Posted: March 11, 2006

Triathlon: Fernandes and Polikarpenko Win in Aqaba

Fernandes wins the ITU Aqaba World Cup

Start of the women's ITU Aqba Triathlon on Friday, March 10 - Photo: spomedis/ITU

JORDAN, Aqaba – Twenty-eight women dived into the picturesque calm waters of the Gulf of Aqaba today for the second installment of the 2006 ITU World Cup Series. Shadowed by the mountains of neighbouring, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt the women’s race saw Vanessa Fernandes (POR) run away from the field and take a commanding victory in 1:59:43.

“This is my first time in Jordan,” said Fernandes. “I fell on the bike but got back up. The crash did not affect me and I was in good position for the run. I did not feel good during the swim or the bike but I worked hard for the win.”

Fernandes, who was down by over a minute after the swim, was involved in a crash during the first lap of the bike but got back up and organised the second chase group that eventually caught the leaders.

Joelle Franzmann (GER) made a breakaway during the first stages of the bike in an attempt to catch the leaders but chose wisely to wait for the group. She was part of the large group of twenty four athletes coming off the bike together and battled with Laura Bennett (USA) for most of the run. Franzmann pulled away on the last lap clinching her second silver medal in as many weeks with a time of 2:00:47.

“I went back to Germany after Doha and then to Jordan,” Franzmann stated. “I had a bad swim and bike but a good run. I am very pleased with the way my season has started.”

Laura Bennett (USA) rounded out the podium with another third place finish in a time of 2:01:01. Bennett, who led most of the day, took both the swim and first bike primes, with Zita Szabo (HUN) taking the third. Bennett and teammate Sarah Groff (USA) tried to get away during the opening stages of the bike but sat up and let them selves be overtaken as their lead was diminishing.

Ricarda Lisk (GER) and Tania Haiboeck (AUT) finished fourth and fifth respectively with their best ever World Cup performances. These two young women are ones to watch as the 2006 season unfolds

His Royal Highness Prince Feisel Al Hussein, President of the Jordan Olympic Committee, watched with great excitement as the women’s race unfolded.

“We are very pleased to host the ITU and its athletes from around the globe in Jordan.” said HRH Feisel. “By organizing an event of this character and esteem we hope to showcase Jordan and the Jordanian people to the world.”

Dozens of cameras and media were present as Jordanian national television and radio broadcasted the event live to the entire country.

The 2006 ITU World Cup series takes a brief hiatus next and then returns for the ITU Mooloolaba World Cup on March 26th.

2006 ITU Aqaba World Cup – Elite Women
1. FERNANDES, Vanessa (POR) 1:59:43
2. FRANZMANN, Joelle (GER) 2:00:47
3. BENNETT, Laura (USA) 2:01:01
4. LISK, Ricarda (GER) 2:01:36
5. HAIBOECK, Tania (AUT) 2:01:45

Polikarpenko on top in Aqaba

JORDAN, Aqaba – The Jordan Olympic Committee’s motto, “Peace is greater than Gold” rang true as the men’s race saw competitors from around the world on the start line in Aqaba, Jordan in the name of sport.

Volodymyr Polikarpenko of Ukraine took top prize in the men’s race in a time of 1:47:33 with Javier Gomez of Spain and Bruno Pais of Portugal finishing second and third in times of 1:47:35 and 1:47:59 respectively.

“These young athletes coming up are something else,” said Polikarpenko, after his narrow victory. “I raced hard though and am very impressed with the way my season has started.”

Polikarpenko, Gomez and Pais were among the leaders the entire day as a pack of ten athletes formed early at the front of the bike. This pack, which included David Dellow (AUS), Richard Stannard (GBR), Andriy Glushchenko (UKR) and three Russians, worked well together stretching their lead to over 70 seconds. The large chase group of over 20 athletes, including Ivan Rana (ESP), Mark Fretta (USA) and Sven Riederer (SUI), could not organise themselves and continued to lose time over the 40km.

“I had a good race and ran very well but Polikarpenko was just too fast for me at the finish. This is my first time on the podium and I am very excited,” said 2003 Under 23 World Champion Javier Gomez.

Pais, Dellow, Polikarpenko and Gomex immediately established themselves as the stronger runners of the lead group by putting a small gap between themselves and the rest of the field.

This group stayed together most of run with Polikarpenko and Gomez breaking away and running stride for stride on the third lap. With only 100 metres to go, Polikarpenko started his sprint on the decline coming back into the stadium area. Gomez responded but the Ukrainian pulled away in the last steps taking the win by only 2 seconds.

Dellow and Glushchenko managed to hold of a charging Rana and Riederer to claim the fourth and fifth spots respectively.

Despite a few hazy, blustery days, which caused the cancellation of the swim of a local triathlon the day before, the sun came out today and the streets filled with people. Many of the locals have never seen triathlon before but lined the course and cheered on the athletes. All athletes and organisers are excited to return to the Aqaba World Cup for the next three years.

2006 ITU Aqaba World Cup – Elite Men
1. POLIKARPENKO, Volodymyr (UKR) 1:47:33
2. GOMEZ, Javier (ESP) 1:47:35
3. PAIS, Bruno (POR) 1:47:59
4. DELLOW, David (AUS) 1:48:43
5. GLUSHCHENKO, Andriy 1:48:55 

Full results and photos are available from Triathlon.org.

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