Africa Triathlon

With the 18th edition of the Ishigaki World Cup and the Premium Asian Cup in Chengdu, ITU racing was full steam ahead in Asia this weekend. Wet weather conditions challenged the athletes in Japan, while an international start list lined up in China.

Ishigaki World Cup
Although wet conditions plagued the women’s race on Sunday, that didn’t stop a strong Japanese team from sweeping the podium in front of a home crowd. Olympian Ai Ueda blasted through the three-lap run course to claim her first World Cup title since 2010, followed by rising star Yuka Sato and Juri Ide. Ueda held strong throughout the run, continuing to surge further and further out front. She sailed down the finish chute with nobody in sight for claim her first win in Ishigaki in two hours, five minutes and 47 seconds. Sato followed her teammate over the line next in 2:06:23 for her highest World Cup finish ever, while Ide took bronze in 2:06:52. Read the full race report here

Wet weather conditions couldn’t keep Ryan Fisher (AUS) from storming to his first ever World Cup title in Ishigaki with a monster performance on the bike and run courses. The rising star capitalized on a breakaway with fellow countryman Dan Wilson on the bike before he attacked on the run to claim his first major ITU title. Bryan Keane (IRL), who attempted to stay with Fisher on the bike breakaway until he crashed in the final laps, clocked the fourth fastest run split of the day to come from behind for silver. After going into the run in prime podium position, Dan Wilson (AUS) held strong for bronze. Read the full race report here.

Chengdu ITU Triathlon Premium Asian Cup
It was a good day for China in the women’s competition in Chengdu, as both Dan Fan and Yuting Huang made the podium on home soil. While Australia’s Maddison Allen bolted to a 30-second lead on the swim, it wasn’t enough to hold of Fan, who put together a solid race across all three disciplines. Fan sat just behind the leaders on the swim to conserve energy before joining them on the bike. She then powered ahead on the run for the win in 2:03:47. Kiwi Rebecca Clarke followed in second in 2:04:41. Although Huang trailed on both the swim and bike, she put together the fastest run of the day to capture bronze in 2:04:45. Women’s results

While the women’s race went to China, Russia overtook the men’s medal standings, occupying the top two spots. Vladimir Turbayevskiy cruised with the leaders on the swim and bike. But when he got to the run, all bets were off as he unleashed furry to throw down the fastest split of the day for the win. Teammate Artem Parienko employed a similar method, but couldn’t quite keep pace with Turbayevskiy, finishing just behind him in second. Faquan Bai kept pace with the Russians until the run, where he fells slightly behind, but was good enough for bronze. Men’s results