Hayes and Snowsill Crowned Champions of the Worlds Largest Triathlon

Tuesday, 9th August 2005

2012 looking positive for Hayes as he wins The Michelob ULTRA London Triathlon.

London Borough of Newham, the Olympic Borough in East London played host to the Capital's first major event in an Olympic sport since the 2012 bid win. Over 8,000 participants were cheered on by up to 35,000 spectators and over a million more will watch on the BBC.

Sunday 7 August in a field of 72 elites, including some of the world's best triathletes, Stuart Hayes won The Michelob ULTRA London Triathlon in a tightly fought race with Australian Craig Walton second and world ranked number two Tim Don in third. World number two and ex World Champion Emma Snowsill topped the strong women's Elite field.

Hayes, who has competed in the London Triathlon every year since it started in 1997 and had a previous best finish of third in 2004, saw off strong competition from an international field.

World number two Tim Don put in an outstanding run performance to finish on the podium following a slow start. Don left the water 49 seconds behind the leader and then lagged over two minutes behind on the bike stage in a chasing pack of more than 20 cyclists. The run offered Don the chance to pull out all the stops, where he recorded the fastest run of the field to secure third place.

The women's race was equally dramatic with a neck and neck swim between 2002 World Champion Leanda Cave and 2003 World Champion Emma Snowsill to kick things off. Cave made a break in transition to lead the bike stage with swim leader Annalise Heard, leaving Snowsill chasing for over an hour. The run stage saw a turn of fortune for the Australian who made her break on the second lap and held off her challengers on the final five kilometres to win the event.

Following a slow swim where she was trailing more than 90 seconds, 2005 Olympic GB Team member Michelle Dillon recorded the second quickest run of the field, regaining precious ground to place sixth overall demonstrating why she is currently 6th in the world rankings.

The elite athletes joined over 8,000 other competitors all aiming to raise over £1 million for charity, 45% of which are first timers to the sport, across the weekend which took place from ExCeL in the Docklands to Big Ben in the glorious sunshine with over 35,000 spectators cheering them on.

A range of celebrities also took part, including Olympian Greg Searle and fellow rower and double Olympic Gold Medallist James Cracknell, who, following his decision to take a year out from rowing, dedicated his summer to triathlon to maintain his fitness. James was joined by triathlon enthusiast, celebrity chef and Hells Kitchen star Jean Christophe Novelli who, unfortunately was disqualified from the event for wearing incorrect clothing.

Men's Elite Winner Stuart Hayes commented "It's great to win The Michelob ULTRA London Triathlon. Not only is it the worlds biggest triathlon but it's a great one to win after the Olympic bid. I can't wait 'till next year!

Emma Snowsill, Women's Elite winner, said "The competition was tough out there and I had to pull out everything I had in the run to win. I really enjoyed the race though, and will be back next year for sure."