Charles-Barclay, Knibb, Gentle and Findlay set to face off at PTO US Open
Canada's Tamara Jewett also part of stacked field for event in Dallas, Texas
Photo by: PTOWell this should be fun. The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) has announced the women’s pro list for the upcoming PTO US Open, and it features some of the strongest half-distance athletes in the world. The stacked field will duke it out for a US$100,000 first prize as their share of the US$1 million prize purse.
The field includes Great Britain’s Lucy Charles-Barclay, who returned from injury with a huge win at the recent World Triathlon Long Distance Championships in Samorin, Slovakia. She’ll take on Ashleigh Gentle (AUS), the winner of the PTO Canadian Open, along with the runner-up from that race, Canada’s own Paula Findlay. You can add to that mix the star of last year’s Collins Cup, American Taylor Knibb, who is also returning from injury, and Great Britain’s Holly Lawrence, who had a strong showing at the Collins Cup last month, too.
The rematch between Gentle and Findlay should prove interesting all by itself – the Canadian lost to Gentle by over two minutes in Edmonton, but at the Collins Cup the gap was down to just 19 seconds. It will also be interesting to see how Knibb and Charles-Barclay fair coming off their injuries.
Other Canadians in the field include Tamara Jewett, who was given the Julie Moss Award for her gutsy performance at the Collins Cup last month and Rach McBride.
You can see the full start list here.
The PTO US Open women’s race will take place on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 11:45 AM local time (12:45 EST).
You can find details on how to watch the event here and the event will also be streamed on CBC.