Team ITU completes part of Olympic puzzle in Huatulco

by Merryn Sherwood on 09 May, 2012 08:59 • Español

The final Team ITU event of 2012 was designed to help its athletes push towards the London 2012 Olympics, and while they did just that, they know the battle is not just over yet.

Huatulco was the final World Cup in the London Olympic Qualification Criteria and therefore the final chance for Team ITU to achieve it’s aim: helping athletes who have the potential to compete at the Olympics at a World Cup level. The team gathered included Mateja Simic (SLO), Elizabeth Bravo (ECU), Fabienne St Louis (MRI), Yuliya Yelistratova (UKR), Leonardo Chacon (CRC), Ognjen Stojanovic (SRB), Michel Gonzalez (CUB), Dan Alterman (ISR), Jason Wilson (BAR) and Carlos Javier Quinchara Forero (COL), athletes from NOCs who could make history. So far, no athlete from Costa Rica, Cuba, Israel, Serbia, Barbados, Slovenia, Ecuador or Mauritius has qualified for an Olympic Games in triathlon before.

In the elite women’s race, Yelistratova posted the fastest run of the day 36 minutes and 58 seconds - to cut into a three minute lead from T2 and claim seventh place, with Simic just behind her. The points for both were enough to not just hold on for the Olympic simulation, but move further ahead. For Simic, it was a nice symmetry that Huatulco might seal her Olympic spot, as its where she first entered the Olympics simulation picture last year. But the journey to make the Olympics isn’t quite over yet.

“Last year after Huatulco I came into Olympic rankings and I held that the whole winter, but because I was only racing the second year of Olympic ranking, I didn’t know if I could get there in the European new flag spot,” Simic said. “Now after this result in Huatulco, I have am a chance to be in the Olympic qualification points list, but I still must race well in Madrid and San Diego.”

It was a sentiment echoed by Quinchara Forero, Colombia’s top ranked male athlete. Colombia have had female athletes qualify for the Olympics before, but Forero would be the first male if he qualified for London. He finished fifth, his equal highest World Cup result, but it wasn’t quite enough to reel in Gonzalo Tellechea, who knocked the Colombian out of the American new flag spot with bronze in Ishigaki.

“My process start last year, when I finished ninth in Monterrey and that gave me a real chance at qualifying for the Olympics in the Americas new flag. Then I finished fifth in Guatape, then I thought I was really close but then I got an injury and I couldn’t race and I lost the Americas new flag,” Forero said, “But now I finish fifth, now my chances are to do really good races in San Diego and Madrid and finish ahead of the guy ahead of me. So I have to do good races in San Diego and Madrid.”

St Louis currently holds the African new flag spot, and will become the first athlete from Mauritius to compete in triathlon at the Olympics in London if all goes to plan. She said the support from the ITU Development programme had been crucial.

“To be part of Team ITU brings to me a good spirit because I’m from Mauritius, there’s no team, I’m the only one racing international races,” she said. “ITU gave me opportunity to do international races since three years now. With those races I can get points if I am in the ranking and in the top percentage of the race. To get one team like this, to feel like a big team which have a lot of athletes and coaches and everything, we have a good spirit.”

Elizabeth Bravo on Team ITU’s team spirit: “Before the race, Mateja helped me a lot because all the time she say to me, ‘You can do it, you can do it.’ It’s so great for me. She’s my room partner and thank you to her.” Mateja Simic on Team ITU: “We are competitors, but also friends. We want everyone to have the success.”

Chacon, who has been part of Team ITU for the entire four year Olympic preparation period, had already wrapped up his Olympic place but another top 15 finish in Huatulco helped secure it further. He said overall, he couldn’t have done it without the ITU Development programme.

“Being part of this group has been an amazing experience for me, it’s helped me pretty much, I’m already in London with my spot. I’m ranked 37 right now in the rankings, but it’s helped me a lot, because with the ITU team we don’t just have the flights to the races, we also get a big opportunity to participate as a real team, having doctors, physios, coaches, who helps really much before during and after the race,” Chacon said. “That’s the most important thing, and I think without them I wouldn’t qualify for the Olympics. It makes everything easier when you are travelling with them.”

Click here for more information on ITU Development


Article gallery
Related Event: 2012 Huatulco ITU Triathlon World Cup
06 May, 2012 • event pageall results
Results: Elite Women
1. Flora Duffy BER 02:13:17
2. Pamella Oliveira BRA 02:13:47
3. Claudia Rivas MEX 02:13:53
4. Alexandra Razarenova RUS 02:14:11
5. Line Jensen DEN 02:14:27
Results: Elite Men
1. Simon De Cuyper BEL 02:02:34
2. Ryan Sissons NZL 02:02:50
3. Danylo Sapunov UKR 02:02:54
4. Tyler Butterfield BER 02:03:04
5. Carlos Javier Quinchara Forero COL 02:03:07
Related articles
  • Simon De Cuyper takes debut ITU World Cup in Huatulco
    Belgium's Simon De Cuyper pulled off an impressive third-lap run surge in hot and humid Huatulco to record his first ITU World Cup victory, as Ryan Sissons claimed silver and Danylo Sapunov bronze.
    10:40 - 06 May, 2012
  • Flora Duffy dominates in Huatulco for first World Cup victory
    Bermuda's Flora Duffy delivered a complete performance on her way to a dominating victory at today's Huatulco ITU Triathlon World Cup in Mexico. Brazil's Pamela Oliveira and Mexico's Claudia Rivas joined her on the podium
    09:22 - 06 May, 2012
  • 2012 Huatulco World Cup press conference highlights
    Past world champion Ivan Rana and 2011 Pan Am Games bronze medallist Pamela Oliveira joined Claudia Rivas and Crisanto Grajales in Huatulco to meet with the media ahead of the third stop of the 2012 ITU World Cup season
    09:13 - 04 May, 2012
  • Team ITU ready to race in Huatulco
    It's the final Team ITU event for 2012, as well as the final World Cup of the Olympic Qualification period, so take a look at some of the athletes the ITU Development programme is helping to chase history.
    05:01 - 02 May, 2012
  • Team ITU celebrates five-year anniversary at Auckland World Cup
    Five years ago, Team ITU was simply an dream. In Auckland this week, the team is celebrating five years of making dreams come true. We take a look back at where the programme started, and all its achieved so far.
    06:24 - 18 Nov, 2011
Tracker Pixel for Entry