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| In the Men's and Women's podium. |
This has been a very intense weekend for the great family of triathlon, and a weekend of activities that I am particularly proud of because it shows that our sport is growing every day, both in the events and for the regions where it is practiced.
On Friday I arrived to Zeltweg in Austria, where I enjoyed the ITU World Championship of Winter Triathlon, an event that wins fans every year. The men's competition was really spectacular, with Russian Pavel Andreev proclaimed, for the fifth consecutive time, king of winter tri. Meanwhile compatriot Yulia Surikova claimed the victory in the women’s event, becoming for the first time in her life the winter tri queen. The Russians showed they are really strong in this type of races, which includes running and biking on snow followed by cross country skiing. Other countries with strong traditions in winter sports, such as Austria, Italy and Norway were also all impressive.
Many people think winter tri is the ‘little brother’ of our sport, triathlon, but we’ve been organizing World Championships for the last 20 years!
I’m sure that with the boom of snow cycling, especially with the fat bikes, our sport will grow a lot not only in Europe, also in America, Canada or Japan. Come on, try it and discover this whole new white world, it really is easy, and amazing!
On Friday I arrived to Zeltweg in Austria, where I enjoyed the ITU World Championship of Winter Triathlon, an event that wins fans every year. The men's competition was really spectacular, with Russian Pavel Andreev proclaimed, for the fifth consecutive time, king of winter tri. Meanwhile compatriot Yulia Surikova claimed the victory in the women’s event, becoming for the first time in her life the winter tri queen. The Russians showed they are really strong in this type of races, which includes running and biking on snow followed by cross country skiing. Other countries with strong traditions in winter sports, such as Austria, Italy and Norway were also all impressive.
Many people think winter tri is the ‘little brother’ of our sport, triathlon, but we’ve been organizing World Championships for the last 20 years!
I’m sure that with the boom of snow cycling, especially with the fat bikes, our sport will grow a lot not only in Europe, also in America, Canada or Japan. Come on, try it and discover this whole new white world, it really is easy, and amazing!
And while it was a chilly race in Austria, many of our friends were enjoying the warmth of Havana over the same weekend. One of the events I'm most proud was contested, even though this time I could not enjoy it live. El Malecón of Havana hosted the Iberoamerican Triathlon Championship, with both middle distance and sprint distance races. It is a very special event that combines sport and commitment to the development of our sport in which the Spanish Triathlon Federation and the International Triathlon Union have been working for two years with great results.
More than 400 athletes from 30 countries disputed the races, which is spectacular growth of the sport in this country, and further evidence that Cuba is really committed to triathlon.
More than 400 athletes from 30 countries disputed the races, which is spectacular growth of the sport in this country, and further evidence that Cuba is really committed to triathlon.
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| Enjoying some moments of the Winter Tri World Champs |
Del
calor de La Habana al frío y la nieve de Zeltweg
Este ha
sido un fin de semana muy intenso para la gran familia del triatlón, y del que
me siento particularmente orgullosa. Han coincidido en el tiempo dos proyectos
que nos demuestran que nuestro deporte crece día a día, en modalidades y
también en las regiones en las que se practica.
El
viernes llegué a Zeltweg, en Austria, donde pude disfrutar en persona del
Campeonato del Mundo ITU de Triatlón de invierno, una modalidad que gana
adeptos año a año, y que en directo es realmente espectacular. La competición
masculina fue realmente espectacular, con el ruso Pavel Andreev proclamándose,
por quinta vez consecutiva, rey del triatlón de invierno, mientras que su
compatriota Yulia Surikova se llevó la corona de reina del triatlón de invierno
al ganar la prueba por primera vez. Los rusos demostraron que son realmente
fuertes en esta modalidad –que incluye bici sobre nieve, carrera a pie sobre
nieve y esquí de fondo-, aunque otros países con tradición de deportes de
invierno, como Austria, Italia o Noruega vienen pisando fuerte.
El
triatlón de invierno es el hermano pequeño de nuestras especialidades, pero
llevamos más de 20 años celebrando pruebas y Campeonatos del Mundo.
Estoy
segura de que con el auge que está teniendo en Europa y en América el ciclismo
sobre nieve, especialmente con la aparición de las ‘fat bikes’, esta modalidad
crecerá mucho y se dará un nuevo impulso a la especialidad. Tenemos que
ponernos a ello, potenciando este deporte y haciendo que siga creciendo no sólo
en Europa, sino también en EEUU, Canadá o Japón. ¡Deberíais probarlo! Es sencillo,
y realmente espectacular.
 |
| Cuba es uno de los lugares más carismáticos y acogedores para nuestro deporte. |
Y del
frío de Austria, al calorcito de La Habana, donde este mismo fin de semana se
ha disputado una de las pruebas que más me enorgullece, aunque en esta ocasión
no he podido disfrutar en directo. El malecón
ha sido estos días sede del Campeonato Iberoamericano de Triatlón, tanto de
media distancia como de sprint. Un evento muy especial que aúna deporte y
compromiso con el desarrollo de nuestro deporte en el que la Federación
Española de Triatlón y la Unión Internacional de Triatlón llevamos trabajando
ya dos años, con magníficos resultados.
Más de 400 atletas de 30 países han disputado las pruebas, lo que
supone un crecimiento espectacular del deporte en este país, y una prueba más
de que Cuba realmente ama a nuestro deporte.
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