British Triathlon have confirmed that the British Standard Distance Championships will move to Leeds for 2017, after four years at Tri Liverpool.
Advertisement
This means the Leeds event will now host the fourth stage of the ITU series, the British Triathlon Championships and the English Aquathlon Championships over the same weekend.
British Triathlon Chief Executive Jack Buckner commented: “After four fantastically memorable years at Tri Liverpool, we have decided to move the British Standard Distance Triathlon Championships to the heartland of the sport in 2017.
“As we prepare to witness the greatest athletes in the world go head-to-head in Leeds next June, what better opportunity to showcase the best of British age-group talent than see them finish on the same iconic blue carpet in Millennium Square.”
British Triathlon also confirmed the date and venue for the British Duathlon Championships, which will be hosted by Nice Tri Events at the Bedford Autodrome Duathlon on 9 April. The 2017 British Championships are now fully confirmed as:
British Duathlon Championships – Bedford Autodrome Duathlon, 9 April British Sprint Distance Championships – Strathclyde Park Multisport Festival, 27 May British Middle Distance Championships – Vitruvian Triathlon, 9 September British Standard Distance Championships – Columbia Threadneedle World Triathlon Leeds, 11 June
A skin patch that measures the wearer’s sweat to show how their body is responding to exercise has been developed by scientists at Northwestern University.
Advertisement
Designed for one-use only it analyses key biomarkers to help an athlete decide if any adjustments, such as drinking more water or replenishing electrolytes, need to be made.
Sweat testing for athletes: is it worth it?
Dehydration and sodium: why replacing salt is crucial
Hyponatremia: What it is and how you can avoid it
“The intimate skin interface created by this wearable, skin-like microfluidic system enables new measurement capabilities not possible with the kinds of absorbent pads and sponges currently used in sweat collection,” said John A. Rogers, who led the multi-institution research team.
“Sweat is a rich, chemical broth containing a number of important chemical compounds with physiological health information. By expanding our previously developed ‘epidermal’ electronics platform to include a complex network of microfluidic channels and storage reservoirs, we now can perform biochemical analysis of this important biofluid.”
“The sweat analysis platform we developed will allow people to monitor their health on the spot without the need for a blood sampling and with integrated electronics that do not require a battery but still enable wireless connection to a smartphone,” said collaborator Yonggang Huang.
The device was tested on two different groups of athletes: one cycling indoors in a fitness centre under controlled conditions and the other participating in the El Tour de Tucson, a long-distance cycle race in arid and complex conditions. The researchers placed the device on the arms and backs of the athletes to capture sweat.
During exercise sweat enters four different small, circular compartments within the patch, which monitor pH and concentrations of glucose, chloride and lactate. These compartments then change colour according to the results.
When a smartphone is brought into proximity with the device (see video below), the wireless electronics trigger an app that captures a photo of the device and analyses the image to yield data on the biomarker concentrations.
“We chose these four biomarkers because they provide a characteristic profile that’s relevant for health status determination,” said Rogers, director of Northwestern’s Center for Bio-Integrated Electronics. “The device also can determine sweat rate and loss, and it can store samples for subsequent laboratory analysis, if necessary.”
In the group that cycled indoors, the researchers compared the new device’s biomarker readouts to conventional laboratory analysis of the same sweat and found the two sets of results agreed with each other.
With the long-distance cyclists, the researchers tested the durability of the device in the complex and unpredictable conditions of the desert. They found the devices to be robust: They stayed adhered to the athletes’ skin, did not leak and provided the quality information the researchers sought.
The sweat analysis device features a number of innovations:
The device can capture, store and analyse sweat in situ in real time
The device can quantitatively determine biomarker levels using colorimetric analysis
A power source is not required to display the results; instead, a smartphone camera and app are used to read the biomarker change
Advertisement
Details of the versatile platform for sweat analysis were published on November 23 as the cover story by the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Alistair Brownlee has become the first triathlete to be shortlisted for the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in the event’s 62-year history.
Advertisement
Brownlee lines up alongside a host of sporting greats, including Andy Murray, Mo Farah, Jamie Vardy, Sarah Storey and Nicola Adams. The nomination follows an outstanding summer for the older Brownlee, after he became the first triathlete ever to retain an Olympic title when he won gold ahead of younger brother, Jonathan, in Rio.
