Africa Triathlon

The 19th edition of the ITU’s flagship event, the Hamburg BG Triathlon World Championships were held from August 30th to September 2nd and were a massive success.  More than 600,000 enthusiastic fans lined the streets of downtown Hamburg to witness the three-day event.

A record 8,000 age-group athletes competed in Hamburg.  The United States topped the medal count with a total of 38 medals, followed by the host country Germany with 21. 

On the first day of competition, both men’s and women’s junior and under23 categories were staged.  In the junior women’s race, Hollie Avil became the fourth British woman to be crowned Junior World Champion, adding to the Junior European Championship she won in June.  Prodigious Aussie Ashleigh Gentle claimed the silver, ahead of crowd favorite Rebecca Robisch who won bronze for the second straight year.

France dominated the junior men’s race with a gold-bronze finish.  In his last year as a junior, Aurelien Raphael finally won the big prize that has eluded him.  He was a bronze medalist in Gamagori in 2005 and finished 13th in Lausanne in 2006.  Raphael won the Junior European Championships in Autun, France in 2006.  Defending champion Alistair Brownlee came from behind in the run to take the silver while Raphael’s teammate Vincent Luis won bronze, securing France’s second medal of the day.

2007 Hamburg BG Triathlon World Championships, Germany - August 30, 2007
Junior Women
1 Avil, Hollie (GBR) 00:59:43
2 Gentle, Ashleigh (AUS) 00:59:54
3 Robisch, Rebecca (GER) 01:00:10

Junior Men  
1 Raphael, Aurelien (FRA) 00:53:43    
2 Brownlee, Alistair (GBR) 00:54:09  
3 Luis, Vincent (FRA) 00:54:14  

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Scroll down for complete Under23 recap.

Click here to view the Hamburg photo gallery

By the afternoon, the Under23 women took to the course and triathlon history was soon made.  Lisa Norden became the first Swedish triathlete to ever win a World Championship after coming from behind in the run leg to secure the historic win.  Jasmine Oeinck led the race off the bike and held on for the silver, becoming the first American woman to medal in the Under23 World Championships.  Renata Koch of Hungary took the bronze.

The men’s Under23 race was a thrilling duel between Brendan Sexton and German favorite Gregor Buchholz.  The two battled until the final straightaway where Buchholz pulled away to the cheers of the enthusiastic fans to win the Under23 world title.  Sexton came across just two seconds later for Australia’s second silver of the day while Russian Ivan Vasiliev grabbed the bronze medal.

2007 Hamburg BG Triathlon World Championships, Germany - August 30, 2007
U23 Women  
1 Norden, Lisa (SWE) 02:01:24
2 Oeinck, Jasmine (USA) 02:02:15
3 Koch, Renata (HUN) 02:02:40

U23 Men  
1 Buchholz, Gregor (GER) 01:49:31  
2 Sexton, Brendan (AUS) 01:49:33  
3 Vasiliev, Ivan (RUS) 01:49:40  

Click here for full field results

Scroll down for full elite recap.

Click here to view the Hamburg photo gallery

The elite women’s event was the highlight of day two and a much anticipated showdown between world number one Vanessa Fernandes and her chief rival, three-time world champion Emma Snowsill, was expected.  Fernandes used a strong swim to get off to a strong start and lead the charge on the bike course.  Snowsill, however, stumbled in the first transition, lost valuable time, and missed that front pack.  With a solid lead off the bike, no one was going to catch Fernandes on the run as the Portuguese star cruised to the finish line for her first World Championship.  Never one to fold, Snowsill ran her way back into contention and came through for the silver while American veteran Laura Bennett took the bronze, her fourth career trip to the World Championship podium.

The World Championships rose to a crescendo with the elite men’s race on the final day of competition.  Many were expecting a furious battle with a host of contenders including world number one Javier Gomez, Brad Kahlefeldt, Olympic Champion Simon Whitfield, Bevan Docherty and defending champion Tim Don.  But as the race wore on and continued to the heart of the run course, many of the expected challengers fell off the pace, leaving the surprising German, Daniel Unger, side-by-side with Gomez.  Despite numerous attempts, Gomez just could not drop the gutsy German.  Down the final stretch, Unger used the energy of the crowds and pulled away from the heavy favorite and lock up Germany’s first ever elite World Championship.  Gomez settled for the silver while Kahlefeldt held on for bronze for the second time in his career.

2007 Hamburg BG Triathlon World Championships, Germany - September 1 & 2, 2007
Elite Women
1 Fernandes, Vanessa (POR) 01:53:27
2 Snowsill, Emma (AUS) 01:54:31
3 Bennett, Laura (USA) 01:54:37

Elite Men  
1 Unger, Daniel (GER) 01:43:18  
2 Gomez, Javier (ESP) 01:43:22  
3 Kahlefeldt, Brad (AUS) 01:43:35  

Click here for full field results

Click here to view the Hamburg photo gallery

Click here for all field results including all age-groups

Click here to view the Hamburg photo gallery

Click here for all Hamburg videos including an age-group recap

Click here for a review of the 2007 BG Triathlon World Cup series

Click here for a review of the 2007 Continental Championships