Swedish 2015 World LD Champs course open for 2013 tri

To celebrate the staging of the 2015 ITU World Long-Distance Triathlon Championships in Sweden, the organisers are giving athletes across the globe the chance to test out the course two years early by staging a 500-field triathlon.

The Vättern Triathlon, as it will be called, will be held on 29 June and 250 athletes have already signed up. Held in the lakeside town of Motala, the picturesque race will be facilitated by the organising committee of Vätternrundan – an annual 300km cycle ride that attracts more than 23,000 participants annually. The organisers aim to make Vättern Triathlon an annual event, continuing after the world championship.

Motala is a town in south-central Sweden, halfway between Stockholm and Gothenburg, on the shores of Lake Vättern. The area is fairly flat, offering athletes a gentle course on which to post PBs.

The swim course will be two, 2,000m laps around Motala Bay in Lake Vättern, the fifth largest lake in Europe. This deep lake is known for its exceptional water quality and the race is held in a sheltered, fairly shallow inlet with pleasant water temperatures in the summer.

The 120km, three-lap cycle stage takes athletes out into the unspoilt countryside north of Motala on roads overlooking the lake and enabling spectators to see their athletes multiple times. The running stage goes along the shores of the lake on the west side of town over three, 10km laps, finishing in the town centre.

For more information and to enter online head to www.vatterntriathlon.se

Liz Barrett 220 Deputy Editor

About

220 deputy editor Liz Barrett started work on the magazine in 2007 as staff writer. Since then, she’s reported live from almost every major triathlon across the globe, including the Ironman World Championships, 70.3 Worlds, six ITU Worlds, Challenge Roth, the 2014 and 2022 Commonwealths, the London and Paris Olympics and the Rio Paralympics, to name but a few. Name a pro and chances are she’ll have interviewed them, so, unsurprisingly, she’s our go-to pro-athlete expert on the team. When not covering races, you’ll find her whipping words into finely-crafted shape for both the magazine and website.