The ITU Mixed Relay World Championships that took place in Hamburg, Germany, this weekend has been heralded a great success after the showpiece event broke broadcast and digital engagement records while attracting huge participation and attendance figures.
A record 1.61 million viewers watched the Triathlon Mixed Relay event on German television on Sunday 13 July – 10% of TV viewers at that time. Online traffic for the official ITU website [Triathlonlive.tv] also increased significantly for the Mixed Relay race with an increase of 50% in users as compared to the last event, which was also held in Hamburg. The race was held alongside the World Triathlon Hamburg, which saw more than 250,000 fans turn out to cheer the 10,500 people that competed across all elite and open races in the sixth meeting of the 2014 WTS schedule.
The Triathlon Mixed Relay – one of the most highly anticipated events on the ITU calendar – saw Great Britain assert themselves as the most successful team in history collecting their third World Championship title. Team France, with three of their four team members under the age of 20, came second and Hungary came third, claiming their first podium finish of the season.
After the sixth edition of the World Championship race, athletes from a record 30 different countries have now competed in the championship race with 10 different countries reaching the podium. 303 athletes have taken part with Jonathan Brownlee [GBR] the most decorated male athlete with three wins from four starts and Vicky Holland [GBR] joining Daniela Ryf [SUI] as the most successful female athletes with two race wins each.
Speaking about ITU’s ambitions for Triathlon Mixed Relay, Marisol Casado, said:
“With unpredictable drama and the display of team pride, the Triathlon Mixed Relay format is Triathlon racing at its most thrilling. The ITU is passionate about having Triathlon Mixed Relay added to the Olympic Sports Programme and we are keen to promote it in the context of the IOC’s Agenda 2020 and President Bach’s positive mission for reform and evolution.
“The energetic, exciting, uncompromising and action-packed format also appeals tremendously to youth. If added to the Olympic Programme, the Mixed Relay discipline has the ability to showcase Triathlon to a new generation. The excitement and drama of Triathlon Mixed Relay also makes it a marketable, spectator-friendly discipline that is pulsating viewing for television spectators.”
Mixed Relay will appear at the Commonwealth Games for the first time in the event’s history, scheduled to take place on Saturday 26 July. To ensure Mixed Relay’s continued development, ITU will also organize the first-ever Under 23/Junior Mixed Relay World Championships at the World Triathlon Series Edmonton Grand Final in September.
About the Hamburg WTS event, ITU President, Marisol Casado, added:
“Following a hugely successful WTS event in Hamburg it’s great to see the continued growth and development of Triathlon around the world. Spectator numbers and athlete participation figures continue to rise and more fans are engaging with our sport than ever before.
“These figures show that we have a great model and we must capture the growing interest in Triathlon and harness the energy and ambition that we all share for the sport as we look towards the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016.”
