Duathlon.com - Leading the duathlon revolution with news, results, and community devoted to duathlons and triathlons.
  Home  |  My Profile   Welcome Anonymous    Become a member! or Login!     


Talk
Photos
Survey
My Profile
Results
News
Interviews
Calendar
Classifieds
Links
Reviews
Need a Coach?
Books
Support this Site
Contact
Support FAQ




Links Search


[Articles Home]  [Add Article]  

Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Results

Eric Schwartz (duathlon) on August 31, 2003
View comments about this article!


Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Results
Affoltern, Switzerland
Sunday, August 31, 2003
10k run (short), 42k bike, 5k run (short)
Complete Results

Age group athletes started in three waves today. The women went at 7:30, the over 40 men at 9:30, and the under 40 men at 12:30. It rained throughout the night and didn't quit until midway through the second wave. The women raced in sub 50 degree weather and several dropped out with varying degrees of hypothermia. By the final wave the sun was peeking through the clouds and the conditions were noticeably better.

Age Group Men Overall
1. Jason Spong (South Africa) 2:05:20
2. Alan Rowe (GBR) 2:05:32
3. Stephane Champeaux (FRA) 2;05:42
4. Fabio Barani (ITA) 2:05:44
5. Mike Jubb (GBR) 2:05:57
6. Jon Hastings (USA) 2:06:05
7. Jorn Strothmann (GER) 2:06:07
8. Massimo Torsani (ITA) 2:06:17
9. Sebastien Cornette (FRA) 2:06:30
10. Simon Yahnd (SUI) 2:06:34

Age Group Women Overall
1. Rahel Jones (GBR) 2:28:03
2. Kristen Connell (AUS) 2:29:02
3. Iona Robertson (GBR) 2:30:19
4. Beverly Thomas (GBR) 2:30:50
5. Stephanie MacLean (GBR) 2:31:01
6. Margaret Schotte (CAN) 2:31:04
7. Imogen Thornburgh (GBR) 2:31:32
8. Elfi Rose (GER) 2:31:38
9. Gabriele Hauck (USA) 2:32:49
10. Emma Murray (GBR) 2:33:05


Member Comments: Add A Comment
Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Results Reply
by buzzy on August 31, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
Way to go Jon Hastings! You da man!!!!
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
Anonymous post on August 31, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
other than Hastings, what the hell happened to the US men? Sparky did fine, but then a major drop. did they all fly over the day before? wow, this is one of the worst performances ever by the US age group men.
 
Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Results Reply
by TRIRAT on August 31, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
Congratulations Jason! Coach Phil sends his best...drop us a line. We miss you. :-) Rach
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
Anonymous post on September 1, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
I had to respond to this comment. Have you been overseas to compete at any World Championships lately? The competition overseas is very difficult and Switzerland is a tough course! I was at long course du's in Austria last summer and we had a similar weather situation - rainy and big drop in temperature. How about instead of berrating the athletes for having a tough day, let's give them a hand for representing our country! Happy Labor Day.
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
by KennyB on September 1, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
This is a dollars and cents issue. When the races are in the US we do well because we flood the start list with good athletes. When the races are in Europe many of our best athletes can't afford to go. Especially to a place like Switzerland where things are very expansive. But the USAT makes things worse, last year Elite athletes were allowed $600.00 by USAT to cover their trip to Atlanta. This year Elite U23 and Jr were given nothing. There were no US U23 men in the race, if the results list is correct. Last year the top two U23s, Rory and TJ, were both living here in Colorado Springs and could afford the trip. This year a trip of several thousand dollars was just too much. They might not have repeated, but they surely would have been in the mix. Some monetary support from USAT might have given us a better chance.

We won't see good results from Team USA until the results are back in North America or USAT gives some funding to the Elite athletes.
 
Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Results Reply
Anonymous post on September 1, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
i believe there were a couple u/23's from the usa. im not sure how they did but if they weren't the best results, usat usually doesn't mention them. which brings on another question of how usat doesn't support their young developing athletes.
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
by Fredo on September 1, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
And I have to respond to this comment. Kudos to those for going and giving his/her all. But relatively speaking, let's be objective and look at things for what they are. It was not quite as strong as the performances as the US age group men have had in the past. That's not a knock, it's a factual observation. And weather has been bad at previous worlds too...this is not the first one with cold and windy euro like spring weather.
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
by atlgajon on September 1, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
In my opinion the US had a stronger field of athletes representing than last year, however, the competition this year made Du Worlds in ATL look like a local race. If you were not there to see the course and the conditions than it is hard to understand what an event it was! Great Job USA!
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
by bizarro on September 2, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
For those of you who didn't go, don't try to figure it out: it was one of those "you had to be there..." sort of things. If you qualified and didn't go for financial reasons, that's just part of the amateur sports world. When I was younger and getting started in The World, I couldn't afford a bike let alone race fees and plane trips. We had as fine a team as we usually do in Europe but had the worst results ever. It was a combination of many factors. Personally, I was well prepared and yet had the worst results I've ever had out of 8 WCs. I have no answer for that. And my strongest suit, the bike, turned out the worst. It all came out on the course, but the result didn't seem to reflect my preparation or fitness level which were real good. No answers and no excuses. I just had a crap race. My new moniker on this site will now be: Dr. Don't ( as opposed to the previously reviled Dr Du).
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
Anonymous post on September 2, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
Someone wrote, "which brings on another question of how usat doesn't support their young developing athletes." Well for your information they do support young developing athletes in triathlon. There is a U23 select team that gets flown all over the country, CA, ME, MI, CA nad even to Porto Rico, and New Zealand. But USAT won't give them a nickle to compete at du worlds so they couldnt afford and none went. Can't you get it through your head that it is usaTRIATHLON.
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
by PennyS on September 2, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
I know for a fact that USAT covered $660.00 in expenses for U23 and Junior elites in Alpharetta last year. I can't believe that they didn't cover travel expenses for the same group this year.
 
Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Results Reply
by StrongMan on September 2, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
I still get confused with the issue of racing PRO and Age Group at the same time. As far as I know, Jason Spong, the new World Age Group Champion, has been racing as a Pro in South Africa for many years. He even went to the States to try make it on the Pro circuit. So how does he get to compete as an Age Grouper at World Champs?
 
Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Results Reply
Anonymous post on September 2, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
From www.usatinfo.com-
POLICY OF FUNDING FOR DUATHLON JUNIOR WORLDS TEAM
(16-19 and under 23):
All qualifying athletes will receive uniforms.
Athletes finishing within 5% of the winners time at the trial event will receive the following funding: Entry fee will be paid.
Performance bonuses will be paid as follows but only if athletes finish within 10% of the overall race winner’s time in their category:
Top 20 placing – entry fee will be paid if not already earned at the trials event
Top 10 placing – entry fee will be paid if not already earned at the trials event and accommodation will be paid to the value of $200
Top 5 placing - entry fee will be paid if not already earned at the trials event and accommodation will be paid to the value of $ 300
Podium finish - entry fee will be paid if not already earned at the trials event and accommodation/travel will be paid to the value of $500
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
Anonymous post on September 2, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
well done to Jason Spong for winning the age-group worlds. BUT I thought Jason was an elite athlete. how can an elite athlete be proud of winning an age-group race. Jason raced his national champs as an elite and he has been living as an elite athlete for the past 3-4 years. I have seen him racing as an elite here in the states in Powerman and Dannon Duathlon races. I thought it was not possible to race as an age-grouper in the same year that you are racing as an elite athlete????
anyway if that floats your boat well done for winning the age-group worlds you elite athlete.
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
by uncle_kracker on September 2, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
My understanding on the pro - age group thing is that some countries, including the US, differentiate between triathlon and duathlon. For example, there were a few years running where a gentleman from Sweeden raced duathlons as an age grouper but raced triathlons as a pro (with 2 top 10 overall Ironman finishes). Further, if you look at the elite roster for the US men, last years triathlon age group world champion, Michael Boehmer, races duathlons as a pro.
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
by Kevin_Crealese on September 2, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
I see the ranting and raving has begun on the board regarding the i) performance of the US team and ii) the apparently slow race times. As someone who was there, I have a couple of observations regarding the performance of the Americans at Worlds.

This course - I've probably raced on about 30 different duathlon courses in the US and nothing has even come close to the difficulty of this course. I think this course had at least 2x as much elevation gain on the bike as the Atlanta Worlds course, which many Americans though was hilly. The course was also much more technical to boot. I can't say for a fact that European courses are generally hillier than US courses, but I don't think it is a coincidence that cyclists from generally hilly countries (Switzerland, France, Italy) where cycling is very popular tended to dominate the bike leg. As a side note, my time for the bike leg was almost 15 minutes slower than Atlanta, and I'm pretty comfortable on the hills!

The field - The field was far more competive this year than last year's race in Atlanta. For example, my class (30-34) had over 70 competitors this year vs 40+ last year). In addition, my class last year had more Americans than this year. This numbers issue, compounded by the high caliber of the competition, made for a tough race.

