Julie Dibens from Salisbury will take to the waters of Maui on Sunday as she looks to defend her XTERRA Triathlon World Championship on the Hawaiian island. The 2008 Mazda London Triathlon winner has enjoyed a successful year which has seen her compete across the world in a range of triathlon categories.
XTERRA is an off-road version of the sport which encompasses an open water swim, mountain bike and trail run. The 27 miles of unyielding terrain in Maui are some of the most brutal on the face of the planet. Alongside the stifling heat and humidity the competitors will have to put up with rock strewn paths, steep climbs and descents, hard packed lava and dusty silt. To make things even more interesting, athletes are not allowed to practice on the bike course and face disqualification if they are caught in the vicinity in the lead up to the race.
Dibens will once again go head to head with Canada’s Melanie McQuaid who finished as runner-up in 2007, and Shonny Vanlandingham from the USA who finished in fourth. Renata Bucher from Switzerland finished behind Dibens at XTERRA Austria earlier in the year and will be looking to step onto the top of the podium come Sunday afternoon.
Dibens said on her preparation: “It’s picking up out here. We are slowly seeing more athletes arrive. It has been pretty quiet up until now, which has been great on the training front, but a bit dull on the social front. We have a good group of Brits coming out this year too. The only thing left to do, other than put the icing on the cake on the training front is to decide our Halloween costumes for this years post race party.”
There are two Brits to watch out for in the men’s elite race. Sam Gardner finished fourteenth last year and will be looking to mix it with 2007 winner Conrad Stolz from South Africa whilst Jim McConnel from Oxford will be making his Maui debut.
Great Britain's Andrea Whitcombe and Jodie Swallow will compete at this weekend's Huatulco BG Triathlon World Cup in Mexico. The race marks the end of the 2008 World Cup series and will decide the final athlete rankings and prize money.
Great Britain's elite athletes have enjoyed one of their most successful years on the World Cup circuit. They have won two gold, two silver and six bronze medals which places them second on the International Triathlon Union's medal table behind Australia.
On the women’s side Felicity Abram from Australia leads the World Cup standings, however has drawn an end to her season, finishing on 256 points. New Zealand's Samantha Warriner sits in second place, just 24 points behind the Aussie meaning that a top seven place finish will give her the title and the winner's cheque for $40,000.
Welsh World Champion Helen Tucker currently lies in third on 208 points, but could be dislodged into fourth should Sweden's Lisa Norden finish in either first or second. Andrea Whitcombe could move up from eighth to fourth if she wins in Huatulco, providing that Norden does not score well.
The men's World Cup Series is effectively finished with only a handful of top contenders racing the final event. Spain's Javier Gomez sits on top of the pile with 300 points following a five race winning streak which included the World Championships. New Zealander Bevan Docherty will finish second on 246 points with Ivan Vasiliev from Russia in third.
Britain's Tim Don sits in fourth spot with Olly Freeman fifth.
Athlete Profile: Julie Dibens
Personal Information
Date of Birth: 4 March 1975
Born: Salisbury, England
Lives: Bath, England
Coach:
Website: www.juliedibens.com
Nickname: Dibster
Hobbies: Spending time with friends & family
Fav music: Snow Patrol
Fav film: Deuce Bigalow Male Gigalo
Fav place: Home
Fav food: Red wine gums
Hero: Lance Armstrong
Words to live by: "Life's for living, loving and giving."
Luxury item for a desert island: Husband Mike
What would you do if you weren't a triathlete: Lab rat
Fav quote: "World domination baby!"
Major Achievements
National Triathlon Champion 2007
Xterra Triathlon World Champion 2007
UK 70.3 Triathlon Champion 2007
2008 Results
1st Ironman 70.3 Switzerland, Switzerland
2nd Ironman 70.3 United Kingdom, England
1st Xterra UK, Wales
1st Mazda London Triathlon, England
7th Toyota US Open Dallas Triathlon, USA
|
|
About British Triathlon
British Triathlon is the National Governing Body for triathlon, the UK’s fastest growing sport. At international level Great Britain boasts a strong squad of world ranked elite triathletes who regularly achieve international success and has some outstanding young talent emerging from its development programmes. Since becoming an Olympic sport in 2000, British Triathlon has seen annual increases in membership numbers of 10%. There are over 650 triathlon events conducted in Great Britain each year, including the Corus Elite Series which attracts athletes from all over the world and the renowned Mazda London Triathlon and. For more information visit BritishTriathlon.org.
Know someone else who's interested in running and triathlon?
