Posted: May 13, 2007

Triathlon: Junior World Champ Sweetland wins first career World Cup

RICHARDS BAY, South Africa – Kirsten Sweetland of Victoria, BC, the reigning Junior World Champion, has won her first career BG Triathlon World Cup in Richards Bay, South Africa. At just 18 years and eight months old, Sweetland becomes the youngest Canadian to ever win a triathlon World Cup and the sixth Canadian woman to stand atop the podium. She has competed in only four previous World Cup races and finished in the top 15 each time, including a seventh place last week in Lisbon, Portugal. With the win today in Richards Bay, Sweetland jumps to number three in the world rankings. She also picks up substantial Olympic qualifying points as Canada aims to send a full team to Beijing in 2008. “I feel great, I really wasn’t expecting this,” said Sweetland. “It’s a lot of adrenaline up at the front and I think that really helped me today. I’m just on cloud nine right now, I can’t believe it.” The phenom was in the lead pack early in the swim and did not back off as the race wore on. She maintained her spot among the leaders throughout the 40-kilometre bike course. On the second lap of the run, Sweetland made her move and began to break away from the pack, creating a 50-meter lead. The Canadian teenager never looked back as she coasted to the finish line with a time of 2:03:32. But she never intended to be so aggressive while competing in the scorching South African conditions. “My run strategy from my coach was to be conservative in the heat but I didn’t exactly listen to him,” said Sweetland. “I got a little bit of an accidental gap on the first lap and I just went with it and it paid off.” She finished 15 seconds ahead of Olympic bronze medalist Magali Di marco Messmer of Switzerland who finished second by out-sprinting Christiane Pilz of Germany at the finish line. The field included multiple World Cup winners such as Andrea Whitcombe of Great Britain and Joelle Franzmann of Germany, whom many picked to win the race. Sweetland has developed much faster at the elite level than most expected as many predicted she would be a medal threat at the 2012 Olympics. But with her incredible consistency at the World Cups including her first victory today, the Canadian prodigy should be one to watch in Beijing in 2008. The last Canadian to win a World Cup was Simon Whitfield in 2004 in Mazatlan, Mexico and the last Canadian woman to win was Jill Savege in 2003 in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. Sweetland continues a proud triathlon legacy for Canada, winning the country’s 36th World Cup victory, third all-time behind only powerhouse Australia and the United States. 2007 Richards Bay BG Triathlon World Cup – Final Women’s Results: 1st – Kirsten Sweetland (Victoria, BC) 2:03:32 2nd – Magali Di Marco Messmer (SUI) 2:03:47 3rd – Christiane Pilz (GER) 2:03:49 DNF – Christine Jeffrey (Guelph, ON) DNF – Carolyn Murray (Edmonton, AB) In this photo released by the International Triathlon Union, the top three women of the BG Triathlon World Cup Women's race celebrate their success in Richards Bay, South Africa Sunday May 13, 2007. From left to right are; second placed Magali Di marco Messmer of Switzerland, race winner Kirsten Sweetland of Canada and third placed athlete Christiane Pilz of Germany. (AP Photo/ITU, Frank Wechsel) In the men’s field, Colin Jenkins of Hamilton, ON was the top Canadian finishing in 41st place, still good enough to pick up important Olympic qualifying points. Kyle Jones crossed the line in 55th spot while Brent McMahon failed to finish. Reigning African Champion Hendrik De Villiers thrilled the home crowds coming from behind to win his first career World Cup race. He becomes the first African triathlete, male or female, to claim a World Cup title. Ukrainian veteran Volodymyr Polikarpenko finished second just ahead of young Russian upstart Alexander Brukhankov who took the bronze in his first trip to the World Cup podium. 2007 Richards Bay BG Triathlon World Cup – Final Men’s Results: 1st – Hendrik De Villiers (RSA) 1:52:53 2nd – Volodymyr Polikarpenko (UKR) 1:52:56 3rd – Alexander Brukhankov (RUS) 1:53:01 41st – Colin Jenkins (Hamilton, ON) 1:56:25 55th – Kyle Jones (Oakville, ON) 1:59:22 DNF – Brent McMahon (Victoria, BC) The Richards Bay BG Triathlon World Cup is part of the ITU’s series of Olympic qualifiers and is a huge opportunity for athletes to gain some ground in the race to make the cut for Beijing. The Olympic fields are extremely competitive with men’s and women’s fields capped at 55 with a maximum of three per National Federation. Olympic qualifying continues through the 2007 season including the World Cup stops in Vancouver on June 10 and Edmonton on June 24. The final Olympic qualifier will be the 2008 World Championships which will be held in Vancouver on June 7-8. For full results visit: Triathlon.org. Up next: On June 3, Spain welcomes the world’s best triathletes as Madrid hosts the fifth stop of the 2007 BG Triathlon World Cup series. Then the focus switches to North America with World Cup races in Vancouver, Des Moines, IA, and Edmonton.