Posted: March 26, 2006

Triathlon: Luxford and Docherty win at Mooloolaba

Annabel Luxford (L), Liz Blatchford(R) - Photo: ITU/Delly Carr

Annabel Luxford wins Mooloolaba

Home town girl, Annabel Luxford has won gold at the 2006 ITU Mooloolaba World Cup triathlon in a time of 2:01:10. Liz Blatchford from Great Britain pulled together a gutsy run to take second place with a time of 2:01:45 while the rising Kiwi star Andrea Hewitt took third in 2:02:00.

“I was really excited to get a win. It was great to have the support of the local people,” said Luxford, who trains out of nearby Brisbane and spends a lot of her time on the Sunshine Coast.

High surf and wicked tides from cyclone Wati forced the swim leg of the event to be moved to nearby Mooloolah River where conditions were also not ideal. A strong current made it difficult for the athletes to stay on course.

“The current was crazy in the river but I guess you play the hand you’re dealt,” stated winner Luxford, who now sits atop the World Cup rankings.

This is the first ITU World Cup of the season for Liz Blatchford who was with the lead group for the entire race and put in a strong run to finish in a close second.

“It was a tough day, it’s always a tough day in Mooloolaba with the heat and the hills,” said Blatchford. “I always like the hills though as it makes for a great race every time.”

“It was hot out there. I was taking water at every station,” said reigning World U23 Champion Andrea Hewitt after finishing third in the race, only a week after her bronze medal performance at the Commonwealth Games.

Pre race favourite Emma Snowsill (AUS) chose not to race after various commitments, stemming from her gold medal performance at the Commonwealth Games, made her unable to prepare properly for the race.

The temperature soared to over 30 degrees Celsius for the women’s race with no wind causing panic amongst local organizers as the finish line tape melted in the sun moments before the finish of the race. It was recovered and in place as Luxford crossed the line to an ecstatic crowd of 30,000 spectators, many of whom competed earlier in the day in the Mooloolaba age group race which had 2,500 participants in a series of events.

The next stop for the 2006 ITU World Cup series is Ishigaki, Japan on April 16th.

2006 ITU Mooloolaba World Cup Triathlon - Women

1. LUXFORD, Annabel (AUS) 2:01:10
2. BLATCHFORD, Liz (GBR) 2:01:45
3. HEWITT, Andrea (NZL) 2:02:00
4. TANNER, Debbie (NZL) 2:03:02
5. DILLON, Michelle (GBR) 2:03:06

2006 ITU World Cup rankings
1. LUXFORD, Annabel (AUS)
2. BENNETT, Laura (USA)
3. FRANZMANN, Joelle (GER)
4. LISK, Ricarda (GER)
5. FERNANDES, Vanessa (POR)

Docherty does it again!

The Sunshine Coast lived up to its name as the sun continued to shine over the thousands of spectators who lined the course to watch forty-eight men dive into the water for the ITU Mooloolaba World Cup.

Commonwealth Games silver medalist and former World Champion Bevan Docherty of New Zealand ran a phenomenal race, coming from almost a minute down after the bike, to take the top prize in a time of 1:49:43. Hunter Kemper of the United States, in his first World Cup race of 2006, took second spot only a few seconds behind with a time of 1:49:45. Rounding out the podium was Courtney Atkinson from Australia with a time of 1:49:58, giving the hometown crowd something to cheer about.

“Going into the run I didn’t think I was going to win,” said Docherty. “Peter Robertson took off on the run like he usually does but I decided not to go with him but rather to hold back and I guess it paid off.”

Kemper and Atkinson worked well with their group on the bike to reel in early race leaders Craig Walton (AUS) and Kris Gemmell (NZL) during the closing stages of the cycle, giving them a fifty-five second lead on the chase group, and setting them up well for the run.

“Any time you’re on the podium is a good day,” said Kemper, who only arrived late the night before. “Bevan had such a strong day and deserved to win. He came up behind me and stayed there for about five seconds and took off. I just couldn’t go with him.”

“We don’t have many races like that, where it is a real all-rounders race,” stated Atkinson. “I was very disappointed that the swim was not in the ocean. Being a local Queenslander I was looking forward to it.”

Hedland Hill, which competitors had to negotiate 16 times during the bike and 8 times on the run, quickly took its toll on many of the athletes as a number dropped out, including local Aussie hero Craig Walton.

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Peter Robertson stormed out of transition two on a mission, gaining over thirty seconds in the first five kilometres, and coming within ten seconds of the leaders, before fading.

2006 ITU Mooloolaba World Cup Triathlon – Men

1. DOCHERTY, Bevan (NZL) 1:49:43
2. KEMPER, Hunter (USA) 1:49:45
3. ATKINSON, Courtney (AUS) 1:49:58
4. GEMMELL, Kris (NZL) 1:50:05
5. CLARKE, William (GBR) 1:50:30

2006 ITU World Cup Rankings
1. POLIKARPENKO, Volodymyr (UKR)
2. DELLOW, David (AUS)
3. FRETTA, Mark (USA)
4. GOMEZ, Javier (ESP)
5. GLUSHCHENKO, Andriy (UKR) 

Full race results and event information are available at Triathlon.org.

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