2010 ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships

O’Donnell Takes Silver to Lead U.S. at Long Distance Worlds;

Five Age Groupers Post Top-10 Finishes

ColoradoTriathlete.com

August 1, 2010 (Immenstadt, Germany) – Defending champion Timothy O’Donnell captured the men’s elite silver medal to lead Team USA Sunday at the 2010 ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships.

A part of USA Triathlon’s Project 2012 program, O’Donnell (Boulder, Colo.) posted a time of 6 hours, 29 minutes, 35 seconds to finish second to France’s Sylvain Sudrie, who covered the course in 6:24:57. The event featured a 4-kilometer swim, a challenging 130-kilometer bike and a 30-kilometer run.

O’Donnell and Sudrie posted fairly even splits on the swim and run, but the difference came on the bike where Sudrie’s split bested O’Donnell by nearly five minutes. American Justin Hurd (Boulder, Colo.) was 24th in 7:05:13, and Adam Jensen (Seattle, Wash.) took 32nd in 7:33:38.

In women’s elite action, Haley Cooper (Spokane, Wash.) and Lisa Ribes (Tucson, Ariz.) finished eighth and ninth, respectively, to give the U.S. a pair of top-10 finishers. Cooper logged a time of 7:56:55, less than two minutes ahead of Ribes’ 7:58:20. Rachel Sears (Richmond, Calif.) was 15th in 9:33:23. Switzerland’s Caroline Steffen was the women’s elite winner in 6:55:21.

More than 50 Americans were in action in the age group portion of the world championships with Adrienne Greenough (Durham, N.C.) claiming bronze in the women’s 20-24 age group in 9:52:15. She was the 2009 U.S. long course national champion in the same age group.

In addition to Greenough’s third-place performance, four other Americans posted top-10 finishes: William P. Ankele, Jr. (Centennial, Colo.) was 10th in the men’s 55-59 age group, Katie Arnold (Columbus, Ohio) finished seventh in the women’s 25-29 age group, Daniele Rosman (St. Louis, Mo.) was fifth in the women’s 30-34 age group and Cheryl Rosentreter (Geneva, Ill.) placed sixth in the women’s 50-54 age group.

Arnold’s time of 8:30:47 was the top American performance on the women’s side and was good for 20th overall. Holger Beckmann (Redondo Beach, Calif.) logged the top U.S. men’s time of 7:52:40 to finish 13th in the 45-49 age group and 77th overall.

Men’s Elite Medalists & U.S. Finishers

1. Sylvain Sudrie (FRA) 6:24:57
2. Timothy O’Donnell (Boulder, Colo.) 6:29:35
3. Francois Chabaud (FRA) 6:32:04
24. Justin Hurd (Boulder, Colo.) 7:05:13
32. Adam Jensen (Seattle, Wash.) 7:33:38
Joe Umphenour (Colorado Springs, Colo.) DNF

Women’s Elite Medalists & U.S. Finishers

1. Caroline Steffen (SUI) 6:55:21
2. Yvonne Van Vlerken (NED) 7:07:04
3. Virginia Berasategui (ESP) 7:13:19
8. Haley Cooper (Spokane, Wash.), 7:56:55
9. Lisa Ribes (Tucson, Ariz.), 7:58:20
15. Rachel Sears (Richmond, Calif.), 9:33:23