Event of the Day: World Triathlon Series Gold Coast Grand Final Day 1

Our event of the day is the 1st day of the World Triathlon Series Grand Final at the Gold Coast in Australia. Queensland will be hosting over 5,000 of the world’s best elite and age group triathletes, who are looking to finish their season on a high. Today marks the start of this event, which runs to 16th September. The ITU World Triathlon 2018 is a competition of diversity within the sport of triathlon with athletes representing the Elite, the Under 23, Junior and Elite Paratriathlon categories as well as Mixed Team Relays and Age group categories in Standard and Sprint Distance races.

Today features the exciting start of the Gold coast Open Aquathlon; the distance for this is a 750m Swim and a 5km Run. Athletes to keep an eye on in this Final week include the male and female Top 5s in the ITU World Triathlon Series Rankings. Leading the Elite Women is Katie Zaferes from the USA, followed by three Elite TRI stars from Great Britain, Vicky Holland in 2nd, Georgia Taylor-Brown 3rd and Jessica Learmonth 4th, in 5th in the rankings is Rachel Klamer from the Netherlands. Meanwhile Mario Molo from Spain heads up the Elite Men’s, with Jacob Birtwhistle from Australia in 2nd, Vincent Luis from France in 3rd, Richard Murray from South Africa in 4th and Kristian Blummenfelt from Norway in 5th. Although Mario Mola has had a remarkable season, the World title is in major contention with Australia’s Jake Birtwhistle. All the elite women are in strong contention to claim the World Championship title. It should be a thrilling week of triathlon.

Honourable mentions around the globe go to Spain, where Stage 17 of the Vuelta a España gets underway. Eyes will be on Nairo Quintana, Steven Kruijswijk, Alejandro Valverde and Simon Yates for this stage which moves from Getxo to Oiz. The County Championship Division One clash between Worcestershire and Surrey continues, with Surrey edging towards the title. Meanwhile MLB fans are set for a great game between the Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers, as the playoffs edge closer. MLS Soccer fans are set for an interesting match between D.C. United and Minnesota United FC. In tennis, on the 3rd Day of the Japan Women’s Open, there is an intriguing match between Ajla Tomljanovic from Australia and Zhu Lin from China. At the World Rowing Championship it is an exciting day, kicking off with the preliminary Mixed Double Sculls. At the Men’s Volleyball Championship, France will be playing China, in a nail biting match in Bulgaria.

Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!

Fixture

Photos by World Triathlon

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