2007 AIS REVIEW

Triathlon competition at the international level has never been so fierce and competitive. In 2007 the AIS athletes performed extremely well both internationally and on the domestic scene, with many personal best performances by AIS athletes including the early Olympic nomination of two AIS athletes - Courtney Atkinson and Brad Kahlefeldt and one former athlete Emma Snowsill, into the 2008 Australian Olympic team.

Twelve athletes were offered and accepted scholarships at the AIS in 2007. Athletes included -

* withdrew from her scholarship in July 2007 - retired from international competition

2007 AIS Athlete Achievements & Results

2007 ITU World Triathlon Championships - Hamburg, Germany

2007 ITU World Cup Series

A total of 15 world cup races were held across Europe, Asia, America and Africa with up 30 countries competing in the men's category and 25 in the female category and 75 competitors racing in any one world cup race. Ninety female and 105 males competed in the series.

World Cup Results

• 3 world cup wins - Kahlefeldt (Mooloolaba), Aktinson (Ishigaki), Moffatt (Edmonton)
• 11 world cup podium finishes - Densham (3^rd Mooloolaba, 2^nd Vancouver), Atkinson (2^nd Beijing, 3^rd Rhodes), Kahlefeldt (2^nd Salford, 3^rd Lisbon, Kitzbuhel)' Luxford (2^nd Des Moines, 3^rd Edmonton, Eilat), Moffatt (2^nd Edmonton)
• 3 world cup top 5 finishes- Atkinson (5^th Mooloolaba), Luxford (4^th Madrid), Moffatt (5^th Ishigaki)
• 14 world cup top 10 finishes

Former AIS scholarship holder, Emma Snowsill, won the opening round of the 2007 world cup series in Mooloolaba. She went on to win silver at the World Championships in Hamburg, and silver in the Ishigaki and Beijing world cup races.

Highlights

• Emma Moffatt's maiden breakthrough victory at the Edmonton World Cup and career high ITU world cup ranking of no 2
• Brad Kahlefeldt's bronze - World Championships, Hamburg
• Brendan Sexton's silver - World U23 Championships, Hamburg
• Brad Kahlefeldt's no 2 ITU world ranking for 2007
• Courtney Atkinson 2^nd place at the Beijing World Cup (Olympic test event)
• Erin Densham's first podium finishes at world cup races - 2^nd placing at the Mooloolaba World Cup and victory over World Champion Vanessa Fernandes who finished in 3^rd place and 3^rd at the Vancouver World Cup in Canada
• Brad Kahlefeldt and Courtney Atkinson top 10 male ranking for the 2007 world cup series
• Emma Moffatt, Emma Snowsill and Annabel Luxford top 10 female ranking for the 2007 world cup series

2008 Focus

With the 2008 Beijing Olympics less than nine months away the athletes will be focusing on the remaining three spots open for Olympic nomination - one male and two female.

The 2008 AIS season will commence with a program dinner on Thursday 10 January followed by the athlete induction on Friday 11 January 2008. All 2007 scholarship holders were offered and have accepted to renew their scholarship for 2008 with the inclusion of Gareth Halverson from ACT/ACTAS.

Whilst in Canberra the athletes will be undertaking swim analysis testing and a number of them will also be involved in a study focusing on intervention and injury management strategies from the bike to run. The study will be conducted by Dr Andrew Chapman, Sally Clark, AIS senior physiologist and Nick Brown, AIS senior biomechanics.

On Sunday 13 January the athletes will be attending a two week intensive training camp in Jindabyne.

Competition

The first series of competition for 2008 will be the -

• National Triathlon Championships in Perth - 3 February 2008
• 2008 Mooloolaba World Cup race - 30March 2008

       Mooloolaba will be the first of a fifteen world cup race series and a priority race          for AIS/Australian athletes vying for Olympic selection

• 2008 World Triathlon Championships, Vancouver, Canada - 6/8 June 2008
• 2008 Beijing Olympic Games - 18/19 August 2008

Sponsorship

Currently the AIS Triathlon Program has an "in kind" arrangement with 2XU and Shimano with both companies outfitting the athletes with high quality specialised competition clothing and shoes.

Unfortunately the AIS Triathlon Program lost its major sponsor Aussie Gold due to a change in personnel and budget cuts within the organisation. This partnership, valued at $30,000 cash was a major blow to the program and its planning for 2007/08.

Andrew Logan

AIS Triathlon Performance Manager

logana@ausport.gov.au / 0413 025 8