Africa Triathlon

It’s that time of the year again, to take a step back in time to remember this year’s Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series through the eyes of some of the world’s best sports photographers. They were on hand to capture every twist, turn, and colourful moment in the each and every world series race, but now it’s your turn to decide the official ITU Photo of the Year by voting on your favourite image below. Each weekly winner then earns the right to appear in the ITU Photo of the Year final. In addition to the contest, readers will hear from each event photographer about their favourite shot from the event, which will be published alongside the winning pictures from each week.

It’s week eight of the ITU Photo of the Year, and so it’s time to head back to Yokohama. The Japanese round was initially delayed after the devastating earthquakes that hit the island nation early in 2011, but was rescheduled to fall just after the Grand Final. And a host of the world’s best triathletes came straight from Beijing to compete in the first major international sporting event in Japan since the natural distasters.

In the women’s race, triathlon legend Vanessa Fernandes made her return but it was Andrea Hewitt whole stole the spotlight again, continuing on where she left off in Beijing. She claimed her second series win in devastating form, beating Australia’s Emma Moffatt and another Kiwi, Kate McIlroy, in third to make it a trans-Tasman podium. Read the race recap and watch video highlights here. In the men’s race, Portugal’s Joao Silva claimed his first series win, beating Russia’s Alexander Bryukhankov and Dmitry Polyansky who took silver and bronze respectively. Read the race recap and watch video highlights here.

One of these photos has already attracted worldwide attention, but what’s your favourite? Remember to scroll to the bottom of the images and vote for your choice to determine which image from Yokohama makes it into the final of the 2011 ITU Photo of The Year. Then next week we’ll return with all eight finalists and you will have the chance to vote to decide the ultimate 2011 ITU Photo of the Year.