Blatchford and Swallow head to Yokohama

Liz Blatchford and Jodie Swallow, who both finished in the top 25 in London last weekend, are both set to challenge for points, places and potentially prizes at the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championships Series in Yokohama, Japan, tomorrow.



Yokohama, with 24 names on the women’s start list, will be the penultimate stopover on this innovative, world series before the Grand Final on Australia’s Gold Coast on September 13th where the World Champions will be crowned.



Blatchford and Swallow were 22nd and 23rd in London but they finished second and third, respectively, at the London Tri. Tomorrow they race the likes of New Zealand’s Andrea Hewitt and Sweden’s Lisa Norden – both of whom could have a tilt at the overall world title come September if they do well in Yokohama.



Javier Gomez, the 2008 Men’s World Champion, competes in Yokohama in a bid to move closer on points to Britain’s Alistair Brownlee, the current world no.1. Gomez crashed out of the London leg during the bike ride and 21 year old Brownlee went on to take the title – his fourth from four attempts on the circuit this year with a consistency of performance which has demanded attention.



If Gomez wins in Yokohama and wins again on the Gold Coast then Brownlee, who misses Yokohama, would need to finish in the top three at the Grand Final to take the 2009 World Title.



For start lists, previous results, previous race footage and background biographies visit: www.triathlon.org

Matt Baird Editor of Cycling Plus magazine

About

Matt is a regular contributor to 220 Triathlon, having joined the magazine in 2008. He’s raced everything from super-sprint to Ironman, duathlons and off-road triathlons, and can regularly be seen on the roads and trails around Bristol. Matt is the author of Triathlon! from Aurum Press and is now the editor of Cycling Plus magazine.