Chicago this week plays host to the best triathletes in the world, with the Grand Final of the World Triathlon Series (WTS) set to decide world champions at elite level but also on the programme are the one-off world championship races in Under-23 and Junior (Under-19) age groups.
New Zealand will be well represented across these events, with the athletes supported by Tri NZ coaches and support staff. The New Zealand team competing this week in the Under-23 and Junior races is:
- U23 Male: Sam Ward (Auckland), Cameron Todd (Auckland)
- U23 Female: Deborah Lynch (Porirua)
- Junior Male: Dan Hoy (Auckland), Tayler Reid (Gisborne), Kyle Smith (Taupo)
- Junior Female: Katherine Badham (Auckland), Elizabeth Stannard (Palmerston North), Jaimee Leader (Palmerston North)
Tri NZ High Performance Director Graeme Maw is in Chicago and is excited about the next few days.
"Chicago is a significant race, but also really another step along the pathway of development for our young athletes. They have all accumulated a decent amount of international experience this year, the Juniors in Australia & Japan, Sam Ward in the French Grand Prix, Deb Lynch in the Bundesliga, and Cam Todd in his first World Cups, and this is another step in that process.
"That prior experience and racing here in Chicago will stand them in good stead, as they are developing good consistency in their delivery regardless of conditions. They will all be confident of executing their processes, and therefore getting in good positions to give their best."
Maw says rather than just specific result based outcomes, the younger athletes have other goals in mind this week.
"While they have goals for this specific event - including some top 10 finishes, we are really looking for indicators of athletes who can go on to the next level – whether that's on to WTS for the U23s or to the HP Squad for the Juniors.
"We have seen in the past the rate of this progress from Juniors to U23s and on to successful Seniors, athletes such as Coninx (FRA) and Seller (GER), so we know the competition will be tough, and hope to see many of this crop challenging in our Elite team in the next 1-2 years consistent with the HP 2020 Plan."
The U23 men will be first up with Sam Ward and Cameron Todd racing for New Zealand at midnight on Thursday night NZT.
Check for live coverage and timing at www.triathlon.org/live. Please note that this is not a full TV broadcast of the Under-23 and Junior races, there are some static cameras around the course including a finish line camera and live timing updating throughout.
ITU World Championships: Chicago, USA
Junior and Under-23 race schedule (all times NZT):
- Thursday September 17, midnight NZT, ITU Under-23 Men World Championships
- Friday September 18, 9.30am NZT, ITU Junior Men World Championships
- Saturday September 19, 4.30am NZT, ITU Under-23 Women World Championships
- Saturday September 19, 7.30am NZT, ITU Junior Women World Championships