But it was his feats at the 2016 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Cozumel, Mexico, in September that shot him to global prominence. The video of Alistair running with an exhausted Jonathan to the finishing line became the BBC’s most watched ever. Alistair could have won the race, but sacrificed victory to help his stricken brother across the line.
WTS Cozumel: all the drama and emotion in pictures
Alistair Brownlee says critics “don’t understand” heat exhaustion after WTS Cozumel heroics
“To be included in the short list is a huge honour, especially given the number of Team GB multi-medallists and outstanding sporting performances this year,” commented Alistair Brownlee.
Jonathan Brownlee said: “I’m really pleased for Alistair, he’s always been a big fan of the BBC Sports Personality Awards. I hope people will get behind him and vote.”
Public voting will decide the winners at the televised event on Sunday 18 December in Birmingham.
Full list of BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards nominees:
Advertisement
Nicola Adams – Boxing, Gareth Bale – Football, Alistair Brownlee – Triathlon, Sophie Christiansen – Equestrian, Kadeena Cox – Athletics/Cycling, Mo Farah – Athletics, Jason Kenny – Cycling, Laura Kenny – Cycling, Andy Murray – Tennis, Adam Peaty – Swimming, Kate Richardson-Walsh – Hockey, Nick Skelton – Equestrian, Dame Sarah Storey – Cycling, Jamie Vardy – Football, Max Whitlock – Gymnastics, Danny Willett – Golf.
Now entering its fourth year, #supbikerun returns in 2017 with two events. Unlike a swim/bike/run triathlon, the format combines SUP (stand-up paddle boarding), mountain biking and trail running for an event pitched at all abilities.
Advertisement
Each race features two course lengths at each event:
WARRIOR: 3km SUP/15km bike/5km run
BARBARIAN: 6km SUP/30km bike/10km run
Relay options are also included for 2017. Teams can register with 4-8 people and included within the ticket price is the use of one of the giant XL SUP boards. All team members paddle the giant SUP board around the lake before breaking out individually to complete the bike and run trails.
You can save £10 on entry if you book before Thursday 1st December at www.supbikerun.co.uk.
The dates and locations are…
LLANDEGFEDD RESERVOIR
SOUTH WALES – SAT 20TH & SUN 21ST MAY
This venue was the toughest of the 2016 series. Located just outside Pontypool, Llandegfedd is a beautiful reservoir with excellent facilities, on-site camping and super challenging MTB and run trails.
Set within 3,500 acres of forest, Clumber Park is a new venue for #supbikerun. Located just outside Worksop, the venue has on-site camping and miles of forest single track to explore.
Advertisement
Each #supbikerun event aims to be a mini-festival weekend with on-site catering, camping and free paddle board and mountain bike workshops, and classes delivered throughout the Saturday.
Lance Armstrong will be the opening speaker at the Triathlon Business International Conference in Dallas.
Advertisement
The former pro cyclist will be discussing the future of endurance sports and his initial love of triathlon with Quintana Roo founder Dan Empfield, and there’ll also be a Q&A session where attendees can ask Armstrong – who had his seven Tour de France titles stripped in 2012 – questions.
“It’s an exciting time to be in the triathlon and broader endurance space, dreaming up new ways to give athletes the experiences and information that celebrates the multisport lifestyle,” says Armstrong. “I’ve been passionate about the endurance world since I was a kid growing up in Texas.”
Before Armstrong became a professional cyclist in 1992 he competed in triathlons, securing the U.S. national sprint-course championship in 1989 and 1990.
Armstrong returned to triathlon in 2011 at Xterra Utah and then scored Ironman 70.3 success in early 2012 before he was barred from racing Ironman France days before the event in June that year amid the escalating allegations about his systematic doping.
But does the appearance indicate a return to triathlon now a ban has ended that allows him to enter age-group races? We’ve contacted him to ask so watch this space…
‘Let Lance Armstrong race Kona’, says Ironman legend Dave Scott
The theme of this year’s conference is Profitability & Success in Triathlon – Sharing Solutions to Shape the Future of Multisport, and those attending will hear from key industry leaders including USA Triathlon CEO Rob Urbach and ACTIVE Network’s Sam Renouf.
