| 13 May,1996 | For lmmediate Release |
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The Japanese tropical resort of Ishigaki Island a dramatic backdrop for the victories by Australia's Miles Stewart and Emma Carney at the opening round of the 1996 ITU Triathlon World Cup. Official police estimates placed the crowd at 42,000 including many dressed in folk attire playing traditional drum music adding a festive environment to the race. Corney came out of the water in eleventh position and worked to the front of the pack on the bike. Ute Muckel of Germany led the women swimmers with a 20 minute, 22 second split. Carney organised a group of three riders,including Muckel and Sabine Graf-Westhoff(GER)which pulled away from the remaining athletes for a 1 minute,5 second lead going into the 10 kilometers run. Carney dominated the run,beating eventual second place finisher, Jackle Gallagher(AUS)by 1 minute,22 seconds on the run and winning the race by 2 minutes and 30 seconds. The Australian women made it a clean sweep with a third place finish by Rina Hill. Gallagher and Hill passed Muckel and Graf-Westhoff on the run. In the men's race,Stephan Poulat(FRA)narrowly led the field of 63 triathletes out of the water on the three loop,1500 metre swim. The lead bike group formed up with nine riders, including Stewart,Lach Volmerhaus(AUS),Shane Reed(AUS),Greg Bennett(AUS),Conrad Stoliz(RSA),Glynde Mangum(USA),Graig Walton(AUS)and Poulat,While flat, the 40 kilometre bike course provided plenty of challenge for triathletes with numerous sharp turns. Stewart dropped the group over the first 2 kilometres of the run, clearly establishing his dominance in the race. After a complaint of a sore toe from a mishap at the end of the swim,Stewart was diagnosed with a broken toe and was wearing a cast just two hours after the race.Even with the commanding lead, Stewart said ,"I wasn't sure of the win until the last turn with 250 metres to the finish."He added,"A group of us formed up on the bike and worked together to get away from the pack. This is the perfect course for the new drafting legal rule. I am happy with my decision to rejoin the ITU World Cup,with my goal of competing in the Olympic Games." From the second group of riders,Alexandre Manzan and veteran Leandro Macedo,both from Brazil,surged past all but stewart to finish second and third overall. Manzan recorded a 30 minute,48 second split on the run,1 minute,25 seconds faster than winner Miles Stewart. Ishigaki proved to be a perfect race environment, with 23 degree water, 24 degree air temperature and 72% humidity. The town centre course attracted virtually all of the ishigaki population, plus many tourists visiting the resort island. IOC member in Japan,MR.Chiharu lgaya said,"With the great success of today's race, we would like the ITU Triathlon in Japan." ITU President, Les McDonald was also on hand for the 1998 season opener and said, "The enthusiasm of the spectators proves that multi-loop@ triathlon courses are exciting to watch." He added, "The performances by the Australians and Brazilians was impressive, with good showings by athletes from more than fifteen countries". The ITU Triathlon World Cup travels north to Gamagorl, Japan, next Sunday, 19 May, the second stop on the eleven event series. Triathlon World Rankings are based on athlete performance in the Triathlon World Cup. Qualification into the ITU Triathlon World Championships is based primarily on athletes position on the Triathilon World Rankings. ITU is the sole international Federation for the sport of triathlon, which has been named as a full medal sport in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. |