USAT Collegiate Nationals Returns to Tuscaloosa

USAT Collegiate Nationals Returns to Tuscaloosa

University of Colorado Will Be Defending Team Champion

USA Triathlon

March 10, 2011 (Colorado Springs, CO) – In just one month the nation’s top collegiate triathletes will descend on Tuscaloosa, Alabama—the home of the University of Alabama—for the 2011 USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship on Saturday, April 9.

Jessica Broderick
Jessica Broderick led CU to the team title last year (Photo by USAT)

A capacity field of more than 1,200 collegiate triathletes will vie for individual and team national titles in the Olympic-distance championship event, which features a 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike and 10-kilometer run starting and finishing at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater. Additionally, more than 300 athletes will compete in a sprint-distance race featuring a 750m swim, 20k bike and 5k run.

The 2011 Collegiate National Championship marks the fifth consecutive year that USA Triathlon has held one of its major championship events in Tuscaloosa. Collegiate Nationals was last held in the city in 2008, alongside the U.S. Olympic Trials.

“USA Triathlon is excited to return Collegiate Nationals to Tuscaloosa, which is a quintessential college town,” said Jeff Dyrek, USA Triathlon National Events Director. “Year in and year out, the town and University have opened their arms to USA Triathlon, and we look forward to working together to host yet another exciting event.”

More than 120 colleges and universities are slated to compete in Tuscaloosa. The host state will be well represented with clubs from the University of Alabama, Auburn University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of North Alabama on the start list.

Led by 2009 collegiate national champion and 2010 runner-up Jessica Broderick, the University of Colorado, Boulder claimed the overall team title last year and will look for a repeat in 2011. CU also earned the 2010 men’s title, while the U.S. Military Academy captured the women’s team title a year ago.

The USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship has been a springboard to success for some of the nation’s top up-and-coming triathletes in recent years, including Broderick and current elite athletes Barrett Brandon, Kevin Collington, Amanda Felder, Ben Hoffman, Nicole Kelleher and Steve Sexton, who all captured individual collegiate titles.