HAMBURG, Germany – Laura Bennett (left, photo by Frank Wechsel/triathlon.org) had been so accustomed to medaling at the world triathlon championships that her eighth place finish last year in Lausanne, Switzerland was an unusual – and disappointing – experience.
On Saturday, the 32-year-old American returned to what she was used to.
Bennett (Boulder, Colo.) finished third at the ITU BG Triathlon World Championship in Hamburg, Germany – in a time of 1:54:37 – claiming her fourth podium finish in the last five years in the 1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run.
Portugal’s Vanessa Fernandes won the event in 1:53:27, and a strong run (32:55) by Australian Emma Snowsill moved her past Bennett on the last lap and into second position in 1:54:31.
“Last year in Lausanne I kind of had cramps going out on the run and I was real disappointed about that, because I came home quite strong,” said Bennett. “I think I could have had a better performance, so it was a real focus for me to get on the podium today.
“I was very excited to come to Hamburg and race a world championship. The crowd was fantastic. It’s great to be back on the podium at worlds.”
Bennett’s teammate Sarah Haskins (St. Louis, Mo. / Colorado Springs, Colo.) finished 10th, while Sarah Groff (Cooperstown, N.Y. / Boulder, Colo.) captured 16th. Pan American Games gold medalist Julie Swail Ertel (Irvine, Calif.) finished 23rd, while the fifth member of the team, Sara McLarty (DeLand, Fla. / Colorado Springs, Colo.), came in 49th out of the 77 competitors.
But it was McLarty’s leading 17:54 swim split that put her teammates in the front pack on the bike, as the foursome of McLarty, Bennett, Haskins, and Groff joined a group that included Fernandes, Joelle Franzmann (Germany), Birgit Birk (Netherlands), and Annabel Luxford (Australia), among others.
By the time the lead group entered T2 and headed out on the run, Ertel had joined the fray, giving the Americans five athletes among the top 20. After a quick transition, Bennett was able to take an early lead on the run, but the 17-time World Cup winner Fernandes soon made up ground and cruised to her first World Championship title.
“I’m happy because it was a beautiful race. I worked from the beginning and knew in my mind I could do it today,” said the 21- year-old Fernandes.
Bennett’s medal was her fourth in eight world championship appearances. She won silver in 2003 and earned third-place finishes in 2004 and 2005.
Each American athlete improved on their performances from 2006. Haskins finished 21st in 2006, Ertel 53rd, and Groff did not finish. This was McLarty’s first elite world championship, after competing as a U23 athlete in 2006.
It was the 16th world championship medal for an American woman.
Additional Athlete Quotes:
Laura Bennett:
I tried to get out pretty quick and hold it, hold a strong pace. I knew they would be coming. Those two are setting quite a benchmark. I hope to be there in a year’s time. You kind of know your position. It was a tough run. I tried to set my own pace, hold strong the whole run. That was definitely a focus, and make a strong run out of this race a priority. And I think I did that. It’s great to compete against Vanessa and Emma. I hope to challenge them a little next year, but they are getting hard to catch.
Sarah Haskins:
I wanted to get a breakaway on the swim. We didn’t get that. We had a pretty big group. But all in all it was good. I was working really hard on the bike to keep distance. I knew there were a lot of really good runners in that second pack. Unfortunately two years in a row I’ve wiped out in transition. I lost time in transition. I think I could have been running with that pack in front of me, but things happened. I just kept pushing on the run. Top 10 at worlds, I can’t complain about that.
Sarah Groff:
I didn’t quite have it for the last few. For some reason I got it in my head there were three laps, so that last lap I lost a bit, but it was the best I could do today. I’m almost happier today for my teammates and my training partner [Canadian Lauren Groves who finished 14th and qualified for the Canadian Olympic Team] as I am for myself. I just broke down the race to the first few hundred meters. With the wetsuit swim and Sara McLarty, our strategy was to try to get a group out front. The bike I tried to do my part but my technical skills have some work to do. Then the run, just hang on for dear life. I tried to do the best I could from start to finish, stay in the race, and do my part.
Potts Equals Best Finish with 11th at Worlds
American elite triathlete Andy Potts (Princeton, N.J. / Colorado Springs, Colo.) finished 11th at the ITU BG Triathlon World Championship in Hamburg, Germany on Sunday, leading a team of six U.S. athletes in the 1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run event.
The 30-year-old’s finishing time of 1:44:31 was 1:13 off the pace of winner Daniel Unger of Germany, who out-sprinted world no. 1 Javier Gomez of Spain, much to the delight of the hometown German fans. Australian Brad Kahlefeldt rounded out the podium in 1:43:36.
“It was a hard day. Unfortunately I picked a hard sport to try to be good at. I gave it my best shot. I controlled what I could control, that was a decent tempo on the bike, and hopefully I strung something out on the swim,” said Potts. “My number one priority on the run was to just stay in contact with the lead group and to run tough and hold on for as long as possible. I was hoping my legs would have more juice in them on the second and third laps. I’m not disappointed, I’m not elated. I came here to test myself, and that’s exactly what I did.”
Matt Reed (Colorado Springs, Colo.) was the only other U.S. athlete among the top-20, finishing 14th in 1:44:55. Tim O’Donnell (Shavertown, Pa. / Colorado Springs, Colo.) finished 43rd in 1:46:35, Joe Umphenour (Bellevue, Wash. / Colorado Springs, Colo.) was 52nd in 1:48:12, Mark Fretta (Portland, Ore.) was 54th in 1:48:23, and Jarrod Shoemaker was 56th in 1:48:54.
Potts was his usual self on the swim, leading the pack out of the water – with a split of 17:02 – and out onto the bike, where the majority of the competitors soon found themselves in a large lead pack weaving through the streets of Hamburg. A few athletes tried to break away from the group – including O’Donnell – but were soon reeled in. Unfortunately for Shoemaker and Fretta, they found themselves in a group that couldn’t keep pace with the leaders and fell more than three minutes back heading out on the run.
Potts was with the leaders early on the run, but fell off the pace of a strong group that included the final podium, as well as William Clarke (Great Britain), Simon Whitfield (Canada), and Jan Frodeno (Germany).
The result for Potts matched his previous best finish which he accomplished in Madeira, Spain in 2004. The 2007 Pan American Games gold medalist finished 18th last year in Lausanne, Switzerland. This was his fourth world’s appearance.
American men have earned just two world championship medals since the event began in 1989, the last coming in 2001.