Advertisement
The Triathlon Business International conference, presented by Active Network®, runs from January 22 – 24 2017 at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas, USA
Iron-distance record holder and 2015 and 2016 Ironman World Champion Jan Frodeno will start his 2017 season at the Chia Sardinia Triathlon, on April 23, 2017.
In its second year the race will take place in Chia, a tourist destination in South Sardinia, Italy. Frodeno will be racing the 70.3 distance and his presence means all the other athletes will get to compete alongside the most iconic triathlete in the world.
As the event’s ambassador, Frodeno will promote the race globally through social media; sharing training tips and live coverage of his race.
“I have had excellent reviews of the race. With a great organisation and spectacular landscapes, Chia seems to be a perfect place to enjoy sports to the fullest, and the Chia Laguna, within a walking distance from the course, a perfect resort to stay”, says Frodeno.
“I am very excited to race in Chia, hopefully it will be a brilliant start of my European season and a good test for the longer race in summer”.
Advertisement
We have named Jan Frodeno 11th in our top 15 Kona greats of all time
In an interview with 220 columnist Tim Heming today, Alistair Brownlee has hinted that he’ll target the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Chattanooga, Tennessee, having successfully defended his Olympic Games title in Rio.
Advertisement
“I want to win the half-Ironman world champs at some point and that’s the obvious next step to try next year,” the 28-year-old from Yorkshire said.
“I’m trying not to think too far ahead. I’ve had two Olympic cycles where I’ve said I want to be on the start-line to win the race in four years’ time, and this time I’m approaching it a bit differently.”
Brownlee won the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon short course races in 2013 and 2014 where the bike leg was extended to 100km, but he has yet to compete in an event with a run longer than 10km.
As with most triathletes breaking from the ITU draft-legal circuit, he also sees Ironman 70.3 as a natural stepping-stone to Ironman, and the World Championship in Hawaii.
“I want to do some other things for the next two years. Move away a bit from Olympic distance racing, try some longer stuff, maybe try some running,” he said.
“I know that to be there in Tokyo I have to commit from two years out. So this time in two years, my focus will be definitely Tokyo… or definitely Hawaii.”
As he suggests, the ambitions are not restricted to multisport, and he relishes the chance to take on the world’s best over 10km and the marathon.
Having run a personal best of 28:32 in California in 2014, Brownlee aborted an attempt to make the England team for the 10km in the Commonwealth Games of Glasgow, due to injury. He would welcome another chance on Gold Coast for 2018.
“I’d love to have another crack at qualifying,” he added. “But as I found last time, it is a hard thing to get right. Even the best guys don’t race many 10km. I’d like to but not to sacrifice other things.”
He’d also not rule out stepping up to the marathon, once his OIympic triathlon days are behind him.
“The marathon fits in a lot more with Ironman training than it does with Olympic distance training, so I’ll decide over the next 18 months. Unfortunately, you cannot do everything you want to in a professional sports career.”
Advertisement
The Ironman 70.3 World Championships return to America in 2017, and will be held in Chattanooga on 10 September. To gain a race place, Brownlee would have to accrue points at an Ironman 70.3 Worlds qualifier during the season.
Save 10% on tickets for the tri event of the year, the Triathlon Show: London. Just enter the code: 22010 when you book at www.triathlonshowlondon.co.uk (This offer expires 31/01/17 and a booking fee applies).
Advertisement
Taking place at ExCeL London 16-19 February 2017, Triathlon Show: London is a chance for all triathlon athletes, enthusiasts, retailers, coaches and experts to come together under one roof and celebrate the sport.
Visitors can expect more than 300 exhibitors showcasing all the latest tri kit, a wetsuit testing swimming pool so they can try before they buy, a Performance Theatre with tips from experts, and a chance to improve their performance at the Performance Hub, where visitors can undertake cycling and running assessments.
And it doesn’t stop with triathlon. As the event takes place alongside the London Bike Show, Outdoor Adventure & Camping Show and Oceans Festival, guests and brands can enjoy access to all four events.
The event is organised by Telegraph Events, and 220 Triathlon will be the event’s headline media partner.
220 editor Helen Webster said: “220 Triathlon is the UK’s number one triathlon resource, reaching over 22,000 readers monthly. We already bring our readers the best gear, advice and training tips through our print publication and website. Through this new partnership, we will be able to serve our audience in new and even more innovative ways.”
