TRIATHLON

Final Olympic qualifying points up for grabs at 2016 ITU World Triathlon Yokohama

By International Triathlon Union

This weekend, triathlon's two-year Olympic qualification procces comes to a close at the ITU World Triathlon Yokohama. Pressure is high as athletes have one final chance this Saturday to secure their positions for the start line at the 2016 Olympic Games.

Taking on the two-lap swim, nine-lap bike and four-lap run Japanese course, the fourth-stop of the WTS calendar will see the triathletes giving it all they have for the last Olympic push.

Having already qualified, Mario Mola and Gwen Jorgensen headline the men's and women's races. Mola is the current leader in the men's Columbia Threadneedle rankings, while reigning world Champion  Jorgensen will line up for just her second WTS race this season.

Click here for the women's preview
Click here for the men's preview

ABOUT THE RACE: 
The ITU World Triathlon Series returns to Yokohama for the fifth time. The series first appeared in Japan in 2009. The Japanese portal city skipped the 2010 series, but it reappeared on the WTS calendar in 2011. Due to the devastating earthquake, the event was postponed to later that year with ranking points counting towards to the 2012 season. It is at this race that Olympic qualification began in 2014.

SCHEDULE:
Elite Women
Saturday 14 May - 10:00 UTC/GMT +9 Click here for the time in your area
Elite Men
Saturday 14 Mayl - 13:00 UTC/GMT+9 Click here for the time in your area 


WEBSITES:
http://yokohama.triathlon.org/

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

PRIZE MONEY:
$150,000 USD (equal for men & women)  

LIVE COVERAGE:
Follow all the events live with timing and text updates, at triathlonlive.tv and on twitter at @triathlonlive.

COURSE PROFILE:
Swim (1.5km) - Two-laps for a 1500m swim in the sea near Osambashi pier.
Bike (40km) - Nine laps of 4.45km laps that begin and end in Yamashita park.The bike snakes around the giant Cosmo Clock 21 Ferris Wheel and Yokohama's waterfront.
Run (10km) - Four 2.5km laps around the Kanagawa Prefectural Government Building

STORIES TO WATCH FOR:
Returning champ
Gwen Jorgensen (USA) marks the WTS start list for the second time this season. While her WTS winning streak may have come to an end in the Gold Coast, where she finished with the silver medal, she earned the nickname of “Gwensanity” for a reason. She has won Yokohama each of the last three years, and it’s where she began that famous streak back in 2014. If there’s one course this super star is confident on, it’s in Yokohama.

Automatic qualification
Automatic qualification is on the line for the US men and women. With three spots one on the men's team, but just one on the women's team, athletes will only know if they've made it to Rio when they cross the finish line if they are on the podium. Like the US women, Germany has automatic selection criteria, which requires a top 8 finish in Yokohama to be named an Olympian.

Olympic battles
A number of athletes are racing for final points to sneak higher in the rankings to ensure they make it to Rio. From trying to get continental new flag quota spots, to attempting to add a third team member to the start line in Brazil, a number of mashups are set to showdown in Yokohama. 

PAST YOKOHAMA WINNERS 

WOMEN                                         MEN   
2015      Gwen Jorgensen (USA)      Javier Gomez (ESP)
2014      Gwen Jorgensen (USA)      Javier Gomez (ESP)
2013      Gwen Jorgensen (USA)      Jonathan Brownlee (GBR)  
2012      Lisa Norden (SWE)             Joao Silva (POR)  
2011      Andrea Hewitt (NZL)            Joao Silva (POR)   
2009      Lisa Norden (SWE)             Jan Frodeno (GER)