ITU World Triathlon Series

2008 in Review: World Champs

26 December 2008

Year In Review: World Champs

2008 BG Triathlon World Championships
Vancouver, Canada

Junior Women – June 5
The world’s best faced frigid and harsh conditions at the 20th edition of ITU’s triathlon world championships in Vancouver, Canada. The juniors kicked off the action on the first day of competition and Kirsty McWilliam’s win signalled this would be a successful world championship for the Brits.

For the second straight year Great Britain won the junior women’s world championship as Glasgoa’s McWilliam overcame cold and wet conditions to win the junior world title.

“It was freezing out there this morning but I’m from Scotland so I’m very used to it,” said McWilliam.

Ashleigh Gentle of Australia out-sprinted Hungarian Zsofia Toth down the final stretch to take silver. It was the second straight year Gentle has won silver at the junior world championships.

Final Results - Junior Women
Gold - McWilliam, Kirsty (GBR)
Silver - Gentle, Ashleigh (AUS)
Bronze - Toth, Zsofia (HUN)
4 - Finaughty, Ashley (ZIM)
5 - Jackson, Emma (AUS)
6 - Stawczynski, Alena (GER)
7 - Rivas, Claudia (MEX)
8 - Caelers, Maaike (NED)
9 - Findlay, Paula (CAN)
10 - Efremova, Nataliya (RUS)
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Click here for junior women’s photo gallery

Junior Men – June 5
Bronze last year in Hamburg and gold this year in Vancouver for Vincent Luis of France as he won the junior world championships. Despite the steady rainfall and winter-like temperatures, Luis seemed at ease and coasted to a comfortable 30-second margin of victory. He added the prestigious junior world title to the European junior title he won earlier in Lisbon. Russian Denis Vasiliev took the silver while Great Britain’s Jonathan Brownlee came from behind to take bronze.

“I won the French championships and then the European championships so I only wanted to win the world championships so I’m very happy,” said Luis.

Final Results - Junior Men
Gold - Luis, Vincent (FRA)
Silver - Vasiliev, Denis (RUS)
Bronze - Brownlee, Jonathan (GBR)
4 - Amberger, Joshua (AUS)
5 - Gonzalez, Rodrigo (MEX)
6 - Loeschke, Franz (GER)
7 - Heo, Min Ho (KOR)
8 - Polyanskiy, Igor (RUS)
9 - Davison, Tom (NZL)
10 - Obozil, David (FRA)
Click here for full field results

Click here for junior men’s photo gallery

Under23 Women – June 8
The final day of racing at the world championships began with Switzerland’s Daniela Ryf winning the under23 world championship, becoming the first Swiss triathlete to be crowned world champion in seven years. Ryf added the world title to an already impressive breakthrough season in which she climbed to number three in the world after her first career world cup podium in Madrid two weeks earlier. American Jasmine Oeinck took silver for the second straight year while South Africa’s Mari Rabie made triathlon history. With the bronze, Rabie became the first athlete from Africa to ever win a triathlon world championship medal.

“It was a great race, I’m so happy. It was amazing but it was so hard. It was a really hard race,” said Ryf at the finish line.

Final Results - Under23 Women
Gold - Ryf, Daniela (SUI)
Silver - Oeinck, Jasmine (USA)
Bronze - Rabie, Mari (RSA)
4 - Prystayko, Olesya (UKR)
5 - Riveros Diaz, Barbara (CHI)
6 - Whipple, Justine (USA)
7 - Sapunova, Yuliya (UKR)
8 - Koch, Renata (HUN)
9 - Fladung, Sarah (GER)
10 - Spearing, Kerry (CAN)
Click here for full field results

Click here for under23 women’s photo gallery

Under23 Men – June 8
Three days after he watched his brother take bronze in the junior race, Alistair Brownlee was crowned under23 men’s world champion. The Brownlees became the first brothers in ITU history to medal at the same world championships. Brownlee also becomes just the second triathlete in ITU history to win both junior and under23 world titles. Last year’s under23 world champion Gregor Buchholz of Germany showed off his strong finishing kick to edge out New Zealand’s Martin Van Barneveld for the silver.

