ITU Under 23 Beijing Update

Canada’s Andrew Yorke Fights for Career-Best Thirteenth Place Finish at

ITU Under-23 Triathlon World Championships on Beijing Olympic Course

—Jennifer Hopkins wins Canada’s first gold medal in paratriathlon, Kim Wedgerfield claims bronze—


BEIJING, China—Andrew Yorke grinded out the race-of-his-life tolead the Canadian charge at the ITU’s Under-23 Triathlon World Championships on the gruelling 2008 Olympic course in Beijing, China on Friday afternoon.

The 22-year-old from Caledon, Ont. finished as the top Canuck after fighting for a 13th-place finish, and the best international result of his young career. Yorke punched the clock at 1:54:13 under sunny, windy and warm conditions.

“I am extremely happy. That was the best performance I have ever had. I gave it everything I had today,” said Yorke, who won a Pan American Cup race earlier this summer in Quebec, and was the top Canadian at the Sprint World Championships in August where he placed 21st.

Battling through a difficult 1.5-kilometre swim where he came out of the water of Shisanling reservoir in the middle of the field of 67 athletes, Yorke emptied the tank to bridge the gap with the lead pack of riders after the first of six loops on the 6.5-kilometre bike course which features a punishing, never-ending climb behind the stadium. With a group of three riders breaking away on the third loop, the young McMaster University student stayed out of trouble in the back of the chase group throughout the 40-kilometre ride before transitioning onto the run.

“That hill is very hard and is deceivingly challenging,” said Yorke, while sporting a shiner on his right eye at the finish line after taking an elbow in the swim. “I have watched this course on television and it is much more difficult than it looks. There is one good hill on the run course, but it was still a quick run. I went out hard and really wanted to get in that top-16 today.”

Starting the run outside of the top-20 where it looked like he’d finish after the first half of the 10-kilometre trek, Yorke dug deep over his final five kilometres to climb his way into the top-15.

Great Britain swept the men’s podium with Matthew Sharpe capturing his first World Championship title after posting a time of 1:52:12. David McNamee ran to the silver medal after clocking-in at 1:52:17, while Thomas Bishop finished two seconds back of McNamee at 1:52:19 to complete the British sweep.

Two other Canadians competed in their first Under-23 World Championship race. Alexander Hinton, of Kingston, Ont., finished 34th (1:58:36), while Victoria’s Matt Sharpe was 36th (1:59:06).

Meanwhile, the world’s best paratriathletes took centre stage in the late afternoon at the World Championships for the first time since they received news this year that paratriathlon would be included in the 2016 Paralympic Summer Games.

Seven Canadians competed in one of six ITU sprint distance categories for physically-challenged athletes on Friday afternoon in Beijing. Jennifer Hopkins won the nation’s first gold medal of the week in Beijing after posting the fastest time in the women’s Les Autre race division. The following is a complete list of Canadian results on the 750-metre swim, 20-kilometre bike and five-kilometre run course:

Women’s

1. Jennifer Hopkins, 1:24:13 (Les Autre)

3. Kim Wedgerfield, Calgary, 1:58:29 (Les Autre)

4. Lorene Hatelt, Brampton, Ont., 2:01:43 (Les Autre)

Kimberly Fawcett, Orleans, Ont. (leg impairment above the knee) – result not available

Men’s

4. Charles Moreau, Trois-Rivieres, Que., 1:21:43 (Handcycle)

6. Pierre Ouellet, Quebec, 1:26:54 (Handcycle)

6. Grant Darby, Hamilton, 1:37:14 (leg impairment above the knee)

Canada’s paratriathletes completed a weeklong training camp in Beijing to properly prepare for the largest paratriathlon race in the world. The team was accompanied by coaches Carly Priebe and Vincent Gauthier.

The Grand Final of the ITU World Championship Series continues Saturday in Beijing with the junior and under-23 women’s events, along with the men’s elite race where Simon Whitfield, Kyle Jones and Brent McMahon will hit the start line for Canada.

Triathlon Canada is the governing body for triathlon in the country. Recognized as an Olympic medal sport 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 World Championship Series Results (1.5 km swim, 40 km bike, 10 km run): www.triathlon.org

Top-Five Men’s Under-23 Results and Canadian Results;

1. Matthew Sharp, GBR, 1:52:12; 2. David McNamee, GBR, 1:52:17; 3. Thomas Bishop, GBR, 1:52:19; 4. Gregory Billington, USA, 1:52:38; 5. Franz Loeschke, GER, 1:53:01.

Canadian Results:

13. Andrew Yorke, Caledon, Ont., 1:54:13; 34. Alexander Hinton, Kingston, Ont., 1:58:36; 36. Matt Sharpe, Victoria, 1:59:06.