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Edmonton makes bid for third World Triathlon Grand Final event

Edmonton, Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta

From press release.

Organizers of the ITU World Triathlon Edmonton are heading to Leeds, UK to present a bid for the 2019 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final to the ITU Executive Committee.

The first Edmonton triathlon world championships in 2001 was dubbed by the International Triathlon Union (ITU) as “the best ever.” The second championship, by then called the Grand Final, was described by ITU President Marisol Casada as “setting a new level of event management.”

The presentation will be made in Leeds, England where the ITU Executive Committee will be meeting ahead of this weekend’s WTS Leeds race. A team from Lausanne, Switzerland will also be making a competitive pitch to host the 2019 event. We can expect the ITU to announce a decision on the host city some time in August.

Sheila O’Kelly, General Manager and President of World Triathlon Edmonton, who has been the leader of the team since the first ITU pitch in 1998, will be leading the presentation on Friday.

“Edmonton and triathlon are intertwined in the minds of many of the world’s triathlon community,” says O’Kelly. “At the same time, the City has developed a global reputation as being one of the world’s leading sporting host cities, and we will be making a joint presentation to the ITU Executive Committee.”

In addition to O’Kelly the triathlon team will include Triathlon Canada, represented by Christian Triquet, a member of the Board of Directors, and Tyler Mislawchuk, presently Canada’s highest-ranked triathlete. It will also include Sheila Findlay, competition manager; Brian Hetherington and Margaret Kool, bid co-chairs and representatives from the city of Edmonton.