World Triathlon

New Zealand’s Hamish Carter spoilt the Australian party by denying the home-town favourites a double victory after Emma Carney won the women’s race for the third year running at the ITU Triathlon World Cup in Sydney today. Carney showed that she will be almost impossible to beat at the ITU Triathlon World Championships in Perth, Australia, in three weeks time.

For Carter, he became the first man to win more than one world cup event this year after nine different competitors had one the previous nine rounds. Carney’s win guarantees that she will take out the 1997 ITU Triathlon World Cup title, making it the third time in her career, and the third year in a row that she has claimed the overall end-of-year crown, her other wins coming in 1995 and 1996.

Carter’s win in the men’s event keeps his world cup title hopes alive, narrowing the gap to current leader Chris McCormack (AUS) who had a disappointing day after experiencing a flat trying on
exiting the swim to bike transition.

The strongest fields ever assembled for a triathlon in Australia heard the starters gun in front of the International Olympic Committee Olympic Games Co-ordination Commission. The IOC Commission is in Sydney to evaluate the progress of the Sydney Games organisation and has timed their visit to coincide with the ITU Triathlon World Cup season finale.

In the women’s event, Australian Nicole Hackett and American Barb Lindquist led the swim, conducted with wetsuits in the 19 degree water, with world number one Carney 1 minute 40 seconds adrift in 19th place. Hungary’s Erika Molnar is not the strongest swimmer and did not have a great swim in Sydney, exiting the water in 36th place, nearly one and half minutes behind
the leaders.

On the 40km bike circuit that included a velodrome-styled turn-around at the completion of each lap, Hackett and Lindquist retained the lead, with Carney steadily reducing the gap until she joined the front on lap three. Lindquist still retained a 28 second gap on lap four, from Hackett and Carney, with Carney’s team-mate Loretta Harrop also making a strong move on the bike.

Carney completed the bike with the fastest time and led out of transition to begin her usual dominance of the run. On each of the three and a half laps of the 10km final leg, Carney extended her lead and she crossed the line to record her third consecutive Sydney win and her six win of the 1997 series. Carney recorded the time of 2 hours and thirty two seconds, 53 seconds clear of Loretta Harrop who held off Lindquist by 22 seconds for second place. Australian Rina Hill clocked the second fastest run time to move up to fourth place, ahead of Molnar who finished fifth.

Despite another water temperature measurement just prior to their start, the men’s event also began with a wetsuit swim. With seven of the nine 1997 winners in the line-up the pace was always going to be furious and they did little to disappoint the big crowd that had gathered at the Sydney Opera House to watch a preview of the 2000 Olympic Games.

Frenchman Stephane Poulat lead a big bunch out of the 1500m swim, including Carter, closely followed by the leading Australians Brad Beven, Miles Stewart and Greg Welch, who was competing in the Sydney event for the first time.

Three distinct packs formed during the 40km bike with Carter forcing his way to the lead, from Beven and Stewart. Australian Simon Knowles, having his first ITU start of the year, joined the leaders on lap four, however Beven’s chances of repeating his 1995 Sydney victory ended when he lost control of his bike, crashing heavily. Fortunately for the four-time world cup champion he escaped without serious injury and his preparations for the world championships will be not seriously disrupted.

Knowles, Stewart and Carter entered transition together, 27 seconds clear of Welch and McCormack, who run with his bike over the last 200m after having technical difficulties. Carter, who produced a withering run to claim victory in Cancun two weeks ago, proceeded to stamp his authority on the field. He opened a 22 second lead on the first run lap, before extending the gap to 37 seconds on lap two and 47 seconds on lap three before running out a 57 second winner in a time of 1:51:28.

The battle for the minor placings was intriguing with Miles Stewart and Greg Welch going head-to head for most of the 10km run. Welch moved clear with 3km remaining, gaining support from the large crowd on the Opera House steps to secure second place in 1 hour 52 minutes and 25 seconds. Stewart, missing from the world cup circuit for much of the year following knee surgery, tired slightly, but managed to hold off Kazkhstan’s Dimity Gaag for third, 17 seconds behind Welch.

Carney was delighted to win, but she was still focused on winning the world title in three weeks time. “I don’t think I ran flat out, I don’t think you have to do that every race. The win is sometimes more important than lattening yourself. Today was almost like the world’s, and this is the place where all our Olympic dreams will come alive so it is special to win in Sydney. It’s such a buzz every time you run past the crowd.” “I’ve been hot favourite for the last two worlds and messed it up, but I think the difference this year is that I’ve taken the season slowly and gradually built it up.”

Harrop was still in shock, nearly two hours after her career-best result. “You have to pinch me. Second in Sydney, my best before this was ninth - I still can’t believe it. I had a really bad swim, normally I’m at the front, but today I was not as close. Perhaps this worked in my favour.”

Carter, who will now go into the world championships as the main danger to defending champion Simon Lessing (GBR) was a little shocked with his win also. “This is a surprise. I’ve been building up to the tail end of the season and I think I’m starting to get some results now. It’s always great to win any world cup race, but to win two is wild. ” “It gives me a great run in to worlds, I’m sure I can go quicker than that, and I know everyone else will go quicker than that, but there’s a lot to look forward to.”

Welch, who delighted the crowd with his performance thought the end of the bike was the decisive moment for him. “We really weren’t working together was well as I thought we could and Hamish got a small gap. Unfortunately Brad Beven and Chris McCormack didn’t have a great race today, but I think I’ve made the Australian team for worlds. I lost a little time in the transition to the bike but I don’t think it made much of a difference.”

Stewart also blamed his bike for not being able to close the gap on Carter. “I think Hamish was smartest on the bike and I won’t use the same tactics in Perth. It was a very strong field today and I am not disappointed to finish where I have.”

The final event of the triathlon year is the ITU Triathlon World Championships in Perth, Australia on Sunday 16 November, 1997.