Posted: July 7, 2006

Triathlon: 20 Canadians Competing in Edmonton World Cup

The 2006 World Cup Series is coming to Edmonton and Sunday’s race will be loaded with Canadians. In the Women’s event 10 of the 47 athletes entered are Canadian; heading the list is newly crowned Canadian National Champion Lauren Groves. Groves, from Vancouver, is looking to continue her recent success at World Cup events. A fifth in Japan, a sixth in Mexico and a fourth in South Africa has Groves ranked fifth on the latest World Cup Rankings – a career high and the best among Canadian triathletes in 2006.

Not far behind is Montreal native Kathy Tremblay, second at last week’s National Championship and the gold medallist at the Pan American Championships in early June. Tremblay had her first ever podium in a World Cup event in Mazatlan, Mexico when she finished third. Tremblay’s success in the last 2 months has parlayed itself into the Pan American region’s number 1 ranking.

High Performance Director, Tom Patrick, says Groves and Tremblay have impressed him because of their consistency. “Lauren and Kathy have been top 8 in every race so far this season and this is an important indicator that they are on track to succeed at the World Championships. It’s important that our best athletes continue to excel in deeper fields – they must step up to the challenge. It’s one thing to do well in Brazil; it’s another thing to do well in Edmonton.”

Hometown hero, Carolyn Murray, is another athlete with a chance for a podium finish. Murray was the bronze medallist at the National Championships 4 days ago in Brampton and is ranked 49th on the current World Cup Rankings. In Murray’s only World Cup event of the season in Mazatlan, Mexico, she placed 12th.

Penticton’s Jill Savege, battling through some early season injuries, will be attempting to regain the form she had in 2004 when she had five top-10 performances in World Cup races. This year Jill was 9th in the Commonwealth Games and 10th in the World Cup race in Mazatlan.

Six more Canadian women will be looking to earn valuable World Cup points in Edmonton on Sunday - they include: Canadian Under 23 National Champion, Alicia Kaye, from Pickering, Ontario, who will try to pick up her first World Cup points of the season. Gillian Kornell, from Kelowna, will be trying to better her World Cup Ranking of 50th. Suzanne Weckend, from Victoria, 12th at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne will also be competing. National Team member, Ayesha Rollinson, from Toronto, will be at the start line for her 4th World Cup of the season. Chris Jeffrey of Tempe, Arizona and Lisa Mensink of Calgary, both with top-5 finishes in Continental Cup events this year, will also represent Canada in Edmonton.

Patrick stresses it’s a great opportunity for some of our athletes to qualify for the World Championships. “It will be interesting to see if any of our athletes can finish top-8 in this qualifying race in Edmonton. Hopefully this added motivation will trigger some of their best efforts and maybe a personal best.”

The Elite Women’s event has 12 of the top 30 ranked athletes on the ITU Points list competing this weekend in Edmonton. Australian Emma Snowsill, the 2005 ITU World Champion and the 2006 Commonwealth Games champion, is the headliner. Snowsill has only competed in one World Cup race in 2006 – a victory at Richards Bay 3 weeks ago.

New Zealand’s Samantha Warriner, also having a great season highlighted by a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, will be one of the favourites fighting for the podium. This will be Warriner’s fourth World Cup event of the season.

Hosting a big-time event is becoming second nature to the organizers in Edmonton. The race on Sunday will be their fifth World Cup dating back to 2002. On top of the multiple world cup events, Edmonton hosted the World Championships in 2001. Two Continental Cup races have come to Edmonton – one in 1999 and the other in 2000. Edmonton, affectionately know as “The City of Champions” also hosted the Canadian Championships in 1999 and in the last 6 years have raised 5 million dollars for triathlon. Ask the athletes and they will tell you that the Edmonton World Cup stop is one of the best in the world.

The elite Men’s race will be just as competitive with several marquee names coming to Edmonton. The Canadian contingent consists of 10 men, all of whom competed last weekend in Brampton. Colin Jenkins of Hamilton, Brent McMahon of Victoria, Paul Tichelaar of Edmonton and Kyle Jones of Oakville, Ontario finished 2, 3, 4 & 6th respectively at the National Championships. This foursome will challenge some of the best in the World for a podium position in Canada’s first World Cup event of the season.

Jenkins is coming off a career best race in Brampton where he outlasted many great athletes for his first ever podium finish in an ITU event – Jenkins finished second overall and won the U-23 division at the National Championships. Jenkins was recently 6th at the Pan American Championships in Brazil.

Before last weekend’s bronze medal, McMahon’s 12th place finish at the Commonwealth Games was he best result to date. McMahon, healthy for the last 6 months, had a great run in Brampton and seems ready to take his results to the next level.

Home town favourite Paul Tichelaar is having a break through season that started with an 8th place finish at the Commonwealth Games. Tichelaar went on to win the Pan American Championships in June and is now the second highest ranked Canadian – 2 spots behind Simon Whitfield – on the ITU Points list at #37.

Patrick suggested the Edmonton course and its layout is easier than in Corner Brook, Newfoundland – the site of the next World Cup race and the final designated World Championship qualifier. “Edmonton will be a real opportunity for some of these athletes. Tichelaar and McMahon have not qualified for the World Championships and they will be gunning for a top spot and their ticket to Lausanne.”

There are 63 competitors in the elite Men’s race and all eyes will be on American Hunter Kemper – #2 on the World Cup Rankings. 2005 World Championship silver medallist, Switzerland’s Reto Hug, will also be in on the start line. Hug, like Emma Snowsill, has competed in just one World Cup race this season – a victory at Richards Bay in mid June.

Other Canadian men competing in Edmonton are Colin Edwards, David James-Tache, Jordan Bryden, Nick Hastie, Julien Periard and Aaron Webb.

The Edmonton World Cup is a day to recognize and celebrate some of the best athletes in the world, however, this year; organizers of the Edmonton World Cup will honour and mourn the loss of Irish triathlete Caroline Kearney who was entered in the Edmonton Triathlon World Cup. The-24-year old triathlete, who was tragically killed in a bike training accident in France last week, was on the start list for the July 9th World Cup race at Hawrelak Park. Organizers plan to hold a moment of silence in recognition of Caroline prior to the start of the Elite Women’s World Cup at 1:15pm MDT. Caroline followed in her mother’s footsteps to become one of Ireland’s leading triathletes. She won the title of Irish Champion three years in-a-row and went on to represent Ireland on the ITU circuit with plans on becoming the first female Irish triathlete to compete in the Olympic Games.

Race day in Edmonton includes various events: the elite men’s and women’s World Cup, the Canadian National Junior Championships, Age Group Triathlon, Corporate Team Triathlon, and Kids of Steel. For more information please click on the link below.

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

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