Abu Dhabi, UAE, 15 March 2014 – Olympic gold medallist Alistair Brownlee today won the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon short course crown for a second year running, however this year he shared the winners glory with his 2012 World Champion brother and Olympic bronze medalist, Jonathan. The British Olympians crossed the finish line arm in arm, scooping the event’s first ever prize pot for the short course.
Alistair and Jonny Brownlee finished in 3hrs 12mins, 21secs, with a strong 17min 17sec swim, 2hr 15min 38sec bike and 1hr 12sec run.
Two-times Abu Dhabi International Triathlon winner Alistair Brownlee said; “Jonny and I both got a good lead out of the swim and we just concentrated and stayed focused on biking as hard as we could. We managed to keep going strong on the Yas Marina Circuit, gaining a strong lead before the run leg which really helped us break away and take the lead.”
In his first year in Abu Dhabi, Jonny Brownlee, added; “Everything in Abu Dhabi is big and impressive and you can say the same about this event! I’ve done the same events for 4-5 years now and so it’s really cool to go somewhere so completely different. Where else can you ride on a F1 circuit and bike in the pits and chicanes? The Yas Marina Circuit was a highlight and, due to the smooth tarmac, allowed me to get up to 65km/h on my bike which I really enjoyed.”
Coming in less than two minutes behind the Brownlees was Swiss triathlete Ruedi Wild, who was consistently strong throughout the race.
The women’s short course elite was a closely contested race which saw Svenja Bazlen from Germany cross the line just seconds ahead of Australian, Annabel Luxford. Luxford gave everything she could on the day to try to close in on the German. Fellow Australian Lisa Marangon finished in 3rd, 5 minutes down on Luxford.
Svenja completed the course in short course, swimming 19mins 1secs, biking 2hrs 31mins 15secs and completing the run in 40mins 8secs.
Following her win, Svenja said; “I’m feeling pretty good and really happy with the result. Abu Dhabi International Triathlon is one of the most famous and prestigious triathlons in the tri series and one that I’ve always wanted to do. It’s such a fantastic feeling to win here.”
As well as the world’s top elites taking on the short course, soap star royalty also conquered the stunning Abu Dhabi course; Katherine Kelly Lang from US TV show ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’. Lang has been in Abu Dhabi for a week, taking in the sights of the capital as well as getting in some triathlon training ahead of today’s event.
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon and is the first year the event has completely sold out. A line-up of 1939 entrants took part in the event, attracting spectators from all across the world.
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