Posted: September 2, 2007

Triathlon: Unger thrills home crowd as new World Champion

HAMBURG, Germany - Daniel Unger has become a national hero, booked a ticket to the Beijing Olympics and shocked the triathlon world all at once. Unger is the new triathlon world champion winning today in a time of 1 hour 43 minutes and 18 seconds. World number one Javier Gomez took the silver, just four seconds behind while Aussie Brad Kahlefeldt came across the line for bronze. A full field of 80 dove into the Binnenalster lake in downtown Hamburg for the 1500-meter wetsuit swim. Many were tightly bunched after the swim turnaround but as they exited the water American Andy Potts led the field with Frenchman Stephane Poulat, Gomez and Belaubre nipping as his heels. The four men headed out of transition together and tried to break away from the chase pack. After the first lap the lead inflated to 16 seconds but it didn't last long before the two groups came together by the second lap of the 40-kilometer flat, technical bike course. A few other men attempted breakaways including Poulat who broke away and opened up a 17-second lead on the bell lap. In that final lap many men began to surge to the front of the pack trying to position themselves for the second transition. German Jan Frodeno had the crowds on their feet as he led the men out onto the 10-kilometer run course. In the final leg, contenders began to fall off the pace and by the midway point, the lead pack emerged and it included Brit Will Clarke, Unger, Gomez, Kahlefeldt, and Canadian Simon Whitfield. As expected Gomez began to crank up the pace and by the final two laps, only Unger was able to stay with him. The Spaniard powered ahead and looked on his way to his first world title but Unger hung on and kept Gomez within sight, buoyed by the cheers of 300,000 Germans. In the last kilometer Unger passed Gomez and sprinted to the line for Germany's first ever elite world championship and first medal since 1995. As a designated Olympic qualifier for their team, Unger and Jan Frodeno both grabbed the first Olympic spots for the German team. Whitfield, the 2000 Olympic gold medalist, had his best performance at a world championship and also earned a spot on the Canadian Olympic team with his fourth place finish, just four seconds shy of the podium. Clarke, last year's under23 world champion, performed solidly in his first elite championship, finishing in fifth place. Hamburg BG Triathlon World Championships - Final Elite Men's Results: Gold - Daniel Unger (GER) 01:43:18 Silver - Javier Gomez (ESP) 01:43:22 +00:00:04 Bronze - Brad Kahlefeldt (AUS) 01:43:36 +00:00:18 4th - Simon Whitfield (CAN) 01:43:40 +00:00:22 5th - William Clarke (GBR) 01:43:45 +00:00:27 6th - Jan Frodeno (GER) 01:43:57 +00:00:39 7th - Terenzo Bozzone (NZL) 01:44:04 +00:00:46 8th - Stuart Hayes (GBR) 01:44:07 +00:00:49 9th - Bevan Docherty (NZL) 01:44:22 +00:01:04 10th - Tim Don (GBR) 01:44:27 +00:01:09 Up next: In two weeks time, the elite men and women will head to Beijing for the official Olympic test event. Several National Federations will use the event as one of their selection races. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest