Tales from the Windy City – some Piranhas in Chicago
As reported last month, five Piranhas raced during 16-19 September in Chicago for various short course World Age Group events. These were Dani and Tony Syme, Stephanie and Tristan Harrison, and David Hunter. Here is a short report from David.
Now in its seventh year, the World Age Group championships are held in conjunction with the ITU Grand Final for the professional triathletes. This is a chance for age groupers to compete against fellow age group athletes from around the world on the same course as the pros.
This year Chicago, USA hosted 8,000 triathletes across Sprint, Olympic and Aquathlons races, for Paratriathletes, Under 23 and Open Elites, and the age groupers.
281 Australians were racing in Chicago. They had earned points in races across Australia during summer 2014/15. I was in the Mens 40 – 44 years Sprint distance race which is the same distance as our OCTC Sprint distance races of 750m swim, 20km bike, and 5 km run. There were 108 racers from 14 countries in my age bracket and we were split in two waves which meant less chaos at the start. I finished mid pack in a race won by a Mexican, then Brazilian, with a Brit rounding off the podium.
There was a great atmosphere with spectators and competitors cheering for both their own and other countrymen and women. It is a chance to race in an international field, wear the green and gold, and hang out with other tri maddies for a few days.
Next year’s champs are in Cozumel, Mexico in Sep, 2016. The first Australian qualifier for the Sprint distance is in South Australia next month, while the second Olympic qualifier is in Vic also in Oct. The Triathlon Australia website has an excellent section that explains it all, including the qualifier schedule. Rotterdam hosts in 2017, followed by the Gold Coast in 2018. A race to consider so close to home?!
David