The International Triathlon Union (ITU) today announced that the ITU Sprint Triathlon World Championships and the ITU Team Triathlon World Championships will be integrated into the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series for the 2011 season. Both events are set to take place in Lausanne, Switzerland on August 20-21. Now part of the Dextro Energy Triathlon Series, the races will feature live broadcasts as well as have the same branding and look as every other event in the series.
The higher profile of the Team Triathlon World Championships will bolster the ITU’s bid to have the event included on the Olympic Games programme for Rio 2016.
Athletes will have the opportunity to earn points in the Sprint World Championships towards their overall Dextro Energy Triathlon Series rankings, which determine the ITU World Champions. However, neither event will have Olympic qualifying points on offer.
The Sprint World Championships (half the Olympic distance at 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run) will feature a $100,000 USD prize purse and is still set to go on Saturday 20 August in Lausanne.
The Team Triathlon World Championships will have $50,000 USD up for grabs and will be staged on Sunday 21 August also in Lausanne. Countries will battle to be the top triathlon nation as teams consist of two men and two women, each completing a super sprint triathlon of 275m swim, 6km bike and 1.5km run.
Marisol Casado, ITU President and IOC Member, said:
“We are extremely pleased to raise our Team and Sprint Championships into the premier triathlon series in the world. This is another important step forward in our dream to have Team Triathlon included on the Olympic Games programme. Both the Sprint and Team Relay are exciting formats of triathlon and are sure to attract fresh interest in the sport.”
Last year Switzerland thrilled the home crowds by winning its second straight Team Triathlon World Championship. Sweden’s Lisa Norden and Jonathan Brownlee of Great Britain were crowned the inaugural ITU Sprint Triathlon World Champions.
