Snowsill Wins in Ishigaki
Erin Densham bolsters her bid for an Australian Olympic team position
Posted Apr. 13, 2008
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Ishigaki BG Triathlon World Cup
Emma Snowsill won her second straight World Cup race of the young 2008 season, outpacing fellow Australian Erin Densham in 2:03:11, to capture top honors at the Ishigaki BG Triathlon World Cup April 13.
Snowsill led Sunday’s race on the small Japanese fishing island from start to finish, only two weeks after out-dueling Portuguese star Vanessa Fernandes at Mooloolaba.
While the race was an important one for the Australian women vying for selection on the Olympic team, Snowsill raced free of pressure on Sunday, having already made the team after her silver medal performance at the 2007 world championship in Hamburg, Germany.
Snowsill runs a 33:23 10-k for the win
Snowsill and a trio of British swimmers including Helen Tucker, Jodie Swallow and Kerry Lang, led the field of 41 females through the two-lap, 1,500-meter swim in 18 minutes and 31 seconds. A second group of four athletes led by hometown favorite, Juri Ide, were a further 10 seconds behind the Snowsill pack. Exiting the swim, the main chase group including pre-race favorite Debbie Tanner and Anja Dittmer, was over 45 seconds down to the swim leaders.
After the first of seven laps on the 40-kilometer bike, the lead group driven by Snowsill was caught by a chase pack led by Switzerland’s Nicola Spirig, winner of the 2007 World Cup finale in Eilat, Israel. By the end of the bike, the lead group of 18 women had over two minutes advantage on the main field.
Despite a slow bike to run transition, Snowsill secured the race lead in the opening stages of the three lap, 10-kilometer run. The diminutive Aussie ran away with a race-best 33:23 run for her eighth career World Cup victory. Densham finished in second behind a 33:45 closing run giving the former U-23 world champ a strong case for one of two remaining Australian Olympic slots. Rounding out the podium, and nipping the crowd favorite Ide, was 2007 U-23 world champion Hollie Avil from Great Britain in her first World Cup race.
2008 Ishigaki BG Triathlon World Cup
1.5km S/40km B/10km R
Women's Results
1. Emma Snowsill (AUS) 2:03:11
2. Erin Densham (AUS) 2:03:40
3. Hollie Avil (GBR) 2:05:24
4. Juri Ide (JPN) 2:05:30
5. Kathy Tremblay (CAN) 2:05:57
6. Nicola Spirig (SUI) 2:06:05
7. Daniela Ryf (SUI) 2:06:20
8. Mariana Ohata (BRA) 2:06:30
9. Irina Abysova (RUS) 2:06:34
10. Lisa Huetthaler (AUT) 2:06:42
For complete results, please go to: www.triathlon.org
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