June is a blockbuster month of triathlon in the US. One week after the Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championship series makes its only stop on US soil in Washington DC; the world’s best triathletes make the short trip to Des Moines for a weekend that is sure to thrill the sports enthusiast. On the weekend of June 27th, the world’s best 75 men and women will battle for their stake of the sport’s biggest ever prize purse. Over one million US dollars is on offer for the Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Elite Cup – the US leg of the ITU Triathlon World Cup circuit and the Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Team World Championships.
While athletes will fight it out for their share of the massive individual prize purse on Saturday, Sunday is a matter of national pride as Des Moines plays host to the inaugural mixed team triathlon event. The 2009 Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Team World Championships is the first time that the team world championships will feature mixed teams of men and women, and is a landmark occasion for the sport. Teams from every corner of the globe will descend on the greater Des Moines community to vie to be crowned Team Triathlon World Champions.
In this unique event which is bidding for Olympic inclusion in London 2012, teams will be comprised of two men and two women. Starting with a woman from each team, each athlete will complete a triathlon at breakneck speed, along the shortened 300 meter swim, 8 kilometer bike and 2 kilometer run course, before handing off to a member of the opposite sex. The first team whose final man crosses the finish line will be crowned world champion.
In an exciting and innovative format, which will also be used in the Youth Olympic Games, the Team Mixed Relay event is one of the few Olympic sports which has a mixed team format Teams from 23 countries and all continents are expected, with many nations such as China, USA, Canada, Australia, France and Great Britain intending to field multiple teams.
Checkout the promo: http://www.triathlon.org/zpg/team-triathlon-2009.html
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