USA Triathlon Championships to host Olympic hopefuls in Tuscaloosa

 

On Saturday, August 22, some of the country’s fastest International Distance course triathletes compete in the USA Triathlon (USAT) National Championships on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

Over 800 athletes will compete in amateur divisions for the right to represent the United States in the 2010 International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Championship in Budapest, Hungary. Later the same day nearly 50 elite-level triathletes representing the United States will race in an ITU Pan American Cup draft-legal race. The ITU race will also serve as the 2009 USAT Elite National Championship.

The International Distance, also called the Olympic Distance, consists of a 1,500 meter swim, 40 kilometer bike, and 10 kilometer run. 

Many of the elite athletes are racing as future 2012 Olympic Trial competitors as well as a piece of the $30,000 prize purse. The Americans can also win up to an additional $1,500 for finishing in the top three overall.

The United States’ professional men likely to vie for the championship include:

Matty Reed. Reed returns to Tuscaloosa where he won the 2008 Olympic Trials to defend his national title. This year he has wins at Ironman 70.3 California, ITU Oklahoma PATCO Pan American Championships, and a photo-finish win at the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon – Minneapolis. His aggressive biking ability is matched by a strong final run kick as shown the races he has won. He’s coming off a self-described disappointing ITU race in London just one week prior.

Timothy O’Donnell. The six-time Armed Forces Champion and 2012 Olympic hopeful, in his first year as a full-time professional, has racked up an impressive list of podium and first place finishes in 2009 including setting course records at St. Croix Ironman 70.3 and the 5430 Long Course triathlons. He’s been concentrating on his run game this year and it’s been working.

Kevin Collington and Ethan Brown are both fast rising talents - who bring a handful of 2009 top-ten finishes to Tuscaloosa - looking for their first ITU wins of the year. Noticeably absent from the race will be three-time Olympian Hunter Kemper who is recovering from persistent injuries.

The women’s field headliners are:

Mary Beth Ellis. She has wins this year in the Oklahoma City PATCO Pan American Championship, Escape fro Alcatraz Triathlon and a birthday win at the Boulder Peak Triathlon. Her strong bike splits have put her in a position to be on the podium. It's expected she'll be in the lead pack of bikers from the start.

Hayley Peirsol. She is one of only three women in the world to break 16 minutes in a 1,500 meter swim event. There’s definitely something in the Peirsol family gene pool because her brother Aaron holds the world record in the 200 meter backstroke and has three Olympic swimming gold medals. It’s expected she will lead the ladies out of the water and stick with the top cyclists too. In the Austin ITU Pan American Cup race she used a full minute lead out of the water to hang on for a second place finish.

Jenna Shoemaker. She is the sister of 2008 Beijing Olympian, Jerrod Shoemaker, and comes to Tuscaloosa with a 2009 third place finish at the ITU Oklahoma PATCO Pan American Championship and a win at the ITU Mazatlan Pan American Cup. Her weapon is the bike and assuming she’s in the mix after the swim she could put enough distance between her and the others for the win.

Jennifer Spieldenner. This first class swimmer is expected to exit the water either with, or hot on the heels, of Shoemaker. Equally as good a cyclist as she is a swimmer she has used the first two disciplines to outdistance the others and earn her two third place finishes and one second place ITU finish this year.

Because this is an ITU Pan American Cup race the USA will have company on the course. Expect to see strong performers from Canada, Mexico, and Brazil too.