Triathlon fields Finalized for Beijing Olympics

Kitzbühel, Austria (July 21, 2008) - The International Triathlon Union (ITU) is pleased to announce the men's and women's fields for the triathlon at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are now final.  All 110 names have been confirmed by 37 different National Olympic Committees that will be represented in the sport's third Olympic Games.
 
 This past weekend in Kitzbühel, Austria at the final world cup event before the Beijing Olympics, the start numbers and transition position for all athletes were assigned.  Allocations were done in a random draw conducted by Olympic Technical Delegates Gergely Markus and Enrique Quesada and Beijing race referee Thanos Nikopoulos.  The women's triathlon will be held at 10am local Beijing time (UTC/GMT +8) on Monday August 18 and the men's competition at the same time on Tuesday August 19, all at the triathlon venue in the Changping district of Beijing.

Click here for the final women's triathlon start list for the Beijing Olympics
Click here for the final men's triathlon start list for the Beijing Olympics
 
All countries were in sealed envelopes and randomly drawn one by one.  The draw determined the allocation of the race numbers and the position of the athletes in transition.  As each nation was drawn, the numbers were assigned to all athletes from that nation.  The athletes from the same nation will be next to each other in the transition area. 

The process was separate for both the women's and men's fields.  The number 13 was not assigned so number 56 is the final start number. 
 
In the women's draw, Italy was the first country pulled which means unheralded Charlotte Bonin will wear the number one start number.  Germany was pulled second, followed by Switzerland.  Defending Olympic gold medalist Kate Allen will wear #11 as Austria was the fifth country pulled.  Portugal was among the final countries drawn so Vanessa Fernandes will wear number 54.
 
For the men, South Africa was drawn first, which gives Hendrik De Villiers the number one start number.  Australia was the eighth country pulled meaning Courtney Atkinson and Brad Kahlefeldt will wear numbers 11 and 12 respectively.  The Aussie pair will be close to the Canadian team that was drawn next with 2000 Olympic gold medalist Simon Whitfield assigned number 16.  World champion Javier Gomez will suit up in his first Olympics wearing number 30. 
 
The pontoon draw will be done after the briefing in Beijing with the ranking order of the ITU points list as of the conclusion of the 2008 world championships.

Click here for ITU's official Olympic site

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