Sunday, April 26, 2009
Japan 's Ide Thrills Home Crowd at Ishigaki ITU Triathlon World Cup
Young Ide shows her 5th place Olympic finish was no fluke with her first world cup victory
Ishigaki, Japan (April 26th, 2009) - Juri Ide delighted the home crowd by winning round two of the 2009 ITU Triathlon World Cup Series today on the Japanese island of Ishigaki. Leading for most of the race, Ide crossed the line in 2 hours 3 minutes and 33 seconds for her first career world cup victory. Five seconds back in second was Canada 's Kathy Tremblay with another Japanese athlete, Kiyomi Niwata, rounding out the podium a further 16 seconds down.
"I'm really happy to have won in Japan , but I'm especially happy that all of my friends, family and fans were here to see it and to share the experience," commented Ide. ""From start to finish I never felt like I was alone, the support was incredible and kept me going."
Now I am looking forward to going to Tongyeong next week and racing the other girls who were in Beijing at the Olympic Games."
Ide surprised many at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games by finishing in fifth place, ahead of many of the top names in the sport. The 25-year old showed today that this was no fluke, leading from the starting horn to the finish.
Unusually cool temperatures greeted the lead women after the opening 1,500 metre swim, which they completed in just over 18 minutes. From there it was onto the seven lap hilly bike course where two distinct groups formed early on. All three medallists and race favourites, Nicky Samuels of New Zealand and Melanie Annaheim of Switzerland were in that front pack. Despite being caught by the chase group in the closing kilometres of the 40 kilometre bike, those in the front group were obviously fresher heading onto the 10 kilometre run course.
Having to conquer the same hill as on the bike six times during the run, it was going to be the strongest on the day who would take the win. After running side by side for almost the entire run leg, Ide and Tremblay powered away from Niwata and eventual fourth place finisher Ainhoa Murua from Spain on the final ascent. Coming in to the finish straight it was Ide with fire still left in her legs as she out kicked the Canadian Tremblay for her first ever world cup medal.
Ishigaki ITU Triathlon World Cup
1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run
Elite Women - Unofficial Results
Gold - Juri Ide (JPN) 2:03:33
Silver - Kathy Tremblay (CAN) 2:03:38 +:05
Bronze - Kiyomi Niwata (JPN) 2:03:54 +:21
4th - Ainhoa Murua (ESP) 2:04:16 +:43
5th - Lauren Groves (CAN) 2:04:51 +1:18
6th - olga Dmitrieva (RUS) 2:05:22 +1:49
7th - Melanie Annaheim (SUI) 2:05:28 +1:55
8th - Nicky Samuels (NZL) 2:05:39 +2:06
9th - Ai Ueda (JPN) 2:05:46 +2:13
10th - Misato Takagi (JPN) 2:06:12 +2:39
Official full field results are available here
The race was standard Olympic distance: 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer run. Click here for more event information.
Up Next: The debut of the new Dextro Energy Triathlon - ITU World Championship Series in Tongyeong Korea - May 2/3, 2009.
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