Penticton preview: ITU Multisport World Champs kick off tomorrow

The inaugural ITU Multisport World Championships kicks off tomorrow in Penticton, B.C. and 3,500 pro and amateur athletes from around the world have arrived on Canada’s west coast for the five-event, 10-day festival.

What is it?

The ITU has decided to combine all of its world championship events into one large, awesome festival. Normally these events would be spread throughout the world at different times. Now, they’ve decided to make a 10-day festival holding five events. Besides racing, there will be plenty of other activities going on for families and friends – parties, a parade of nations, farewell fireworks, markets… the list goes on.

The events

The five World Championship (WC) events are:

1. Sprint Duathlon WC (5km run, 20km bike, 2.5km run)

2. Standard Duathlon WC (10km run, 40km bike, 5km run)

3. Cross Triathlon WC (1km swim, 30km off road mountain bike, 8km trail run)

4. Aquathlon WC (1km swim, 5km run)

5. Long course WC (3km swim, 120km bike, 30km run)

Race week conditions

While much of B.C. has been experiencing air quality issues due to widespread wildfires across the province, it looks like the situation will be ok in Penticton for the festival. Regular air quality and weather updates are provided on the official event Facebook page, found below:

For friends and family and Penticton locals interested in watching the events, there is a helpful spectator guide:

TMC will be covering #Penticton2017 for all the 10 days of the event and will provide pre-race and post-race reports. Tag us in your social media posts with the hashtag above for a chance to featured on our feed.