Olympic Pontoon Draw Completed

by World Triathlon Admin on 16 Aug, 2008 12:00

The draw for the athletes starting positions for Monday and Tuesday’s Olympic races was completed this afternoon at the host hotel for the Beijing Olympic Games triathlon competition.  In a blind draw, the two ends of the pontoon were most popular for the top ten men and women who chose first.  But interestingly, the top men chose the left of the pontoon while the top women chose the right.

In the women’s field, Vanessa Fernandes selected spots number 7 on the pontoon.  She’ll have Canadian Lauren Groves to her right and Laura Bennett to her left.  Emma Moffatt was second to choose and elected for number 16.  She’s flanked on either side by teammate Emma Snowsill and German Anja Dittmer.  To Dittmer’s right will be Nicola Spirig of Switzerland and one spot further will be Debbie Tanner.  Her Kiwi compatriot Sam Warriner was third up and selected position 10, with Carole Peon of France and Elizabeth May on either side of her.  Other notables include defending Olympic gold medalist Kate Allen who will be in position 25 with American Julie Ertel and Mari Rabie of South Africa on each side.

For the men, Javier Gomez elected for the far left of the pontoon in spot number 55.  Last year’s silver medalist Bevan Docherty got to choose second and took the position right beside him in spot 54.  Aussie Brad Kahlefeldt opted for number 47 with Will Clarke and Igor Sysoev on either side of him.  Tim Don was fourth up and selected the furthest left position available, right beside Docherty.  Sydney gold medalist Simon Whitfield did the same and will line up next to Don.  Other notables include Frederic Belaubre of France who will take spot 30, beside teammate Laurrent Vidal and Ryosuke Yamamoto of Japan.  German Jan Frodeno elected for spot 9 with teammate and 2007 world champion Daniel Unger in spot 7.

The top ten athletes in the ITU points standings from the end of the Olympic qualification period were first to select their starting positions.  After the vacant positions were revealed on the screen, the remaining athletes chose their places.  The exact spots of the top ten selections were not shown until the end of the process.

Just before the draw, the technical delegates presented the athlete briefing where athletes are informed of all the important technical and logistical details regarding the triathlon.

The women’s competition starts at 10am on Monday August 18 while the men go at 10am on Tuesday August 19. 

Click here for women’s start list

Click here for men’s start list

Article tags olympics
Related Event: Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
18 - 19 Aug, 2008 • event pageall results
Results: Elite Women
1. Emma Snowsill AUS 01:58:26
2. Vanessa Fernandes POR 01:59:33
3. Emma Moffatt AUS 01:59:55
4. Laura Bennett USA 02:00:21
5. Juri Ide JPN 02:00:22
Results: Elite Men
1. Jan Frodeno GER 01:48:52
2. Simon Whitfield CAN 01:48:58
3. Bevan Docherty NZL 01:49:05
4. Javier Gomez Noya ESP 01:49:13
5. Ivan Raña Fuentes ESP 01:49:22
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