Wednesday, January 30, 2008

ONTARIO TRIATHLETES GO FAST

Three Ontario boys represented Canada at the 10th annual FAST Triathlon in Balneário Camboriú, Brazil, on Jan. 27th. From all accounts, this is a great event, but it's virtually unknown in North America, and it's always difficult to find results (probably because I can't read Portuguese).

Swim Start. Canada in Red & White: (l-r) Andrew Yorke, Kyle Jones and Connor Hammond.

The format is similar to the old F1 Series in Australia; three draft-legal super sprint triathlons (400m swim, 4km bike, 1.3km run), with 10 minutes recovery between races. These races require a mix of speed, skill and tactics, with six teams of three athletes each. Points are awarded for each round, with the top three individuals and the top three teams on the podium at the end of the day. From what I understand, it's broadcast live on TV via motorcycle and helicopter coverage, and it draws huge crowds. For an idea of the size of the crowds, click here for footage from the 2007 Fast Triathlon.

Kyle Jones (Oakville), Connor Hammond (London), and Andrew Yorke (Caledon) toed the line against teams from Brazil, Argentina, France, Austria and the USA. I don't have all of the details, but they finished as the 2nd team on the day, and Connor may have been in the top 5 of the individual rankings.


2nd on the day, and a big cheque

Canada has a strong tradition at this race, with many team podium results amongst the men and women over the years, and at least one overall winner (Paul Tichelaar beat Andy Potts by 1 point in 2005). Similar to previous years, this race featured a mix of veterans and rookies, with the likes of Olympian Victor Plata (USA) and France's Benjamin Sanson racing against a Canadian team featuring a National Elite Team member and the top two male juniors in 2007. The overall team totals show the the Brazilian Team made the most of the homefield advantage, with the Canadian team in a tough race against the US for the final two podium places:

Brazil: 141pts
Canada: 75pts
USA: 71pts
Argentina: 64pts
France: 63pts
Austria: ??

Congratulations to the team, and to their coaches: Kyle (coached by Joel Filliol, NTC), Connor (coached by Len Gushe), Andrew (coached by Barrie Shepley, C3). Further info, updates or race reports are welcome.

Kyle Jones, Connor Hammond, Andrew Yorke

No comments: