| Canada’s Kathy Tremblay Wins Silver Medal at Triathlon World Cup in Ishigaki, Japan |
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Three Canadians storm into top ten, Lauren Groves finishes fifth, Kyle Jones settles in at ninth spot. ISHIGAKI, JAPAN—(April 26, 2009)—Canada’s Kathy Tremblay kicked off her 2009 triathlon season in medal-winning fashion when she finished second at a World Cup race in Ishigaki, Japan, on Sunday. The twenty-six-year-old Tremblay hit the start line with the words confident and control written on her feet, and used those two thoughts to lead her to the second podium finish, and best result, of her four-year career. Tremblay posted a time of two hours, three minutes, thirty-eight seconds. Tremblay’s only other podium finish came in 2006 when she was third at a World Cup in Mazatlan, Mexico. “I couldn’t ask for much more today, and I was pretty pleased with how things went,” said Tremblay, who was competing on two hours of sleep after suffering from an allergic reaction the night before the race after eating shrimp. “I was not feeling well at all, but my training has been going so well, there was no way I was going to let two hours of sleep ruin two months of great training.” The Montreal native also had to fight through a challenging 1,500-metre swim that had lots of contact to position herself comfortably in the lead pack that emerged onto the shores of Ishigaki, which is one of the longest-standing World Cup venues on the circuit. Managing herself in the lead pack on the forty-kilometre hilly bike course, Tremblay saved enough energy to handle the surge from the pack in the ten-kilometre run, which came in the third lap. Japan’s Juri Ide attempted to pull away from the lead pack, but Tremblay stayed on her heels. The two chased down the gold medal while running side-by-side through the final lap where Tremblay came up five seconds short of the top spot on the podium after making one final surge. “I kept trying to find where I could get her, but (Juri) Ide was on fire today,” said Tremblay, who added she had one of the strongest ten-kilometre runs of her life. “I tried to make a surge on her in the first corner of the final stretch, but it may have been too early. She had a little more life in her legs today.” Ide thrilled the hometown crowd with her first World Cup victory after clocking in at 2:03:33. Japan’s Kiyomi Niwata was third at 2:03:54. Vancouver’s Lauren Groves, who was the only other Canadian entered in the women’s race, also got off to a brilliant start to the 2009 season with a fifth-place finish. The twenty-seven-year-old Olympian posted a time of 2:04:51. Meanwhile, Canada’s Kyle Jones was the lone Canadian to hit the start line in the men’s race. The twenty-four-year-old Oakville, Ontario, native had mixed feelings after finishing ninth in his season-opener. Jones stopped the clock with a time of 1:51:59. After a solid swim, Jones was stuck in the second pack of about twenty athletes on the bike that did not work well together, allowing the lead group to open a sizeable gap on the field, and making the podium out of reach despite a strong run. “For me it was a good swim and my run was one of the fastest splits, so I felt good today, but you can’t help but wonder what it would have been like if we caught that lead pack in the bike,” said Jones, who had high expectations heading into the race thanks to strong training and a men’s field which lacked depth. “For the first time of my career I stepped on the line with the thought I could be on the podium. It was a bit disappointing, but I have to be happy with this start to the season.” Australia’s Courtney Atkinson captured his fourth victory at the Ishigaki stop of the World Cup, and second of the young 2009 campaign. Atkinson stormed to the gold-medal spot on the podium with a time of 1:48:24. Two Russian brothers grabbed the silver- and bronze-medal spots on the podium. Ivan Vasiliev was second at 1:49:01, while his younger brother, Denis Vasiliev, grabbed third place with a time of 1:49:23. The entire Canadian team, including two-time Olympic medallist Simon Whitfield, will now head to Tongyeong, Korea, for the opening event of the World Championship Series, May 2-3, 2009. Triathlon Canada is the governing body for triathlon in the country. Recognized as an Olympic medal sport since 2000, Triathlon Canada’s mandate is to promote, foster, organize and develop the sport of triathlon, and its related disciplines, in Canada. For more information on Triathlon Canada, visit www.triathloncanada.com. Complete World Cup Results (1.5 km swim, 40 km bike, 10 km run): www.triathlon.org Top-Five Women’s Results: 1.Juri Ide, JPN, 2:03:33; 2. Kathy Tremblay, Montreal, CAN, 2:03:38; 3. Kiyomi Niwata, JPN, 2:03:54; 4. Ainhoa Murua, ESP, 2:04:16; 5. Lauren Groves, Vancouver, CAN, 2:04:51. Top-Five Men’s and Canadian Results: 1. Courtney Atkinson, AUS, 1:48:24; 2. Ivan Vasiliev, RUS, 1:49:01; 3. Denis Vasiliev, RUS, 1:49:23; 4. Vladamir Turbaevskiy, RUS, 1:49:41; 5. James Seear, AUS, 1:49.46 Canadian Results: 9. Kyle Jones, Oakville, Ont., 1:51:59 |
