IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONS - MACCA & CROWIE - TO LEAD WORLD-CLASS ABU DHABI FIELD
Abu Dhabi, UAE. February 2011: Four-time Ironman world champions and legends of triathlon - Australia's Chris 'Macca' McCormack and Craig 'Crowie' Alexander - have both thrown their hats in the ring for next month's Abu Dhabi International Triathlon, as they look to go head-to-head for the lion's share of the US$250,000 prize purse.
The dynamic Aussie duo, both from Sydney, will lead one of the best elite fields expected outside of Kona, Hawaii when they take to the Abu Dhabi start-line on March 12th. They join defending champions - Spain's Eneko Llanos and Great Britain's Julie Dibens - who have also thrown down the gauntlet to the 45-strong elite field contesting the event's unique 223kms 'pure power' course.
And with the fearsome twosome having dominated the sport's pinnacle competition - Hawaii Ironman - for the past four years, with McCormack winning in 2010 and 2007 and Alexander in 2008 and 2009, the chasing elite field will need to be in superlative form to tame the energy-infused Antipodeans.
"The opportunity to race the world's best athletes, over a very unique triathlon distance is exciting and it will be a wonderful race and I look forward to the challenge. It takes the foresight and courage of destinations like Abu Dhabi to create these different styles of races and challenges, and I am anticipating a very tough day," said McCormack, the only athlete to win Triathlon World Championships and the ITU World Cup Series in the same year (1997).
"I have spent a lot of time in the UAE and have many friends who call Abu Dhabi home. The course is challenging, Abu Dhabi is spectacular and the winds could make this race much tougher. It should be great and I am excited about competing," added the five-time Ironman Australia winner.
And Alexander, one of only four triathletes to win the Ironman World Championship two years in a row (2008, 2009), is hoping to kick-start another record-breaking season off in Abu Dhabi and wrestle the Hawaii title back off his countryman.
"I'm excited to make my competitive Middle East race debut in Abu Dhabi. I had ties with the UAE a few years back and I've also had a blast training with local triathletes in the Emirates several times. The race venue in Abu Dhabi looks fantastic and I look forward to my first race of 2011 at this world-class event," said Alexander, a previous Ironman 70.3 World Championship (2006) winner.
Sign-up for the second Abu Dhabi International Triathlon has more than doubled over the 2010 edition, with over 1,500 athletes from 48 countries due to take their marks in the UAE capital next month.
Living up to its international billing, the race - which is run over three unique distances - has seen first time representation from Brazil, the Channel Islands, China, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Slovenia, Turkey, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Much of its success is down to its specialised format, with a finishing running leg shorter than typical Ironman events, allowing athletes to recover faster and compete more often, as well as a city-wide course that weaves through many of the UAE capital's iconic landmarks including a cycle sprint around the stunning Yas Marina Circuit, home of the Formula 1™ Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
"To have doubled our entire field in just 12 months and to attract an enhanced world-class athlete line-up, consisting of world-champions, Olympians and world record holders, speaks volumes about how positive word-of-mouth about this event has spread and interest has grown," said Faisal Al Sheikh, Events Manager, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), which organises the race.
"With Abu Dhabi boasting a large Australian population, we expect to see a very strong turnout from fans cheering on their countrymen and hopefully many more turning up on the start-line to compete shoulder-to-shoulder with their sporting heroes."
This year's event will be raced across three lengths. Professionals will contest a 3kms swim, a 200kms cycle and 20kms closing run. The shorter version, at half the length, has a 1.5kms swim, a 100kms cycle and a 10kms run, with both courses eligible for a share of the US$250,000 prize purse.
Also a first for this year's edition, ADTA has also launched a unique 'sprint' distance as an entry platform for aspiring athletes. Comprising a 750m swim, 50kms bike and 5kms run, the new 'sprint' course is aimed at boosting uptake from novice racers across the Arabian Gulf and can be raced as an individual or as a team.
Places are charged at US$180 and US$123 for the long and short distances, respectively. The team relay short course entry fee stands at US$272, and the sprint fee will be US$70 for individuals, US$112 for a team.
Athletes interested in entering should visit www.abudhabitriathlon.com and, after clicking on the ENTER NOW link, simply follow the instructions.
Ends
Media Contacts:
For more information and/or high res images please contact:
Daisy Bannerman: daisy.bannerman@imgworld.com / +44 20 8233 6537
Ryan Bowd: ryan.bowd@imgworld.com
Prize Money for Professionals
|
Position |
Male Pro |
Female Pro |
|
1st |
$50000 |
$50000 |
|
2nd |
$20000 |
$20000 |
|
3rd |
$15000 |
$15000 |
|
4th |
$10000 |
$10000 |
|
5th |
$7500 |
$7500 |
|
6th |
$5000 |
$5000 |
|
7th |
$3000 |
$3000 |
|
8th |
$2000 |
$2000 |
|
9th |
$1500 |
$1500 |
|
10th |
$1000 |
$1000 |
|
Total |
$115000 |
$115000 |
Prize Money For Age Group Athletes: $20,000.00 - exact split to be announced
Chris McCormack
McCormack began competing on international-distance courses in 1996, winning both the 1997 Triathlon World Championships and the 1997 ITU World Cup Series; to date, no-one else has won both titles in a single year. After shifting focus to longer distance racing he displayed exceptional aptitude for the distance winning many races. McCormack won Ironman Australia in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Twice he has finished the Quelle Challenge Roth, an Iron-Distance triathlon in under eight hours, a feat only 5 other athletes have completed. In 2007 he won the Ironman World Championships in Kona Hawaii after 6 attempts at the race coming as close as second, within 2 minutes of the winner, in 2006. He again won the Ironman World Championships in 2010.
Craig Alexander
Craig Alexander, known by many as Crowie, is a world class professional triathlete from Australia. For more than a decade, Crowie has proven himself as the most versatile swimmer, biker and runner across all distances of triathlon. Alexander who is the 2008 and 2009 Ironman Triathlon World Champion, is only the fourth man to win the Ironman World Championship two years in a row; the others were Dave Scott, Mark Allen, and Tim DeBoom. He is a previous winner of the Ironman 70.3 World Championship (2006), Australian Sprint Championships (2005) and US pro championships (2004).
The Route
This year's opening swim leg takes place in the lagoon of the iconic Emirates Palace, one of the world's most luxurious hotels. The cycling section will take athletes past some of the destination's top sights along Abu Dhabi's signature Corniche - all under the safety of completely closed roads.
The route will then go east of the city over Saadiyat Island, the 27 square kilometre natural island which is 500 metres offshore Abu Dhabi city, and on to the destination's emerging entertainment hub of Yas Island - home to the highly successful 2010 Formula 1™ Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - where triathletes will compete on the same circuit as many of the world's top race drivers.
It then concludes with a running leg around the Heritage Village and ends on the sweeping Corniche.
About Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA): Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) has wide ranging responsibilities for managing and assisting the development of the emirate's tourism industry and the marketing and promotion of the emirate as a world-class destination of distinction. Its responsibilities include; destination marketing; infrastructure and product development and regulation and classification. A key role is to create synergy in the international promotion of Abu Dhabi through close co-ordination with the emirate's hotels, destination management companies, airlines and other public and private sector travel-related organisations.
Abudhabitourism.ae