Advertisement
Steve Clark, Telegraph Event’s Group Show Director said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Immediate Media Co and the UK’s no.1 triathlon magazine & website, 220. Triathlon Show: London is a fantastic showcase of our sport in the UK and this partnership will help introduce new brands to the event, whilst also enabling 220 Triathlon to utilise their market leading platforms to reach an even wider audience to the current 50,000 plus who presently attend. ”
Despite warnings that there could be a decrease in Lottery funding due to a reduction in players UK Sport, who allocate resources, have given triathlon and paratriathlon a slight increase for the Tokyo cycle (£8,127,753 versus the £7,457,997 given for Rio).
Advertisement
This funding allows British Triathlon to have 25 triathletes and 16 paratriathletes within the World Class Programme. This is broken down to 21 triathletes and 4 training partners and 13 paratriathletes with three guides, who British Triathlon will announced soon.
British Triathlon performance manager Brendan Purcell said: “We received the best outcome that we could have hoped for from our funding bid, which is a significant vote of confidence in our world class programme. Thanks to UK Sport and the National Lottery for their continued support of triathlon and paratriathlon.”
In preparation for the 2020 Games, UK Sport began working with sports over a year ago on their individual strategies for success to ensure that the momentum continues from Rio to Tokyo.
The ongoing commitment from Government to supporting the nation’s ambitions for success on the Olympic and Paralympic stage has seen sustained levels of overall investment for the Tokyo cycle, at a challenging time for National Lottery good causes revenue.
Rod Carr, Chair of UK Sport, said: “These are critical funding decisions for sports to take them on their journey to Tokyo 2020 and beyond so the historic success at Rio can be maintained.
“We have received incredible support from the Government, who have confirmed their commitment to funding our ambitions through to Tokyo 2020, providing the financial assurances needed for the continued evolution of our high performance system to ensure the athletes and sports with strong medal potential have what they need to inspire the nation.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Government and National Lottery players for their continued support.”
Sports Minister Tracy Crouch said: “Rio 2016 was incredible – our Olympic and Paralympic heroes’ amazing performances made the country proud. The four year journey to Tokyo 2020 starts now and the Government and National Lottery is backing UK Sport to help maintain our place as a sporting superpower.
Advertisement
“UK Sport’s approach to elite sport has proven successful in Beijing, London and Rio and the ambition to win more medals in Tokyo is a bold one that, if achieved, would mean a sensational summer of sport in 2020.”
Scientists from Brigham Young University in the USA found that pro-inflammatory molecules actually go down in the knee joint after running.
Advertisement
Running: how and why it helps fight cancer
How to prevent runner’s knee, and four exercises to treat it
Why do I get knee pain when running downhill?
How can I strengthen my glute muscles?
They measured inflammation markers in extracted synovial fluid from the knee joint of several healthy men and women, aged 18-35, both before and after running. The results showed these markers, two cytokines named GM-CSF and IL-15, decreased in concentration in the subjects after 30 minutes of running. When the same fluids were extracted before and after a non-running condition, the inflammation markers stayed at similar levels.
“It flies in the face of intuition,” said study co author Matt Seeley, associate professor of exercise science at BYU. “This idea that long-distance running is bad for your knees might be a myth.”
“What we now know is that for young, healthy individuals, exercise creates an anti-inflammatory environment that may be beneficial in terms of long-term joint health,” said study lead author Robert Hyldahl, BYU assistant professor of exercise science.
Hyldahl said the study results indicate running is chondroprotective, which means exercise may help delay the onset of joint degenerative diseases such as osteoarthritis.
This is potentially great news, since osteoarthritis – the painful disease where cartilage at the end of bones wears down and gradually worsens over time — affects about 27 million people in the United States.
“This study does not indicate that distance runners are any more likely to get osteoarthritis than any other person,” Seeley said. “Instead, this study suggests exercise can be a type of medicine.”
The study was published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology
Advertisement
More sports science news
New research into recovery might hold key to performance success
Sports science research: the latest news
Practice responsible for just 1% of performance differences among elites
5 of the latest sports science research stories
Sports nutrition news: omega-3, beetroot, caffeine & nitrates