COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- 2016 U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team Qualifiers Gwen Jorgensen and Sarah True lead the way for a U.S. contingent of 13 elite triathletes, who will compete this weekend at ITU World Triathlon Gold Coast, the second stop of the 2016 ITU World Triathlon Series.
Gwen Jorgensen makes her 2016 ITU World Triathlon Series debut after winning a world cup event on Sunday. (Scottie T Photography/ITU)
The race features a 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer run course, with the elite women set to start at 7:35 p.m. ET on April 8 (9:35 a.m. local time on April 9). The elite men will follow at 10:35 p.m. ET on April 8 (12:35 p.m. local time on April 9). The races will be broadcast live online at TriathlonLive.tv. In the United States, the races will also air on NBC Sports Group, with the elite men's race scheduled on Universal HD at 8 p.m. ET on April 10, and the elite women scheduled on NBC Sports Network at 1 a.m. ET on April 11, with an additional broadcast on Universal HD at 6:30 p.m. ET on April 15. Visit NBCSports.com for a complete schedule of Olympic sports broadcasts and channel information.
Jorgensen (St. Paul, Minn.) makes her 2016 ITU World Triathlon Series debut in Gold Coast following a win at the New Plymouth ITU World Cup on Sunday. Jorgensen is the reigning ITU World Champion and has won all 15 of the ITU races she has started since May 2014. True (Hanover, N.H.) is a three-time ITU World Championships medalist, most recently earning the bronze medal for the 2015 season. She made her 2016 WTS debut in Abu Dhabi last month, but was caught in a bike crash just before transitioning to the run and dropped from the race. Both Jorgensen and True have already qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Katie Zaferes (Hampstead, Md.) is also on the start list for Gold Coast, having finished on the podium in seven WTS races last season. Six of those podium finishes were silver medals, and her sole bronze medal of 2015 came on the course in Gold Coast, where Zaferes, Jorgensen and True swept the podium for only the second time in WTS history. Renee Tomlin (Ocean City, N.J.) will wear No. 5 on Saturday following her fifth-place finish in last month's WTS Abu Dhabi, and Kirsten Kasper (North Andover, Mass.) will make her WTS season debut after finishing on back-to-back podiums in ITU World Cup events.
Also on the start list for the U.S. women are Kaitlin Donner (Satellite Beach, Fla.), Lindsey Jerdonek (Brecksville, Ohio) and Erin Jones (Hood River, Ore.). A complete women's start list is available at WTS.Triathlon.org.
In the men's race, Greg Billington (Spokane, Wash.), Ben Kanute (Geneva, Ill.) and Joe Maloy (Wildwood Crest, N.J.) will all toe the line after earning top-20 finishes in last weekend's New Plymouth ITU World Cup, led by Billington's 10th-place effort. Jarrod Shoemaker (Clermont, Fla.) and Kevin McDowell (Geneva, Ill.) are also on the start list for the U.S. A complete men's start list is available at WTS.Triathlon.org.
While the final U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team qualification event will take place on May 14 in Yokohama, top-placing U.S. athletes can earn valuable points to secure team quota spots for the U.S. leading up to the qualification period closure on May 15. The current standings in the ITU Rio 2016 Olympic Qualification List are available at Triathlon.org.
Triathlon fans can feel like part of the action with TRIFECTA, the official triathlon fantasy game of the ITU World Triathlon Series. Registration for TRIFECTA is open now at Trifecta.USATriathlon.org and podium picks must be submitted prior to the start of the first race. More details on the game are available at USAtriathlon.org.
| About USA Triathlon
USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon, as well as duathlon, aquathlon, aquabike, winter triathlon, off-road triathlon and paratriathlon in the United States. Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon sanctions more than 4,300 races and connects with nearly 500,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work with athletes, coaches and race directors on the grassroots level, USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. USA Triathlon is a proud member of the ITU and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).
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