Three-time world and Commonwealth Games champion Emma Snowsill of Australia won the women’s race, with a time of 1 hour 59 minutes and 20 seconds. Amongst one of the most competitive women’s fields ever assembled for a world cup, Snowsill was able to break away from her biggest rival Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal at the five kilometer mark in the run to take top spot in the first world cup of the 2007 season. Snowsill’s team mate and current Under23 world champion Erin Densham was able to pass Fernandes in the final stage to claim second place, 31 seconds back. A further 10 seconds back in third was Fernandes.
After the opening 1,500 meter ocean swim, a group of 22 athletes formed early on the bike, including all the top players such as local favorites Annabel Luxford, Felicity Abram and Emma Moffatt, American Laura Bennett, the second and third ranked Joelle Franzmann and Anja Dittmer of Germany, Junior world champion Kirsten Sweetland of Canada, the Kiwi duo of Debbie Tanner and Andrea Hewitt, as well as the eventual podium finishers. The large group was able to work together over the hilly 40 kilometre bike to build almost a minute gap on the rest of the field which included a number of strong runners such as Samantha Warriner of New Zealand, Lauren Groves of Canada and Rina Hill of Australia.
Out onto the tough and hot run course it was Snowsill, Fernandes and Tanner immediately taking the lead with Densham trailing. The first to drop off the heated pace was Tanner and at the 5 kilometer point of the run Snowsill was able to break away and cruise to her sixth world cup win.
“I knew Vanessa was there for a while,” said Snowsill. “I never at any stage knew she wasn’t there. It was all about going as hard as possible.”
The fading Fernandes was eventually overtaken in the final kilometer by a late-charging Densham. “She’s [Fernandes] definitely up there on a pedestal with Emma … and I don’t know how to explain beating her actually, she’s such a great athlete,” said a shocked Densham. “I just went as fast as I could in the finish. I kept looking down. I could see her shadows but then the finish line just came.”
Fernandes was stopped short of her, would be, record-breaking 13th consecutive world cup win with her bronze medal. “I never thought of it. I just wanted to win,” stated Fernandes. “I tried to go with Emma but she was very strong today on the run, and I think I’m not so good on this kind of course, with the sun on the run. I think it was because of that I lost a bit of time to Densham. I think we have another very good girl with Erin Densham. I think it’s very good for the sport.”
Bennett’s time was 2:01:56.The American contingent also included Julie Swail (19th), Sarah Haskins (25th), Becky Lavelle (36th), Rebeccah Wassner (50th), and Margaret Shapiro (DNF).
An estimated 25,000 spectators enjoyed the 32 degree temperatures to watch a total of 153 of the world’s top triathletes competing for valuable Olympic qualifying points and their share of the US$100,000 prize purse.
ITU BG Mooloolaba World Cup Top 10 – Women
-
1 Snowsill, Emma AUS 01:59:20
2 Densham, Erin AUS 01:59:51
3 Fernandes, Vanessa POR 02:00:01
4 Tanner, Debbie NZL 02:00:22
5 Lisk, Ricarda GER 02:00:56
6 Hewitt, Andrea NZL 02:01:09
7 Niwata, Kiyomi JPN 02:01:29
8 Luxford, Annabel AUS 02:01:47
9 Bennett, Laura USA 02:01:56
10 Dittmer Anja GER 02:02:02
-
19 Swail, Julie 02:03:21
25 Haskins, Sarah 02:04:40
36 Lavelle, Becky 02:06:14
50 Wassner, Rebeccah 02:10:47
DNF Shapiro, Margaret
About USA Triathlon: USA Triathlon is the sanctioning authority for more than 2,000 diverse events ranging from grass-roots to high profile races in the USA. USA Triathlon’s membership is comprised of athletes of all ages, coaches, officials, parents and fans striving together to strengthen multi-sport. USA Triathlon is responsible for the selection and training of teams to represent the United States in international competition, including the world championships, Pan Am Games and Olympic Games. USA Triathlon's mission is to provide excellence in leadership, structure and education for the growth and development of the sport. USA Triathlon's vision is to set the standard of excellence as a world leader in the sport by promoting a healthy lifestyle and encouraging participation and achievement. For more information, please go to USATriathlon.org.
