ITU Announces 2009 & 2010 World Championships

ITU Announces 2009 & 2010 World Championships
from ITU Press Release on February 14, 2008

Vancouver, Canada (February 13, 2008) - The International Triathlon Union today announced that it has awarded four MultiSport World Championships in 2009 and 2010 to four different cities.

They include:
Concord, NC, USA - 2009 ITU Duathlon World Championships
Perth, Australia - 2009 ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships
Edinburgh, Scotland - 2010 ITU Duathlon World Championships
Immenstadt, Germany - 2010 ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships

"All the selected sites have excellent Organizing Committees that are committed to hosting world class events and raising the profile of MultiSports around the globe," said Gergely Markus, ITU MultiSport Director. "For the benefit of our athletes, coaches and National Federations, ITU is planning ahead as much as possible with our MultiSport World Championships."

The 2009 ITU Duathlon World Championships returns to North Carolina ten years after Huntersville successfully staged the 1999 World Championships. The 20th edition of the championships are slated for September 2009. Concord next year will mark just the fifth time the ITU Duathlon World Championships will visit an American city since 1990. Previous American sites include Cathedral City, California (1990, 1991), Dallas, Texas (1993), Huntersville, North Carolina (1999) and Alpharetta, Georgia (2002). Duathlon consists of a 10-kilometer run, 40-kilometer bike and finishes with a 5-kilometer run.

The perennial triathlon powerhouse of Australia has been awarded the 2009 ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships. Long Distance Triathlon is double the Olympic distance and contested with a 3-kilometer swim, 80-kilometer bike and 20-kilometer run. Perth is no stranger to hosting major triathlons, including the 1997 and 2000 ITU Triathlon World Championships. Perth will become just the second Australian city to host the Long Distance Triathlon World Championships after the 2006 event was held in Canberra.

In 2010, the world's best duathletes will travel to beautiful Edinburgh, Scotland. It will be the first time in history that a British city will host the ITU Duathlon World Championships. Last year Edinburgh staged the ETU Duathlon European Championships, which was won by local favorite Catriona Morrison. Over 850 athletes from 33 countries were in Gyor, Hungary for the 2007 ITU Duathlon World Championships.

Germany, host country of the wildly successful 2007 BG Triathlon World Championships, will again welcome the world in 2010. The ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships have been awarded to Immenstadt, nestled amongst the Bavarian Alps in southern Germany. Last year's ITU Long Distance World Championships were held in Lorient, France.

Exact dates, schedules and course information will confirmed soon and available on www.triathlon.org.

Previously announced, Gold Coast, Australia will be home to the 2009 ITU Triathlon World Championships on September 13 while Budapest, Hungary will host the Championships in the fall of 2010.