TRIATHLON

Olympic Qualification on the line this weekend in Rio

By International Triathlon Union (ITU)

Olympic qualification is on the line this weekend as the Elites travel to Brazil for the 2015 Rio de Janeiro ITU World Olympic Qualification Event. The start lists for both the men's and women's races are jammed packed with star potential, which will make for some electrifying entertainment on the race course as the top three men and women will all qualify their countries a spot for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. In addition to the automatic berths to the Olympics, several National Federations will select their athletes to toe the line in Rio come 2016 at the Test Event this weekend.

Click here for the women's preview

Click here for the men's preview

SCHEDULE:
Elite Women
Sunday 2 August - 9:00 UTC/GMT -3 Click here for the time in your area
Elite Men
Sunday 2 August - 12:15 UTC/GMT-3 Click here for the time in your area

WEBSITES:
http://triathlon.org

START LISTS:
Click here for the women's start list
Click here for the men's start list

OLYMPIC QUALIFICATIONS:
Click here for official qualification rules

LIVE COVERAGE:

There will be no live video footage of the event, but follow the events live with timing and text updates, at triathlon.org/live and on twitter at @triathlonlive.

COURSE PROFILE:
Swim – 1.5km (1 laps) - The swim will be held in the Copacabana Beach. Athletes will run into the water from the beach and do one out and back lap.
Bike – 40km (8 laps) – The bike course heads down “Rua proffesor Gastao Baiana”. The first part of this street is the steepest climb of the circuit, followed by a fast downhill to “Av. Epilafio Pessoa”. Athletes then do a technical 90-degree turn, followed by another technical 90-degree turn just 200 meters later to “Avenida Henrique Dodsworth”. Atheltes face one more technical turn at “Av Atlantico”.
Run – 10km (4 laps) – Athletes will run along Av. Atlantico in front of Copacabana Beach for a total of four out and back laps.

ADDITIONAL STAT INFORMATION
Reference Guide
Olympic Winning Margins
Best Test Event finish by country
Best Olympic finish by country
Olympic Stats of athletes on 2015 Test Event Start List
Overall Olympic stats

STORIES TO WATCH FOR:

BATTLE OF THE FEDERATIONS
Both the men's and women's races will showcase some friendly rivalries between different federations. For the women it will come down to the USA, Great Britain and Australia battling it out for Olympic qualifications. While on the men's side, as always Spain and Great Britain go head-to-head thanks to Alistair Brownlee and the Spanish trifecta of Javier Gomez, Mario Mola and Fernando Alarza.

MAKING WAVES
Carolina Routier (ESP) and Brazil’s own Pamela Oliveira are as amphibious as they come in the women’s lineup. Look for this pair, along with Helen Jenkins (GBR), Gillian Backhouse (AUS), and Olympic silver medallist Lisa Norden (SWE) to be amongst the leaders out of the wavy, salty swim. Jenkins, Oliveira and Norden are also dangerous on the bike meaning the chase will want to reel them in quickly.

MAKING MOUNTAINS
Flora Duffy (BER) started the year out with a bang with a bronze in the first race of the year with a dominant performance on the bike. The Bermuda triathlete is well suited for the challenging bike course, as is Norden and the always consistent Andrea Hewitt (NZL). Although she’s suffered from a parasite the last several months, Kirsten Sweetland (CAN) is also known to do work on the bike. Norden and Jenkins’ combined swim and bike power make them a worry, but both have running injuries that could plague their chances at a podium.

UP THEY GO
The Rio bike course is like no other. It’s technical, it’s narrow, and it’s hilly. A course that carouses along the Copacabana before turning up into narrow neighborhood roads, it will crush legs, burn lungs and could just end the race for some athletes before it’s really begun. If that lead group gets out of the water with a sizeable gap, all of the men are strong enough on the bike to keep the chase at bay.

HISTORY ON THEIR SIDE
The only other name to have Olympic podium success on the start list is Sven Riederer (SUI), who earned the bronze medal in the 2004 Athens Games.

For those looking for rich history however, look to none other than USA’s Hunter Kemper. He has competed in every single Olympic Games that triathlon has been a part of, dating back to the 2000 Sydney Games. Qualifying for a spot on the US team for Rio would grant Kemper his fifth-straight Olympic appearance. Likewise two-time Olympian Courtney Atkinson (AUS) opted to halt his long distance triathlon career in lieu of another chance at Olympic glory at 35 years old this season.