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Tongyeong ITU Triathlon World Cup Preview

South Korea this Saturday

South Korea plays host to the 2011 Tongyeong ITU Triathlon World Cup this Saturday, the seventh stop of the 2011 world cup series.

In the women’s field, Ireland’s Aileen Morrison will toe the start line wearing No. 1 on Saturday.  She’s coming off a fourth place finish in Huatulco this past Sunday and will be vying for a podium position in Tongyeong after she took silver at the Ishigaki World Cup this year.  She also finished in fourth in Yokohama round of the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series.

Among the men, the Russians have two sets of brothers competing in Tongyeong, the Vasilievs and the Polyanskys. Of the four, Dmitry Polyansky comes in with the best results, following his bronze in Yokohama and finishing just out of medals at the Grand Final in Beijing.  He will line up on the start pontoon wearing No. 1.

About the race:  The small port city on the southern tip of the Korean peninsula has held numerous ITU events since 2003 including the first ever Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series in 2009. The course consists of a two-lap ocean swim with wetsuits likely, a five-lap bike course over two sizable hills and a flat four-lap run.

SCHEDULE:

Elite Women – Saturday 15 October – 10:00 (UTC/GMT +9)

Elite Men – Saturday 15 October – 13:00 (UTC/GMT +9)

WEBSITES:

www.triathlon.org

www.triathlon.or.kr

START LISTS:

Click here for women’s start list

Click here for men’s start list

LIVE COVERAGE:

Live text coverage from Tongyeong will be available on race day at triathlon.org or at @triathlonlive on Twitter.

TOTAL PRIZE MONEY:

$50,000 USD (equal for men & women)

COURSE PROFILE:

Swim – Two-lap, 1.5 kilometre swim in Tongyeong harbour, with a pontoon start.  Wetsuits are likely as water temperature is estimated to be around 19-20 degrees Celsius.

Bike – Five-lap, 40km bike leg through Tongyeong with two significant hills and two 180-degree turns at each end.

Run – Four-lap, 10km run along the harbour that is flat and fast.

STORIES TO WATCH FOR:

Backing up Huatulco – With just six days separating Tongyeong from the last World Cup in Huatulco, Mexico, athletes racing in both will have a long way to travel and little time to recover in time for Tongyeong.  Among those racing both is Ireland’s Morrison who finished just off the podium in sweltering conditions in Huatulco.  Others doing the double are Poland’s Agnieszka Jerzyk, the reigning Under23 World Champion, and Slovenia’s Mateja Simic, who’s having a breakthrough World Cup season which includes silver in Edmonton and 5th this past weekend.

Russian brothers look to dominate podium – The Russians have two sets of brothers competing in Tongyeong, the Vasilievs and the Polyanskys. Of the four, Dmitry Polyansky comes in with the best results, following his bronze in Yokohama and finishing just out of medals at the Grand Final in Beijing.  He will line up on the start pontoon wearing No. 1 while Ivan Vasilev will don the No. 2 this Saturday.

Past Tongyeong World Cup Winners

WOMEN                                                  MEN

2010     Jodie Swallow (GBR)                                  Dan Wilson (AUS)

2009*   Emma Snowsill (AUS)                                Bevan Docherty (NZL)

2008     Samantha Warriner (NZL)                          Tim Don (GBR)

2004     Leanda Cave (GBR)                                    Dmitriy Gaag (KAZ)

2003     Laura Bennett (USA)                                  Chris Hill (AUS)

*Part of the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series