Another photo finish and a towering performance from Alistair Brownlee ensured the 2009 Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championship Series continued its exciting start at round two in Madrid over the weekend.
Brownlee – the British runner who came to national prominence with a memorable 12th at Beijing – opened up a 24-second gap over the star-studded field soon after T2. Javier Gomez, Courtney Atkinson and Jan Frodeno were just some of the feted athletes who had no answer to Brownlee’s attacking run.
Brownlee could afford to cruise to the finish as he crossed the line in 1:51:27, some 48 seconds ahead of the Atkinson who beat the home favourite Gomez by just five seconds.
“It was the perfect race for me really,” said Brownlee, the reigning under 23 world champion and 220 Men’s Elite Triathlete of 2009. “Everything seemed to go right from the start. I went off on the run and before I knew it I had thirty seconds. I thought I was going to blow up on that last lap, but it was great to hold on.”
In a similar vein to the men’s event from the opening ITU Series race in Tongyeong, the women’s race saw a photo finish deciding the winner. New Zealand’s Andrea Hewitt and Sweden’s Lisa Norden crossed the line together in 2:05:58 with a last ditch effort paying off for the Kiwi who suffered at the opening race of the series in Tongyeong when she crashed early on the cycle leg. Jessica Harrison from France finished in third just one second behind.
For a full report see issue 236 of 220 Triathlon. The next race in the 2009 Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championship Series takes place in Washington, DC on 21 June.
2009 Madrid Dextro Energy Triathlon - ITU World Championship
1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run
Elite Women - Official Results
Gold – Andrea Hewitt (NZL) 2:05:58
Silver – Lisa Norden (SWE) 2:05:58 +0:01
Bronze – Jessica Harrison (FRA) 2:05:59 +0:02
2009 Madrid Dextro Energy Triathlon - ITU World Championship
1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run
Elite Men - Official Results
Gold – Alistair Brownlee (GBR) 1:51:27
Silver – Courtney Atkinson (AUS) 1:52:14 +0:48
Bronze –Javier Gomez (ESP) 1:52:19 +0:53
2009 Dextro Energy Triathlon - ITU World Championship Women’s Rankings
After Race Two of Eight
1. Magali Di Marco Messmer (SUI) 1043pts
2. Jessica Harrison (FRA) 1024pts
3. Emma Moffatt (AUS) 1018pts
4. Juri Ide (JPN) 985ts
5. Samantha Warriner (NZL) 965pts
2009 Dextro Energy Triathlon - ITU World Championship Men’s Rankings
After Race Two of Eight
1. Dmitry Polyansky (RUS) 1186pts
2. Brad Kahlefeldt (AUS) 1169pts
3. Courtney Atkinson (AUS) 1137pts
4. Alexander Brukhankov (RUS) 1043pts
5. Kris Gemmell (NZL) 911pts
