ITU TO HOST ELITE SPRINT & TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS IN LAUSANNE

Vancouver, Canada (2 March, 2009) - The International Triathlon Union is pleased to announce the addition the inaugural Elite Sprint ITU Triathlon World Championships to its 2010 race calendar, to be held in Lausanne, Switzerland on Saturday morning of August 21st. Additionally, Lausanne will host the ITU Team Triathlon World Championships on Sunday afternoon of August 22st. These two events will replace the Lausanne ITU Triathlon World Cup event, previously scheduled for the same weekend
 
The qualification criteria for the team championship are covered in the ITU Competition Rules. The sprint championship qualification system will be announced within the coming weeks.
 
Competitors in the Sprint Championship will complete a 750-meter swim, 20-km bike and 5-km run. Each of the four athletes in the Team Championship will complete a 275-meter swim, 6-km bike and 1.5-km run. Each team will be comprised of two men and two women and the minimum age of competitors is 16 years. Each nation can enter up to two teams in the Team Championship event.

Both the Elite Sprint ITU Triathlon World Championships and the ITU Team Triathlon World Championships will carry a prize purse of $50,000 for each race.
 
More details will be made available in the coming weeks.