Triathlon Chief Salutes Olympics Course as GB Brings Home Gold

(ATR) International Triathlon Union president Marisol Casado tells Around the Ringsthe Olympics venue is elevating her sport like never before as record crowds turn out to watch the men’s triathlon at Hyde Park.

She said that the London 2012 triathlon course was "probably the best ever and for our sport, fantastic".

And IOC president Jacaques Rogge, who was in Hyde Park to watch the men’s race Tuesday, told ATR: "It’s a fantastic venue, like all the venues." Triathlon was the 19th of the 26 Olympic sports he has now seen in London, he added.

Casado admitted that the triathlon event at London 2012 would provide a major lift for the sport’s profile worldwide.

"Yes, of course. Before, when we started in Sydney, that was also a very iconic central place. Each one is special. But the middle of Hyde Park is a very important one for us."

Great Britain’s Alistair Brownlee, reigning world champion and the hot favorite coming into the Games, delivered on his promise to win gold – the first ever triathlon medal for Team GB –ahead of Spain’s Javier Gomez and his younger brother Jonathan. In the process, Alistair matched GB’s haul of 19 golds at the Beijing Games.

Under clear blue skies, around 750,000 people lined the triathlon course – some 20 percent more than for Saturday’s women’s race; the chanting "Brownlee" rang out across the vast expanse of the park.

A lot was expected of the Brownlee brothers, and that was reflected in the thousands of visitors pouring into the venue – ticketed and many non-ticketed – and the presence of Rogge and a handful of IOC members including Princess Anne, Craig Reedie, Richard Carrion and Thomas Bach.

The high-powered British delegation, who took up several rows of seats over the start and finish line, included LOCOG chairman Sebastian Coe, sports minister Hugh Robertson, London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton, and Andrew Ryan, director of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations.

The triathlon union has made no significant changes to this grueling test of athletes' stamina and endurance. The bike ride was on the flat, but the 119 bends made it a challenging one.

The pain of the race was etched in the faces of the participants in the 55-man field as they transitioned from the 1500m swim in the Serpentine to the 43km bike ride, a circuit that included Buckingham Palace as a backdrop. The 10km run was around Hyde Park and brought the triathletes closer to the thousands gathered on the course.

Casado was more than satisfied with the Hyde Park venue.

"Being in the center of the city and having the privilege to compete in this beautiful park and also on the main roads in front of Buckingham Palace was fantastic," she said.

Casado stressed that the federation had to "pass a lot of controls" to make use of the Serpentine for the swim, but claimed it was well worth it.

Commenting on the crowds that have turned out for the Olympics triathlon, she added: "We know our sport in Great Britain is flourishing and a lot of people are competing in a lot of categories and ages, so it wasn’t a surprise to see these crowds because they have the best athletes in the world."

Olympics minister Hugh Robertson told ATR the massive crowds were "great for triathlon and great for British sport".

"I know there were an awful lot of people here because we came here on the tube and couldn’t get off at Hyde Park Corner so we had to go one [stop] on and track back," he said.

"That tells you exactly where British sport is in the middle of an Olympic Games where Team GB are performing way beyond expectations."

Reported by Mark Bisson

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