organizers of the 2001 ITU World Duathlon Championship, scheduled for next September in Rimini, to switch from its already-publicized date of September 15-16 to September 1-2. Apparently the idea is to have the Long Distance and the Standard Distance Duathlon Championships on consecutive weekends each year (this year's Long Distance event is at Venvray in the Netherlands). The Italians are apparently looking into the possibility...

Jan-03: Details of the BTA Start and Potential programmes

Details of the Lottery-funded Start and Potential programmes has been released by the BTA's new Potential Manager, Paul Buxton.

The 'Start' Programme will be aimed at identifying talented triathletes aged 12 to 16 and providing guidance and support with the early development of their perfromance. Athletes aged 14 - 16 who have been identified through this plan will be included in the National Start Squad, whilst the younger group will be supported at a regional level.

The 'Potential' Programme will build on the foundations of World Class Start, developing performers to an International standard. Athletes from the Potential Squad will be expected to feed into the World Class Performance Programme that supported the Great Britain Triathlon Team in the Sydney Olympics.

A range of support and services will be available through the Start and Potential Programmes including training camps, coaching, medical screening and treatment, sports science services, and representation at appropriate competition. In addition to this some subsistence funding will be available for athletes on the Potential Programme (17 - 23 year olds).

To initiate the Start and Potential Programmes, a squad selection weekend will be run on the 3rd and 4th of February, the details of which are below. The weekend is the first opportunity to access the Start and Potential Programmes with subsequent opportunities being delivered through a regional coaching structure.

For details of the programmes and an application form (all applicants must carry an British passport) contact Paul Buxton at the British Triathlon Association on 01494 431326 or email . The deadline for applications is January 29th.

Jan-02: Year-end review in the Times

Completely missed this one as I didn't read any papers over the Christmas and New Year break! David Powell's piece on the state of British Triathlon in the aftermath of the Olympics is well worth a read.