“I’m absolutely delighted, it’s brilliant to be world champion again,” said Brownlee, who won the junior world championships in Lausanne in 2006.

Final Results - Under23 Men
Gold - Brownlee, Alistair (GBR)
Silver - Buchholz, Gregor (GER)
Bronze - Van Barneveld, Martin (NZL)
4 - Leckie, Todd (GBR)
5 - Brukhankov, Alexander (RUS)
6 - Salvisberg, Lukas (SUI)
7 - Frommhold, Nils (GER)
8 - Casadei, Alberto (ITA)
9 - Maeder, Joshua (AUS)
10 - Dodds, Tony (NZL)
Click here for full field results

Click here for under23 men’s photo gallery

Elite Women – June 8
In the elite women’s race, Great Britain’s Helen Tucker pulled off one of the most shocking upsets in recent triathlon history as she became the new triathlon world champion. It was a thrilling sprint finish between Tucker and American Sarah Haskins down the final stretch.

Haskins was first out of T2 with Tucker just five seconds back. A full two minutes later the next woman, Emma Moffatt, headed out on the flat 10-kilometer run course. Behind Moffatt was a number of strong runners including Samantha Warriner, Lisa Norden, and Debbie Tanner. Meanwhile defending world champion Vanessa Fernandes looked sluggish and was slow through transition to be one of the last in the group to get on the run course.

The two minutes was more than enough for Haskins and Tucker, the only question being who would get gold and who would get silver. The two ran side by side for nearly the entire ten kilometers until the final turn when Tucker powered ahead to become just the second British woman to win an elite world championship. Haskins took the silver for her first ever world championship medal. Up against strong sprinters Moffatt and Densham, it was the guts of Warriner that proved to be the difference as she nipped Densham at the line in a photo finish for bronze. It was Warriner’s first ever world championship medal. The Aussies went 4-5-6 with Abram coming across the line after Moffatt. Shockingly defending champion Fernandes finished a disappointing 10th place.

Final Results - Elite Women
Gold - Tucker, Helen (GBR)
Silver - Haskins, Sarah (USA)
Bronze - Warriner, Samantha (NZL)
4 - Densham, Erin (AUS)
5 - Moffatt, Emma (AUS)
6 - Abram, Felicity (AUS)
7 - Groff, Sarah (USA)
8 - Allen, Kate (AUT)
9 - Tanner, Debbie (NZL)
10 - Fernandes, Vanessa (POR)
Click here for full field results

Click here for elite women’s photo gallery

Elite Men – June 8
Spain’s Javier Gomez asserted himself as triathlon’s best after winning his first elite world championship. He joined teammate and friend Ivan Rana as the only Spanish athletes to win elite world titles. New Zealand’s Bevan Docherty, the world champion from 2004, took the silver just ahead of Switzerland’s Reto Hug.

As the men began the run, the world championship was still very much up for grabs. After the first of three laps, the class of the field began to emerge with Gomez, Whitfield and Docherty pushing the pace the front. It was on the second lap the Spaniard began to challenge the other men with his usual blistering run speed. Gomez opened up a 15-second lead on Docherty and Hug with Whitfield and the rest of the field. From there it was smooth sailing for Gomez as he cruised to the finish line savouring his first elite world title. He became the first athlete in ITU history to hold both elite and under23 world championships.

Docherty proved once again he’s a clutch performer by taking the silver. Hug, a silver medalist from 2005, held on for the bronze while South African Hendrik DeVilliers came across for fourth place. In another thrilling sprint finish, American Matt Reed edged out Whitfield for fifth place.

Final Results - Elite Men
Gold - Gomez, Javier (ESP)
Silver - Docherty, Bevan (NZL)
Bronze - Hug, Reto (SUI)
4 - De Villiers, Hendrik (RSA)
5 - Reed, Matthew (USA)
6 - Whitfield, Simon (CAN)
7 - Sysoev, Igor (RUS)
8 - Moulai, Tony (FRA)
9 - Tichelaar, Paul (CAN)
10 - Vasiliev, Ivan (RUS)
Click here for full field results

Click here for elite men’s photo gallery

Click here to watch exclusive video highlights from the world championships