Posted: June 25, 2007

Triathlon: Sweet silver for Sweetland at final Edmonton World Cup

EDMONTON – Canadian Kirsten Sweetland raced to her second career World Cup medal at the final Edmonton BG Triathlon World Cup today. It was the first time the teenage sensation from Victoria, BC raced in a World Cup on home soil and she gave the Canadian fans plenty to cheer about. The reigning Junior World Champion came down the final stretch with friend and training partner Emma Moffatt of Australia but was dramatically edged out in the final 50 meters, settling for silver. For Moffatt, a silver medalist from the 2006 Under23 World Championships, this is her first career World Cup win. Her only two World Cup medals have come here in Edmonton so the only disappointment was knowing this was the last time the city will play host. Sweetland and Moffatt were part of a six-woman group out of the water chasing a pair of Americans, Sara McLarty and Sarah Groff. They soon caught up with them and after Joanna Zeiger dropped off the pace, a lead pack of seven women formed. They put in the work on each lap around the 40-kilometre bike course, continually adding time to their lead over the chase pack. Sweetland came into transition first but had a host of strong runners on her heels. In the first lap of the run, the Canadian and two Aussies, Moffatt and world number two Annabel Luxford, emerged as the leaders. The three ran together and hopes for a medal for any other woman in the field soon vanished. In the final lap, Luxford couldn’t keep pace which left Moffatt and Sweetland to battle for gold. In the final turn for the finish line, Sweetland was forced wide, enabling Moffatt to take the inside lane and the slight edge she needed to out-sprint the Canadian for her first career World Cup victory. Luxford, the 2005 overall World Cup series champion, took the bronze, her second World Cup medal in two weeks and the 15th of her career. Moffatt jumps to number eight in the world while Sweetland moves up to number three, continuing to assert herself as one of the fastest rising stars in the world. Lauren Groves of Vancouver, BC entered the race struggling with a calf injury but came through with a strong performance, finishing in 8th place, her second top ten in three events. Montreal’s Kathy Tremblay crossed the line in 14th place, while Alicia Kaye finished in 29th spot and Ayesha Rollinson was 32nd. 2007 Edmonton BG Triathlon World Cup – Final Women’s Results: 1st – Emma Moffatt (AUS) 1:57:51.4 2nd – Kirsten Sweetland (CAN) 1:57:53.0 3rd – Annabel Luxford (AUS) 1:58:09.6 8th – Lauren Groves (Vancouver, BC) 2:00:31.0 14th – Kathy Tremblay (Montreal, QC) 2:02:31.6 29th – Alicia Kaye (Smithers, BC) 2:06:52.0 32nd – Ayesha Rollinson (Midland, ON) 2:08:05.0 In the men’s field, Colin Jenkins of Hamilton, ON came into Edmonton as the highest ranked Canadian and leaves as the top Canadian finishing in 13th place with a time of 1:48:29. He picks up significant Olympic qualifying points and climbs to number 29 in the world rankings. Kyle Jones crossed the line in 16th spot for his best world cup result since finishing seventh in Corner Brook, Nfld. last July. World number two Bevan Docherty finished second last week in Des Moines, Iowa and was on a mission when he arrived in Edmonton. The Olympic silver medalist came out of the water in 14th place, just 17 seconds behind the leader. After the 40-kilometer bike, he fell back to the chase pack, behind the lead group that included fellow Kiwi Kris Gemmell. But Docherty set a torrid run pace and blistered the 10-kilometer course for the fastest run time of the day. After closing the gap and overtaking the lead pack, Docherty cruised to the finish line to claim his fourth career World Cup title and his first of 2007. He remains at number two in the world, now just four points behind Javier Gomez of Spain. Russian prodigy Alexander Brukhankov took the silver for his second medal of the year and now climbs to number four in the world rankings. Sven Riederer of Switzerland won the bronze in a thrilling sprint finish over Gemmell. 2007 Edmonton BG Triathlon World Cup – Final Men’s Results: 1st – Bevan Docherty (NZL) 1:45:54 2nd – Alexander Brukhankov (RUS) 1:46:14 3rd – Sven Riederer (SUI) 1:46:42 13th – Colin Jenkins (Hamilton, ON) 1:48:29 16th – Kyle Jones (Oakville, ON) 1:49:11 18th – Brent McMahon (Victoria, BC) 1:49:26 30th – Andre-Paul Baillargeon Smith (St. Catharines, ON) 1:51:40 36th – Andrew McCartney (Victoria, BC) 1:52:58 40th – Jordan Bryden (Calgary, AB) 1:53:50 43rd – Daniel Wells (Toronto, ON) 1:54:39 45th – Andrew Russell (Vancouver, BC) 1:59:07 Ten years ago, Edmonton tested its waters to see if it had what it takes to host a triathlon event. Four years later, it hosted the 2001 ITU World Championships which set the stage for six more years of triathlon world cup action. Now the local organizing committee and its army of approximately 400 volunteers have hosted the Edmonton BG Triathlon World Cup for the very last time on Sunday. Over its ten years the committee has also hosted multiple IOC solidarity camps for athletes and coaches, continental cups, as well as various continental and national championships. For full results, schedule, race reports, athlete quotes and high-resolution images, visit the ITU’s Online Media Centre:triathlon.org. Up next: Team Canada will travel south to Rio, Brazil for the 2007 Pan American Games where Jill Savege will defend her gold medal on July 15. One week later, the 2007 BG Triathlon World Cup series rolls into the skiers’ paradise of Kitzbuhel, Austria for the first time where reigning Olympic gold medalist Kate Allen is sure to electrify the home crowds. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest