Posted: June 7, 2006

Triathlon: Junior Nationals are in Edmonton on July 9th

On the morning of Sunday July 9th, Canada's up and coming triathletes will race in the Canadian Junior National Championships in Edmonton. This is a terrific race on a scenic and challenging course - a great venue for a National Championship - if you want to race you should register as soon as possible. For more information please click on the links at the bottom of this release.

17-year-old Kirsten Sweetland from Victoria is the defending champion and the favourite in the girls division. Sweetland had great success in North America last year winning both the Canadian Junior championships in Caledon, Ontario and the U.S. Junior National Championships in Bellingham, Washington. Two weeks ago, Sweetland won the Junior National Duathlon Championship in Hamilton. 18-year-old Andrew McCartney, from Victoria, is the boys favourite after a second place finish last year in Caledon and a victory 2 years ago also in Caledon.

Norbert Hollman, Youth Development Committee Chairman, says this year’s event will also feature a Canada/USA challenge which was just confirmed a few days ago. “This is great news for the event, the young Americans are very strong and this will make the field much more competitive. The American junior team is fortunate to be fully-funded and therefore I expect all of their top juniors to be in Edmonton.”

The juniors will compete on the same course as the best elite athletes in the world, these former gold medallists and world champions will race later that day in the Edmonton ITU World Cup - the first of 2 World Cup events in Canada.

The day begins with an open water swim in the calm waters of Hawrelak Park Lake followed by the challenging and technical 2-lap bike course. The run takes place in the park and passes in front of the grandstands - junior athletes will experience the thrill of running down the same blue carpet and crossing the same finish line as the elite World Cup athletes.

The ITU World Cup of Edmonton will give young athletes invaluable insights into ITU style racing. Organizers have made every effort to maximize the educational opportunities presented by the World Cup environment. Triathlon Canada’s High Performance Director, Tom Patrick, will be on hand to do a training session.

Athletes and their families are encouraged to stay at the Athlete Village at the U of A, situated 1km from the race site at Hawrelak Park. Free return transportation from Edmonton airport to the Athletes’ Village will be provided for junior participants and their bikes.

The Schedule of events at the Westin Hotel on the Friday evening is as follows:

• 1700-1800 Junior Elite Athlete Briefing
• 1800-1900 Elite Athlete Briefing
• 1900-2100 Pasta Party with Age Group briefing taking place after dinner

Transportation between the Athlete Village and the hotel will be provided. The race is open to all athletes aged 16-19 (as of Dec. 31, 2006). This is a draft-legal race. Participating athletes are eligible to earn a spot on the Canadian World Junior Team. Visit www.triedmonton.com or contact us at faq@triedmonton.com for more information. For information on qualifying for the ITU Junior Worlds in Lausanne, Switzerland please visit www.triathloncanada.com.

Triathlon Canada is the National Federation for the Sport of Triathlon and Duathlon in Canada.

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