The first international world championship triathlon in North America is coming to Washington in June, with amateurs able to race along with elite athletes.
The Washington leg of the Dextro Energy Triathlon — International Triathlon Union World Championship Series will be the only race in the eight-race series of Olympic qualifiers to be held in the Western Hemisphere.
The race will be held June 21 and will wind through the streets of D.C. Amateurs will race early in the morning before the elite athletes begin at 11 a.m., diving straight into the Potomac River.
“The backdrops are unbelievable,” said D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, who participated in last year’s Nation’s Triathlon. “When you swim, as we did last year, under the Memorial Bridge, I mean, you’re swimming right between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial.”
World cups have been held in the United States, but this is the first championship race. Melissa Merson, the U.S. representative on the ITU Executive Board, has been waiting for it.
“For many years, I have personally had a dream of seeing the flags of the world lining Pennsylvania Avenue in our great capital,” Merson said.
The event has two amateur competitions — one sprint distance (750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike, 5-kilometer run) and one Olympic distance (1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer run). There are also two professional Olympic distance races, one for men and one for women.
Amateurs, who will compete by age group, can choose if they want to compete for their country against other countries as well as against others of the same age.
The professional races are expected to draw high-quality athletes from around the world, said Charles Brodsky, chief executive of the Washington Sports & Event Management LLC, one of the triathlon’s producers.
“It’s really the top line of qualifiers,” Brodsky said. “The pros want to be there.”
Jarrod Shoemaker, a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic triathlon team, has toured the course and says he plans to bring his family to participate in the races with him. He says he hopes to place in the top 10 finishers. Fenty, a seasoned triathlete, plans to participate in the amateur version.
The popularity of triathlons has been growing worldwide over the last several years, and the Washington area is no exception. Local triathlons such as the Columbia Triathlon in May, the Eagleman Ironman 70.3 in June, the Iron Girl Triathlon in August and the Reston Triathlon in September fill up quickly.
“I think Washingtonians, and people in this area in general, are healthy and fit and they’ve been running for a long time and cycling for a long time,” Brodsky said. “Ultimately they’re looking for a new challenge,” which they are finding in triathlons.
