Corus British Triathlon Team for World Championships Announced
Wednesday, 9th August 2006
The Corus British Triathlon Team, which will compete at the 2006 ITU World Championships in Lausanne Switzerland on 1st and 2nd September 2006, was announced today. Great Britain will have at least 16 representatives racing at the event across a range of levels including Senior, U23 and Junior.
Promising 21 year old, Will Clarke, will be leading the charge for Great Britains U23 Men's team. Clarke, who is current European U23 Champion and bronze medallist from the Salford BG Triathlon World Cup just 10 days ago, will be looking to add to his medal collection in Switzerland.
Despite being his first season at U23 level, former European Junior Champion, Oliver Freeman, should also feature strongly after winning a silver medal behind Clarke at the Under 23 European Championships in July, and achieving a third place finish at the London Triathlon last weekend.
In the Junior Boy's field, Alistair Brownlee, from Leeds, will line up as a leading contender after a successful season including victory in the European Junior Triathlon Cup in Croatia and a silver medal at the World Duathlon Championships in Corner Brook, Canada, two weeks ago.
Following her fourth place finish in the European Championships, Andrea Whitcombe, who won the London Triathlon 3 days ago, is aiming to build on her top ten performance from the World Championships last year. 22 year old Helen Tucker, who is currently recovering from an Achilles strain, is hoping to join the team and compete in either the Women's U23 or Senior event, although a decision on her fitness will not be made for another two weeks.
In addition, emerging talent, Rosie Clarke is awaiting confirmation of a wild card entry into the Women's U23 event from the ITU. Despite being just 19 years old, Rosie is following hot on the heels of her brother Will in a bid to make an impact on the international stage.
Rosie and Will Clarke from Cambridge are one of three pairs of siblings who have been selected in The Corus British Triathlon Team Oliver Freemans sister, Henrietta, will line up for Women's U23 event and Alistair Brownlees brother, Jonathan, will be competing in the same field as his elder brother.
British Triathlon Performance Director, Graeme Maw, commented:
"I believe these are strong teams indicative of the position of The Corus British Triathlon Team two years out from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
We have medal chances in four of the six races and, as at the European Championships, will be looking to convert at least half of those. The athletes understand that, and will be working closely together with each other and with their coaches to maximise their overall performance."
For further information on Corus or British Triathlon, please see www.britishtriathlon.org
Source: British Triathlon
More info: http://www.britishtriathlon.org/news/article.php?id=8565