Grand Final to wrap-up inaugural eight-part World Championship Series, September 13.

VICTORIA, B.C. (September 2, 2009) - Canada will field a stellar line-up of medal-winning, high-performance athletes at all levels for the Grand Final of the Triathlon World Championship Series on Australia's Gold Coast, September 11-13, Triathlon Canada announced on Wednesday.

Two-time Olympic medallist, Simon Whitfield of Victoria, will headline the 2009 Team Teck national senior squad into the Grand Final. The thirty-four-year-old Whitfield has enjoyed another strong season on the international triathlon circuit having won the ITU Elite Cup in Des Moines, Iowa, one of the most prestigious races on the triathlon calendar.

"I'm really excited for Triathlon Canada as we get set to head into the Grand Final because we continue to bring a stronger team each year," said Whitfield, who has twelve World Cup victories, a Commonwealth Games title, twenty-two podium finishes, and six top-ten finishes at the World Championships throughout his illustrious career. "Having seen all of our athletes in Victoria prior to World's this year, I'm not only impressed with the elite team but with the young talent coming up. My fitness has really started to come around, and I'm excited to express all the hard work I've put in this year, as I'm sure the rest of the team is."

Whitfield will lead a group of seven men and women into the World Championship elite race. Joining Whitfield on the men's team will be Victoria's Brent McMahon, who has been a regular in the top-fifteeen on the World Championship Series in 2009 and Edmonton's Paul Tichelaar, who is now back training full-time after a knee injury that sidelined him for most of the season. The 2008 Olympian finished eleventh in his first race back in Hamburg, Germany. Rising young star, Kyle Jones, of Oakville, Ontario, rounds out the men's squad.

A talented trio of World Cup medal-winners will hit the start line for the women's World Championship race. Vancouver's Lauren Groves, who has enjoyed a breakthrough season with her first international podium performance at the ITU Elite Cup, where she finished third, has been a mainstay in the top of the pack throughout the 2009 campaign. The twenty-eight-year-old Groves will vie for the podium with Olympic teammate Kathy Tremblay of Montreal, and Victoria's Kirsten Sweetland. The twenty-seven-year-old Tremblay captured a silver medal earlier this season at a World Cup stop in Ishigaki, Japan, while the twenty-year-old Sweetland added another World Cup victory to her resume when she crossed the line first in Mooloolaba, Australia.

Whitfield, McMahon, Groves, and Tremblay also all teamed up to win a bronze medal at the inaugural World Championship Triathlon Team Relay in Des Moines, Iowa, this summer.

"This is a very unique group of athletes that combines a veteran leader in Simon Whitfield with a group of talented teammates anxious to make their mark while competing against the world's best," said Kurt Innes, high-performance director, Triathlon Canada. "With Simon leading the way, our young team has now acquired a taste of success over the last two seasons, and now knows what it takes to win. We are making positive strides together, with the goal of winning more medals for Canada. Our goal is to take another major step forward in accomplishing that goal next week in Australia."

In addition to naming the athletes who will compete on the elite team at the Grand Final, Triathlon Canada also named its selections for athletes to represent Canada at the Under-23 World Championships and the Junior World Championships. All events are being held in conjunction with the Grand Final on the Gold Coast, September 9-13, 2009.

The following is a breakdown of athletes who will represent Canada at the Under-23 and Junior World Championship races:
Under-23 Team
Andrew McCartney - The Victoria native earned a place on the World Championship Team with his third-place finish in the Under-23 category at the 2009 PATCO Championships. A strong swimmer, McCartney led out of the water in his lone World Cup race in Des Moines, Iowa, this summer. He also was on a fifth-place finishing team in the Iowa relay race.

Andrew Yorke - Yorke, of Caledon, Ontario, solidified the second spot on the men's Under-23 team with a steady series of results in 2009, most notably a fourth-place finish in the Under-23 category (16th overall) at the PATCO Championships. Yorke also finished in third spot (first in the Under-23 division) at the Continental Championships in Coteau du Lac, Quebec.

Paula Findlay - One of Canada's brightest stars in triathlon, the Edmonton native finished in the top-twenty in her opening World Championship Series races in Kitzbuhel, Austria, and Hamburg, Germany.

Junior Team
Connor Hammond - London, Ont.                        Kyla Coates - Victoria
Ian Donald - Nepean, Ont.                                  Alison Hooper - Victoria
Matt Sharpe - Victoria                                        Rachel Edwards - Winnipeg
Matt Vierula - Ottawa (alternate)                         Christine Ridenour - Victoria (alternate)

The Triathlon World Championships will be broadcast on CBC-TV during the following scheduled times:

Saturday, September 12 - Women's Final
12:15-2:15 a.m.
live on bold and cbcsports.ca
plus-one hour highlight summary on CBC Sportsweekend on Saturday, September 19

Sunday, September 13 - Men's Final
1-3 a.m.
live on bold and cbcsports.ca
plus- one hour summary on CBC Sportsweekend on Saturday, September 26

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, please visit us at www.triathloncanada.com on the Internet.