Posted: May 19, 2007

Multisport: Great Britain top medal table at ITU Duathlon World Championships

Britain’s 2005 World Duathlon Champion, Paul Amey reclaimed his title today with a fantastic victory ahead of Jurgen Dereere of Belgium and Sergio Silva of Portugal at the ITU Duathlon World Championships in Gyor, Hungary. Amey, who flew into Hungary a few days prior to the race from his winter training base in Australia, forged ahead within a lead pack of eight athletes throughout the initial 10km run and 40km bike, before pulling away in the final kilometre of the second run to take the win by five seconds in front of an enthusiastic Hungarian crowd. The British triathlete has always had a notable impact on major championships having taken a World Triathlon silver medal in Lausanne in 1998, before leading home compatriot, Tim Don at the ITU Duathlon World Championships in Newcastle, Australia two years ago. Earlier in the day, Alistair Brownlee added another World Duathlon Championships silver medal to his collection with a second place finish in the Junior men’s race, following on from his runners-up position at the World Championships last year in Corner Brook, Canada and European Duathlon win in Rimini, Italy. Brownlee, who is also the reigning Junior World Triathlon Champion had stayed in the lead pack throughout the race, but was just out-run on the final leg by Richard Murray of South Africa by 14 seconds. Alistair's younger brother, Jonathon, was ninth following a crash on the bike which pushed him out of the lead group. Britain's second silver medal came through 2005 Duathlon World Champion and double Olympian Michelle Dillon, who contested well against a competitive women’s field. Portugal's Vanessa Fernandes had gained a 30 second lead on the initial 10km run, but was caught by Dillon, Csomor of Hungary and Louison of France half way through the bike leg. However, Fernandes, who is renowned for her running, strode away on the final 5km run and opened up a lead over Dillon, who also managed to open up a sizeable gap over Csomor in third. Michelle Lee was seventh with 2006 World Champion, Scotland's Catriona Morrison in tenth. Great Britain’s team success ensured that they topped the medal table ahead of Portugal and host nation, Hungary. Paul Amey said about his win: “It’s fantastic to have won this Championships twice now, and to be a part of more British Triathlon success. I had a good first run and our lead pack managed to stay ahead of the chasing guys on the bike. That second run was very quick, but I just stayed relaxed and came through strongly at the end. It’s been a great day!” Michelle Dillon commented: "I am delighted with my silver medal, it's come off a lot of hard work and some good recent results, so hopefully I can build on this throughout the summer and the rest of the season." Following on from Gyor, the European Duathlon Championships are taking place on 16th June in Edinburgh, where Catriona Morrison will be looking to use her home advantage to take the honours over the hilly city course. Full British Results: Men's Senior Elite 1. Paul Amey, GBR 2. Jurgen Dereere, BEL 3. Sergio Silva, POR - 13. Tom Lowe 17. Kairn Stone 33. Phil Anthony Women's Senior Elite 1. Vanessa Fernandes, POR 2. Michelle Dillon, GBR 3. Erika Csomor, HUN - 7. Michelle Lee 10. Catriona Morrison Male U23 1. Bojan Cebin, SLO 2. Bart Aernouts, BEL 3. Jose Miguel Perez, ESP - 5. Oli Mott Junior Male 1. Richard Murray, RSA 2. Alistair Brownlee, GBR 3. Juro Estrangeiro, POR - 9. Jonathon Brownlee About the British Triathlon Federation The British Triathlon Federation is the National Governing Body for triathlon, the UK’s fastest growing sport. At elite level Great Britain boasts a strong squad of world ranked triathletes and duathletes who regularly achieve international success, and has some outstanding young talent emerging from its youth programmes. Since becoming an Olympic sport in 2000, British Triathlon has seen large annual membership increases and now totals over 12,000 members throughout its Home Nation Associations. There are over 500 triathlon events conducted in Great Britain each year including the London Triathlon, the largest triathlon event in the World; and the BG Triathlon World Cup race in Salford, one of the leading international events.