The
first event of the ITU 2001 season, held in Gamagori,
Japan last weekend, hosted a highly competitive field
with many top ranked athletes racing. Most of those
athletes are also making their way to Ishigaki.
Athletes
making the trip to Ishigaki are able to relax and
prepare for this weekend's event in the easy-going
island environment. The annual ITU World Cup at Ishigaki
is an extremely well supported event with the whole
town's full participation. As well, Prince and Princess
Takamada of Japan plan to attend the opening ceremony
and medal presentations. Athletes in attendance will
also be visiting local schools where children have
been preparing projects on the various competitors
and their nationalities.
One
look at the start list shows a field equally as competitive
as Gamagori and no less eagre to claim top honours.
Last year's winners Rina Hill of New Zealand and Courtney
Atkinson of Australia will be hoping to make it a
double with their participation again this year -
Hill, who always races well in Japan, had a good race
last weekend, narrowly missing the podium in Gamagori.
Atkinson did not race in Gamagori but is commited
to defending the title he earned last season in Ishigaki
- the first world cup win of his career.
Australia's
Emma Carney, who came ninth in Gamagori last weekend
and is currently ranked second in the World, will
also head to Ishigaki keen to reclaim the title she
last won back in 1998. Carney will no doubt have many
supporters as she continues to be one of the crowd
favorites in Ishigaki.
New
Zealander Hamish Carter and Dimtry Gaag of Kazakhstan,
the two top world-ranked men, who both finished in
the top ten last weekend in Gamagori will also be
turning up the pressure and looking for their first
wins of the World Cup season this weekend.
Race
conditions on the sub-tropical island of Ishigaki
will be very different from those in Gamagori - current
forescasts suggest that humidity will be high with
a light warm wind. The 1.5km swim is two laps in the
ocean with a pontoon dive start, followed by a technical
6 lap, 40km cycle through Ishigaki town centre and
over the Southengata bridge. Finally athletes will
complete the event over a flat technical 10km run,
consisting of 3 laps of a town centre route. The streets
will be lined with thousands of triathlon supporters
from all over the island.
