Today's Edition
Abu Dhabi (Aletihad)
New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde and Germany’s Lisa Tertsch kicked off their World Triathlon Championship Series with top podium finishes at the Modon World Triathlon Championship Series in Abu Dhabi.
In the 10th staging of the global competition in the emirate, the two-day event kicked off on Saturday at Al Hudayriyat Island, which hosted the championship for the first time.
The series saw Germany secure a podium sweep as Lisa Tertsch crossed the finish line ahead of her teammates Nina Eim and Laura Lindemann in the Elite Women’s Race, while Australia’s Matt Hauser and Portugal’s Vasco Vilaca secured silver and bronze, respectively, behind Hayden Wilde.
Tertsch said: “I’m happy with my execution – I prepared well and executed my plan. Knowing I was number one, I had no one to cue off at the lineup, so I had to trust my position. I had already decided where I wanted to stand, so even if others moved to the side, I stayed confident. I told myself, ‘I can swim fast on my own, so I’ll do it’.”
Her men’s counterpart Wilde was happy to come ahead and prepare here for weeks going into the race. "I just went out there and had a bit of fun, I've been here for weeks, and they welcomed me with open arms and I've just been loving it.
“I've raced Matt over the 5K run many times. I saw his coach say, ‘one more push!’ and I knew he had it in him. I just had to hold the pace and he was coming hot! With Matt, Morgan, and the others, I had to push hard on the bike to drop some strong runners, and it looks like we did that."
Almost 1400 elites, community, para, and kids took to the start line for an event that showcased the very best of triathlon. In the now traditional season opener, 32 nationalities were represented across the weekend.
With the Abu Dhabi skyline forming an scenic backdrop, there were remarkable performances at the Para World Cup race with Clivenne Tjenderasa securing a victory for the UAE in the women's race, while Saifuldin Said claimed top spot for Egypt in the men's race. There was also a glimpse into the future of the sport as 120 kids aged 9-11 competed with a number of standout performances which saw New Zealand’s Atalia Baker achieve first place for the girls’ race and Austria’s Ben Hoehn win the boys’ race.
Sunday began with a huge celebration of amateur triathlon as over 1000 participants tested themselves along the standard swim, cycle, and running distances in the Age Group categories.Also, the Sprint and Super-Sprint events, the shorted forms of the sport, saw children from age 12-15 competing.
The curtain came down on the weekend with the Elite Mixed Relay, which was won by Team Germany: Selina Klamt, Jan Diener, Tanja Neubert, Henry Graf, bringing to a close another thrilling two days of competition – and underlined the popularity of triathlon in Abu Dhabi.
