Kyle Jones: Golden in China!

Kyle Jones Completes Golden Mission with Triathlon Win in China

—Jones racks up third straight victory, Brent McMahon grabs third bronze—


WELHAI, China—Canada’s Kyle Jones racked up this third consecutive victory in as many weeks with a golden performance at the ITU Triathlon Premium Asian Cup, while Brent McMahon completed his bronze-medal hat trick in Welhai, China on Saturday.

The 26-year-old Jones, of Oakville, Ont. won his third straight ITU race after posting a golden time of two hours, three seconds (2:00:03), while Victoria’s McMahon locked up third place with a time of 2:01:03 over the 1.5-kilometre swim, 40-kilometre bike and 10-kilometre runcourse in China.

“It was a very similar race to last week with Brent and I coming out of the water with a lead group of four,” said Jones, who has trained and competed alongside Simon Whitfield over the last five years. “We rode together in a group of six on the bike, and I was first out onto the run after a really good transition. I ran controlled for the first five-kilometres, and then picked up the pace and opened a 45 second gap.”

Ireland’s Gavin Noble was the next best finisher sandwiched between the two Canadians in the silver-medal position with a time of 2:00:48.

In an effort to improve their international ranking after battling through a series of injuries last season, the two Canucks completed a three-week mission for the podium with Saturday’s medal-haul.

The journey, which resulted in the Canadians finishing first and third in each race began with Jones’ first-ever ITU victory at the ITU Triathlon Pan American Cup in Ixtara, Mexico, followed by the ITU Triathlon Asian Cup on Amakusa, Japan, and Saturday’s event in Welhai, China.

“Overall I’m very happy with the last three weeks. The goal was to improve my ranking and I scored maximum points – so Mission Accomplished!” said Jones. “I was also able to gain a lot of confidence, and I feel this trip has helped me improve my preparation leading into races which is going to help me for the rest of the season.”

Jones and the 30-year-old McMahon will now headback to Canada and prepare to suit up for a World Cup race in Edmonton on July 10. It will be the second World Cup for McMahon this year after sitting on the sidelines over the last 18 months to recover from a knee injury.

“After an 18-month break, it is important not to lose attention to details and the small moments that require specific focus,” said McMahon. “I feel I haven’t missed anything yet after this break and I am getting fitter as I go. It will be a long season so I am very satisfied with these solid races as I will build off of them and keep my best performance for the World Championship Series events and Olympic qualifying races.”

No other Canadian athletes were on the start list in China.

Triathlon Canada is the governing body for triathlon in the country. Recognized as an Olympic medalsport since 2000, Triathlon Canada’s mandate is to promote, foster, organize and develop the sport of triathlon, and its related disciplines, in Canada. For more information on Triathlon Canada, please visit us at www.triathloncanada.com on the Internet.

Complete Welhai ITU Triathlon Premium Asian Cup (1.5 km swim, 40 km bike, 10 km run): www.triathlon.org

Top-Five Men’s Results:

1. Kyle Jones, Oakville, Ont., 2:00:03; 2. Gavin Noble, Ireland, 2:00:48; 3. Brent McMahon, Victoria, 2:01:03; 4. Claude Eksteen, RSA, 2:01:13; 5. Mitchell Robins, AUS, 2:01:18.