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. This competition will look at each of the eight races this season – Sydney, Madrid, Kitzbühel, Hamburg, London, Lausanne, the Beijing Grand Final and Yokohama. You will have the chance to vote on a selection of images from these races and 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. This will be published alongside the winning pictures from each week. Whether you are an avid photographer yourself, or simply an admirer of pretty composition, it’s a great way to hear the story behind some amazing images.

This week, it’s time to head back to the Spanish capital, Madrid. This Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championships Series round in Casa de Campo park in central Madrid was the site of last year’s ITU Photo of the Year winner.  Sunshine, blue skies and some amazing race action again provided a stunning backdrop for event photographer Delly Carr.

This year the men’s race, Alistair Brownlee made up for his disappointing start in Sydney when he cruised to his third consecutive win in Madrid. The 2009 ITU World Champion even had enough time to stop and wait for younger brother Jonathan Brownlee to catch up, and they embraced before Alistair crossed the line. It was Jonathan’s second consecutive silver medal, and the first time he had shared a series podium with Alistair. Home crowd favourite Javier Gomez came in third, 42 seconds behind, but enough to hold on to his lead in the series.

In the women’s race, Paula Findlay reinforced she isn’t just a talent to watch - she was the woman to beat with her second consecutive win. That win also took her to the most equal wins in series history with four. Great Britain’s Helen Jenkins put her crash-affected Sydney race behind her to run into second, and France’s Emmie Charayron came from behind to take bronze, her second consecutive podium in Madrid after also claiming silver in 2010.