Posted: July 15, 2007

Triathlon: Leanda Cave Wins World Long Distance Triathlon Championships

Leanda Cave, the 2002 World Triathlon Champion added the Long Distance title to her list of accolades as she convincingly won in Lorient, France. Having exited the 3000m Atlantic swim in second she quickly put pressure on the others athletes with a strong bike leg to give herself a commanding lead heading into the final discipline, a 20km run. Despite the best efforts of Erika Csomor from Hungary, Cave showed great strength to hold on to win by two minutes. Having stepped up to long distance racing last year, the USA based athlete has enjoyed a successful season with victories in the internationally renowned Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon in San Francisco and the American long distance One-O-One race series. European Duathlon (run - cycle - run) Champion, Scotland's Catriona Morrison, rode her way from 13th to second on the 80km cycle course to put herself in the chasing pack behind Cave. Having been in second for most of the run she was overtaken by the charging Csomor in the final mile and finished in third place. Chrissie Wellington rounded out the top five ensuring the British women took the team prize. Leanda Cave said on her win: "Absolutely fantastic! I came here with a goal and I did it. After a strong swim I hit the lead and just tried to maintain it over the rest of the athletes. I knew some of the girls could really run so I had to get as much time as possible on the bike. The pressure was on and I felt like I was being chased the whole way, so I just put my head down and went for it. I always wanted to win the Long Distance World Champs, and now I just have one more goal, to go and win the Ironman World Champs in Hawaii." Catriona Morrison said on her bronze medal: "Having been in second place for so long I'm a bit disappointed, but I'm also really pleased with how my year is going. As a duathlete the swim isn't my strongest discipline, but my bike today was excellent and pulled me back into contention; I just wish I could have held on to second on the run." The French dominated the men's competition on home soil, taking all of the medals on offer. Young Scotsman Fraser Cartmell from Stirling came out of the Ocean in third place and continued an impressive run of form to finish as the highest placing Brit in 12th. Britain's top Ironman competitor, Stephen Bayliss, could only manage 20th and blamed the shortening of the race from triple to double Olympic distance for his disappointing performance. Women's ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships Results: 1. Leanda Cave, Great Britain 2. Erika Csomor, Hungary 3. Catriona Morrison, Great Britain - 5. Chrissie Wellington, Great Britain 14. Yvette Grice, Great Britain Men's ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships Results: 1. Julien Loy, France 2. Xavier Le Floch, France 3. Sebastien Berlier, France - 12. Fraser Cartmell, Great Britain 20. Stephen Bayliss, Great Britain 22. Joseph Gambles, Great Britain 29. Alun Woodward, Great Britain The British team now focus their attention on next weekend's Corus Elite Series Super Sprint Triathlon in Hyde Park, the first elite race to be held at the Olympic triathlon venue ahead of the 2012 London Games. For further information on the British Team's success at the World Long Distance Triathlon Championships, please see www.britishtriathlon.org. About British Triathlon The British Triathlon Federation is the National Governing Body for triathlon, the UK's fastest growing sport. At elite level we are striving for Olympic success and currently boast the current world champion in Tim Don, current World Under 23 Champion in Will Clarke and current World Junior Champion, Alistair Brownlee. Looking towards 2012 and beyond, British Triathlon has emerging some outstanding young talent from its youth programmes. Since becoming an Olympic sport in 2000, British Triathlon has seen large annual membership increases and now totals over 10,000 members throughout its Home Nation Associations. There are over 500 triathlon events conducted in Great Britain each year including the London Triathlon, the largest triathlon event in the World; and the BG Triathlon World Cup race in Salford, one of the leading international events. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest