Emma Snowsill, Australia - Photo: ITU
SWITZERLAND, Lausanne - Today in Lausanne Switzerland, Aussie Emma Snowsill made triathlon history by becoming the first woman to win three world championship titles. In the Elite men’s race Tim Don from Great Britain added another notch to his world championship belt by beating out a stellar men’s field.
In a blistering time of 2:04:03 on a very tough course, Snowsill managed to triumph over her closest rival Vanessa Fernandes from Portugal by a staggering 45 seconds. Rounding out the podium was Snowsill’s team mate Felicity Abram who finished a further 27 seconds back.
"I'm pretty gob-smacked. I really didn't think today would be my day,” stated an ecstatic Snowsill. “I've been feeling really out of sorts this past week and I have not been myself. I had no expectations for today. Just to go out and see what I had.”
Snowsill trailed the lead group including Fernandes after the first lap of the swim by almost 20 seconds, leaving the thought that the battle between these to super-stars would not be so. However, Snowsill did manage to pull herself back to the front of the group on the second swim lap and it was in a large group out on the 7-lap bike course. This group contained the likes of three-time medal winner Laura Bennett from United States, local Swiss athlete Magali Dimarco Messmer, Samantha Warriner and Andrea Hewitt from New Zealand, Lauren Groves from Canada and recent world cup winner Joelle Franzmann from Germany and fifteen other athletes.
This large group stayed together for the entire 40 kilometre bike increasing their lead to almost 3 minutes heading out on the run.
Fernandes went quickly off the front during the first kilometre of the run in hopes to break Snowsill and the rest of the pack. The strategy partially worked as many women were dropped immediately including Snowsill. Snowsill, however, quickly found her form and managed to catch Fernandes before the end of the first lap. These two dynamic runners were together for only a few moments until Snowsill notched it up a gear and Fernandes was unable to respond. Snowsill consistently put time into the Fernandes and the rest of the pack over the next three laps.
Many people questioned whether Snowsill was in good enough shape to win a third world championships title but she proved all doubters wrong on this sunny afternoon. It was Snowsill all the way as she even had time to thank some of the 60,000 spectators that lined the course and finish line as she cruised through the finish tape.
"I ran like I had nothing to lose. I just had to go out and leave nothing behind,” stated Snowsill on her history-making performance.
Tim Don, Great Britian - Photo: ITU
British athlete Tim Don is a world junior champion, world duathlon champion, world aquathlon champion and now world triathlon champion. Don has broken through for his first senior ITU world title on the same course he won his junior world crown on in 1998.
Battling heat and the one of the hottest fields in the eighteen year history of the world championships, Don unleashed the fastest run of the day to beat Athens Olympic gold medallist Hamish Carter from New Zealand for the win. Frenchman Frederic Belaubre won the bronze medal.
“World Champion. Can you believe it!,” exclaimed Don. “I have a good formula for success and that is consistent training. This race was won in training rather than out there today.”
Don set up his victory when he broke away with a group of nine other athletes, the majority who were European. The ten men worked well together to open up a significant gap on the rest of the field going into the final 10 kilometre run.
“There was a break on the bike and I didn’t go with it,” said Don. “So I jumped across on my own and sat in for a couple of k and then said ‘Come on boys, this is it, this is how you get on the podium.’”
Once on the scenic run course through the beautiful Swiss town of Lausanne, Don came into his own.
The Englishman managed to shrug off most of his rivals early in the leg before a powerful surge late in the race gave him his winning gap on Carter.
“On the third lap I felt good so I came through and thought I should take my turn,” explained Don. “I could see there was a meter gap so I just eased away and then the gap grew. You take five meters on an Olympic Champion and he doesn’t give it up easily so I had to put my head down for the last five kilometres.”
In a day of major upsets, Athens Olympic silver medallist Bevan Docherty from New Zealand and Sydney 2000 Olympic gold medallist Simon Whitfield from Canada were both high-profile retirements. Also joining them on the sideline was world cup leader and the number one ranked man in the world Brad Kahlefeldt, who suffered cramps in the bike leg which forced him to withdraw on the run.
Don’s 2006 World Championships win also deprived Australian Peter Robertson, who finished sixth with the second fastest run, from matching the great UK athlete Simon Lessing’s record of four world titles.
Carter’s silver medal was a fitting close to an outstanding career as he announced his retirement from the sport stating he, “will not compete in another world championships.”
“This is going to be my last World Champs but perhaps not my last race,” stated Carter. “There are just so many guys willing to do anything to get to the front and you’ve got to be so hungry and have so much drive and sometimes if you just can’t do that you’ve just got to step aside.”
“The last two weeks I’ve struggled with motivation and getting myself up for this race. I was hoping that I wouldn’t go out on my last Worlds on a floppy race but I felt strong, continued Carter. “I am really pleased.
The closure of this legendary career was marked with the beginning of another as young Belaubre captured is first world championship medal.
“The run was very fast when I went out with Hamish [Carter], said Belaubre. “I wanted to make the first five kilometres with them but it was impossible. I lost them after the first half but I think that I had a good race and am delighted with my position.”
2006 ITU Triathlon World Championships – Elite Women
SNOWSILL, Emma (AUS) - 2:04:03
FERNANDES, Vanessa (POR) - 2:04:48
ABRAM, Felicity (AUS) - 2:05:14
GROVES, Lauren (CAN) - 2:05:24
CORTASSA, Nadia (ITA) - 2:05:28
WHITCOMBE, Andrea (GBR) - 2:05:47
FRANZMANN, Joelle (GER) - 2:06:05
BENNETT, Laura (USA) - 2:06:16
HAIBOECK, Tania (AUT) - 2:06:20
HEWITT, Andrea (NZL) - 2:06:34
2006 ITU Triathlon World Championships – Elite Men
DON, Tim (GBR) - 1:51:32
CARTER, Hamish (NZL) - 1:51:49
BELAUBRE, Frederic (FRA) - 1:52:12
GEMMELL, Kris (NZL) - 1:53:01
POLIKARPENKO, Volodymyr (UKR) - 1:53:04
REOBERTSON, Peter (AUS) - 1:53:06
KEMPER, Hunter (USA) - 1:53:07
UNGER, Daniel (GER) - 1:53:11
JOHNS, Andrew (GBR) - 1:53:20
GOMEZ, Javier (ESP) - 1:53:27
Full results are available at: Results.ultimate.dk.
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