The event had previously been slated for Honolulu, Hawaii, but funding for the race from the state of Hawaii did not come through, causing USAT to search for an alternate location.
Tuscaloosa was chosen based on its success with hosting USAT Collegiate Nationals earlier this year and the course's match with that of the Olympic Games course in Beijing.
"The course more than meets our needs on the performance and competition side," said USAT Sport Performance Director Scott Schnitzspahn, who had a chance to visit the city and venue last week. "There are many similarities between this course and what the athletes will experience in Beijing, especially the hill climb on the bike. It's a good match for our needs."
USAT officials were also pleased with the enthusiasm expressed by the mayor's office, the University of Alabama, and the local community during the search process. "USAT is absolutely thrilled by the unprecedented level of support Tuscaloosa officials are providing to Olympic Trials and Collegiate Nationals," said USAT National Events Director Jeff Dyrek.
"We are deeply appreciative of the confidence shown to the City of Tuscaloosa by the USOC and USAT to host this historic event," said Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox. "The U.S. Olympic Trials for triathlon has officially woven Tuscaloosa into the global fabric of the Olympic tradition."
"We're proud to showcase Tuscaloosa on a national and international level during our State Tourism Office promotion of the Year of Alabama Sports," said Robert Ratliff, executive director of the Greater Tuscaloosa Convention and Visitors Bureau. "This event expands our diversity of sporting events that Tuscaloosa is capable of hosting."
The Olympic Trials is the second event in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team selection process that will field the three American men and three women who will represent the U.S. in Beijing in August. The top American woman and top American man at Tuscaloosa will each secure spots on the team.
The first selection event was held at the ITU Beijing World Cup in September, with Laura Bennett and Jarrod Shoemaker qualifying. The final event will be held in Des Moines, Iowa at the Hy-Vee Triathlon. The last male and female athlete will be selected after that race based on a points system that calculates the best two of three races.
The Olympic Trials will actually be part of a weekend of multisport April 19-20 in Tuscaloosa. Collegiate Nationals, which was already slated to return to the city in 2008, will take place on Saturday morning, with the Trials race to follow that afternoon. Sunday will feature a citizens' and collegiate alumni sprint triathlon followed by the USA Triathlon Twenty-12 TalentID race, a draft-legal, sprint-distance event that will be open to athletes ages 16 to 29, including junior elite, U23 and age group athletes. It will give athletes experience in draft-legal racing and provide exposure to the Olympic style of racing to the public.
"This weekend presents the perfect opportunity to expose the collegiate competitors and other up and coming athletes to the highest level of draft-legal racing," said Schnitzspahn. "Jarrod Shoemaker and 2004 Olympian Victor Plata are past collegiate competitors, and the 2007 Collegiate National Champions Justine Whipple and Kevin Collington are now competing on the elite circuit. These younger athletes are our next generation of Olympians, so it will be good for them to see what it takes to race at that level."
Find out more about the event in the coming days.
About USA Triathlon
USA Triathlon is the national governing body for triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and winter triathlon in the United States. USAT sanctions more than 2,000 races and connects with more than 100,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world.
Website: USATriathlon.org.
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