The weather - This effected the competitors in the early fields equally, but regardless, it was absolutely miserable. No excuses, just a fact as to why some of the times, particularly for the women, might have been slower than anticipated. I however, have no such excuse, as the weather was very nice by the time my wave went off.

Regardless, the experience was absolutely wonderful, the course spectacular, and the hosts gracious. If you get the chance to do a World Championship race in Europe, spend the extra $$$ and to do it; the experience is much different than a US hosted race.

-k
 
Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Results Reply
by ChristineK on September 2, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
Wow, there's some serious race bashing going on!
Switzerland was my first Worlds participation and I was very impressed with the entire experience.
The one question on my mind is if there is any way the start of a race can be postponed? I was in the 7:35 am take off Sunday morning, which was in that drenching rain and very cold temp. I had an excellent 10K, but froze on the downhill bike sections to the point of losing my body/mind functions. It was the first race I have ever DNFed and totally blame the bad luck of weather. But if the start had been delayed just a couple hours, the drop out rate would have been much lower. The situation was pretty dangerous.

I feel that the USA had a strong team, but the unforeseen elements simply took some top dogs out.

I will shoot for another Worlds and hope to represent the US with pride once more. It was an unbelievable experience!

-Christine
35-39 age groupie
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
by crasher on September 3, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
i think all you anons should quit wankering about the US's performance. the course was rather tough and the conditions (especially for the women) were not favorable at all. compared to any du race course in the US, this would be an HC race.

also to all those Hasting bashers, have you ever even met him? really nice guy and was there to congratulate the rest of the 25-29 crew as they came in to the finish area.

would also like to THANK all them women that raced in the morning and then stayed for the 12:30 races that afternoon. to have raced in such shitty conditions and then still stayed out to cheer us on was really great. especially when attempting to race on the uphills for the 4th and 5th laps.

this was also the first time i have ever met the USAT president! she definately has my vote in the future! she raced in the morning, helped out incapacatated racers and cheered us on. she is definately not a 'suit.'
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
by PennyS on September 3, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
Did Team USA race on the same course, under the same conditions and at the same time as the rest of the world?
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
by BRule on September 3, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
Here it goes again. If you went to the Worlds in Switzerland, you know what the race conditions where like. We know that the course was a challenge. The run was up the side of the mountain then back down. The bike course hill length was 2x the Powerman Al hill, however maybe not as steep.

For the people that are downing the USA Team keep you "PIE HOLE" closed. If you did not go then you have no room to talk about the results. Im sure that alot of the Team members are not totally happy with their results. I'm not at all happy with mine, I can not blame the run course or the bike course. I just did not race well and I do not need some "A HOLE" that does not even have the BALLS to say who they are. Have the BALLS to say who you are. Step up and let people know who you are, so we can see how great your results are at some of the races.

To the members that went it was a pleasure to see some old friends and to make some new ones. Jon H, you had a great race, thanks for the up hill motivation as you passed me by, some may have trashed you, I would bet none have ever meet you. You are down to earth and easy to get along with. John Mc, first thanks for dinner, you raced great and are a great friend and athlete, best of luck at MECCA. Bruce E, crazy bike, you raced great and thanks for the words during and after the race, tell your wife hello. Mike R, great to see you again, keep training and it will get there yo're a great athlete. Rick K, it was great to meet you and get to know you as a friend. Matt C, keep working at it the run will come you have a great bike. Oh a little Switzerland girl is looking for you!!! To everyone else thanks for being there and giving words of encouragement during the race. Hope to see everyone in Tenn.
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
by uncle_kracker on September 3, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
lighten up Rule. who died and named you public basher. regardless of the conditions, all the competitors had to endure them. don't be so one sided and jump on someone's case for raising a question. It seems that some people might just be inquiring of the let down in medal count and place finish that the US has been able to procure the last few years. From my read, this isn't just limited to what happened in Alpharetta with the plethora of US folks there...know your history in the sport and go back more than one year before you start running off at the mouth, er, your pie hole.

Why does asking what happened to the men's age group team have to be construed as "bashing"? Why are people so defensive about a legitimate query?
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
by KROL on September 3, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
sorry to beat a dead horse here, but the ELEMENTS are NO excuse for anyone having a bad race. sure, you may have prepped in 80+ degrees in SoCal, but better show up to toe the line prepared with winter gear if you don't get a chance to see weather forecast. everyone (at least in your respective age groups if yo so choose to care about them) races in pretty much the same conditions.

excellent race by Hastings, glad to see OH reprazent.

LATE
 
Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Results Reply
by SGPBIKE on September 3, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
Not sure why there is this obsession over medal count for Team USA. Since there are only a few medals given out per age group, most participants race for the enjoyment of the competition with no expectation of winning a medal. If we judge our success or failure in the Worlds by the winning of a medal, then many athletes will walk away disappointed. Each of us have our own personal reasons why we compete half way across the world. For the fortunate few it is a medal and for others it's pride in competing and finishing a tough race. We all want to see the USA athletes on the podium at the end of the day, but let's not judge our success by medals alone.
 
Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Results Reply
by bethann on September 3, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
I really enjoyed the course. That's the way a real race course should be. Everyone in my race was at the same disadvantage due to the weather. It could have been a lot worse like pouring rain or snow, but we all would have had to race under the same conditions. I guess we learn from experience....
I wanted to thank 'Sparky' and Jeff Timm for fixing my bike the night before the race. You guys are AWESOME!


 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
by ChristineK on September 3, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
Hmmmm....
Maybe some duathletes are not human. How do you say that going from training in 90 degree (F) weather won't be affected by a solid downpour and 40 degree temps? Come on. And the conditions were not created equal for every athlete. The first wave on Sunday was hammered with rain and cold. Later, the rain stopped and sunshine was revealed. I am thankful that other waves received decent weather! But you cannot say that the weather was the same for all racers. It changed dramatically during the weekend events.

Give me a break. Let's be happy that no one was seriously hurt and look forward to better times and turnouts in future Worlds events!

-Christine
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
by bizarro on September 4, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
About The Elements: we all race in the same conditions. I train in conditions like we had, but stil got my a$$ kicked. No excuses,I was well prepared. The course profile and layout wasn't to my liking but I still should have done much better. In my 8 Worlds this is our poorest team showing. But we were there. This was a World Champoinship: there are great athletes from all countries, and we saw many of them Saturday and Sunday. Let's just leave it at that: we got beat by better-prepared athletes. Congratulations to them. As for the commentary about how the US does better when the race is here: that's because the best foreign athletes have as much trouble getting the money to travel as those complaining above. You're racing against a depleted field. Have no illusions.
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
Anonymous post on September 5, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
To clarify, there were no U23 male or females racing at Worlds. (I know, I was one of the qualifiers who could not afford to go). And when you look at that payout, you have to kind of laugh ($500 for a podium position?? that would cover about half of the flight costs). It should be noted that the Elite team got $1500 each for expenses to this race (granted I think this is totally justified, and I commend our elite racers). But why have we given up on developement, the U23 team (mostly college athletes, need the money more than anyone. It was an utter shame to not have TJ go, but i can't say I blame him.
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
Anonymous post on September 5, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
The elite team did not get a $1500 stipend
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
by trk on September 5, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
There seems a rather negative vibe about the worlds from the US camp. Getting the amount of athletes you did to come over and race in Europe is surely a sign of strong grassroots for Duathlon in the US even if the medal haul was low this year.
As a GB age grouper the team had a great event, but I can relate to those who didn't perform as they hoped. Personally I had a shocking race after feeling sick on only the first lap of the run with a stomach that felt like a cemment mixer and tight diaphragm (anyone else with the same Symptoms?), putting in a bike split 20+mins longer than I was aiming for. However I was never going to win so was glad I stuck at it to the end, even if I am suffering now! Like a high percentage of Age groupers I went for the experience and to aid the learning curve as a relative newbie, hoping that one day I will be at the competive end of the race.

I did think that perhaps a few US athletes brought the wrong equipment over for the course. The only place I seem to put time in on anyone was the twisty steeper downhill section that diffinatly favoured a road bike setup. Though I guess time lost on a Tri bike was soon made up on the shallower section back into town.

