Germany’s Jan Frodeno and Canadian Paula Findlay have wrapped up the 2010 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series as the leaders of the Best Runner Rankings. Each athlete has been awarded a $5,000 bonus as part of this brand-new ranking system. The ITU Best Segment Rankings were introduced earlier this year to reward the most consistent swimmers, bikers and runners throughout the season. A total of $60,000 (USD) is awarded to the top-three athletes in each discipline.
In the men’s competition, Frodeno finished the year only two points ahead of Javier Gomez, this year’s ITU World Champion. Frodeno was among the top three runners in five of the seven Series events, including in Seoul, where he posted the best run of the day to take the win. Gomez earned the maximum of 20 points for putting up the fastest run split on three occasions. The Spaniard even clocked the best run time in Kitzbühel, where he was forced to serve a 15-second penalty on the run course. Rounding out the top three runners of this year is Russian youngster Alexander Brukhankov, who finished the year with 47 points.
Final Rankings/Prize Money (USD)
1. Jan Frodeno (GER) 79 points, $5,000
2. Javier Gomez (ESP) 77 points, $3,000
3. Alexander Brukhankov (RUS) 47 points, $2,000
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The race for the top female runner of the season was almost as tight, with Findlay finishing just five points ahead of Kiwi Andrea Hewitt. Amazingly, Findlay finished atop the rankings despite only scoring points at three Series events, while most of her competition scored five or six races. Findlay turned in the best run of the day in London and Kitzbühel (winning both races), and was the second-fastest runner of the day (after Emma Snowsill) at the Budapest Grand Final. Hewitt, who was perhaps the most consistent runner throughout the season, finished second, just half a point ahead of World Champion Emma Moffatt.
Final Rankings/Prize Money (USD)
1. Paula Findlay (CAN) 56 points, $5,000
2. Andrea Hewitt (NZL) 51 points, $3,000
3. Emma Moffatt (AUS) 50.5 points, $2,000