Funding for such trips is tough (even to attend races in our own country can be costly!) and requires plenty of sacrifices for most of us, with little money in Duathlon you can understand why so little is given out. On the plus side Promising juniors/under 23's who are likely to be the Elites of the future should have a higher chance though of gaining sponsorship themselves (Yes I know its tough, but hey that life). Gaining skills in this art should put them in good shape should they turn pro later.

wishing everyone success for the future (just as long as GB keep winning) and sorry for the long message,

TRK
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
by rascal on September 9, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
Just got back from Worlds and can't believe the bickering on this site. To all those who represented Team USA congrats on your accomplishments. After being out of the sport for 5 years it seems the age group athletes especially the Europeans are getting better which will make all of us work harder. For myself I did the best I could do on that day. No excuses. I had a good time in Europe and met alot of nice people. The beer and food was excellent.
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
Anonymous post on September 9, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
Yeah, I can't really let that go by either. Everyone raced hard, I saw a lot of strong effort out there. If you are faster, you should come with us and bring home a medal. We would be happy to have you. The members of other countries teams, in particular Britian, really did well, because they trained hard and raced fast. That is the way it works. It was a brutal race, particularly on Sunday morning.
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
Anonymous post on September 9, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
I guess the more I think about this the more I think that it is partly the definition of the sport. This is age group duathlon, not professional football. If you care about glory, you are in the wrong place. If you make 6 million a year to compete, then people have a right to demand performance from you. If you pay for everything yourself, I don't think it's true at all. I trained hard for a long time, and raced my best race, and I came in about mid pack. I am very proud of my preformance, my team, and of racing with the best age-group duathletes in the world. It was the best experience of my life. I didn't do it for anyones approval, and if my preformance doesn't meet your exacting standards, then show up for a qualifier next year and take my slot. I think few of us do it for recognition anyway, %95 percent of the people I talk to don't know or care what duathlon even is. I just want to underline how proud I am of all my teammates, particularly the one's who raced so hard in the difficult conditions on Sunday and managed to finish. If you get the chance to race a world championship, and you can afford it, I advise you to do it. It is incredible.
Cheers!
 
RE: Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Resul Reply
Anonymous post on September 9, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
I guess the more I think about this the more I think that it is partly the definition of the sport. This is age group duathlon, not professional football. If you care about glory, you are in the wrong place. If you make 6 million a year to compete, then people have a right to demand performance from you. If you pay for everything yourself, I don't think it's true at all. I trained hard for a long time, and raced my best race, and I came in about mid pack. I am very proud of my preformance, my team, and of racing with the best age-group duathletes in the world. It was the best experience of my life. I didn't do it for anyones approval, and if my preformance doesn't meet your exacting standards, then show up for a qualifier next year and take my slot. I think few of us do it for recognition anyway, %95 percent of the people I talk to don't know or care what duathlon even is. I just want to underline how proud I am of all my teammates, particularly the one's who raced so hard in the difficult conditions on Sunday and managed to finish. If you get the chance to race a world championship, and you can afford it, I advise you to do it. It is incredible.
Cheers!
 
Duathlon World Championships - Age Group Results Reply
Anonymous post on September 10, 2003 Mail this to a friend!
Even more disappointing than my DNF at Worlds due to hypothermia, were the comments about the poor performance of the U.S. team that have been posted on this page. In 18 years of multisport competition, I have not been in conditions as treacherous or dangerous as the women's race on Sunday morning. Some of you may forget that there is no way to get current weather information or forecasts for small European cities. Based on the heat wave plaguing Europe all summer and the many heat related deaths in France, most of the U.S. team members were worried about heat related challenges in the days leading up to the race. Hypothermia due to wet and cold conditions was the last thing on our worry list. Coming from southern U.S. states where afternoon highs were 100+ and morning lows were in the 80's the past few weeks,it was impossible to acclimate to wet 40 degree temperatures in 2 or 3 days. Many of our team members chose to discard raingear and display the U.S. team uniform (lycra singlet) on the bike. Coming down the slick cobblestone mountainous road on the descent with hypothermia and uncontrollable shaking, made survival (not winning) the top priority. We are very lucky that noone was injured or suffered permanent health problems. The race goes to different regions of the world every year, and if it ever goes to Dallas in August, we'll show the world just how tough Americans can be. Cheers to all the U.S. women who started the race...those who were able to finish have my utmost respect.
 
Email Subscription
You are not subscribed to discussions on this article.

Subscribe!
My Subscriptions
Subscriptions Help

Related News & Articles
Preivew of the Women's Du World Champs
2004 Duathlon Short Course World Championships to Belgium
US Team Wins 7 Medals In Belgium
US Athletes Set for Long Course Worlds
Jonathan Hall Pulls Out Of World Champs


Other Upcoming & News Articles
Miami International Triathlon
IM China and 70.3 Results
Ironman New Zealand
Desert Classic Duathlon Elite Results
Ironman Malaysia

Web design and content Copyright © 1998-2005 by Eric Schwartz and Duathlon.com
Unauthorized reproduction of any Duathlon.com material is strictly prohibited and is subject to legal action
World Headquarters - Boulder, Colorado 
Contact