WWE is turning 3:16 Day into a week-long celebration.
WWE has announced that they’ll be celebrating “Stone Cold” Steve Austin Week on the WWE Network and their social media channels next week. That will include two new documentaries premiering, a Best Of collection being uploaded, and a new episode of Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions debuting.
“Starting this Monday, WWE kicks off ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin Week, commemorating the 25-year anniversary of Austin’s debut in WWE,” WWE announced. “The week-long celebration — which coincides with March 16, aka Austin 3:16 Day — will feature ‘Stone Cold’-themed programming on Peacock and WWE Network, including new documentaries, The Texas Rattlesnake’s interview with Randy Orton on The Broken Skull Sessions and more.
“There will be no shortage of classic ‘Stone Cold’ moments to enjoy on WWE’s social channels, from daily full-length matches and Austin 3:16 Day exclusives, to special editions of WWE Top 10 and WWE Playlist, and who knows how many stomped mudholes being walked dry.”
“Meeting Stone Cold” will premiere on the WWE Network on Tuesday, March 16. It will feature WWE wrestlers and legends discussing their first impressions of Austin.
“Birth of the Stunner” will then premiere on the WWE Network and Peacock on Friday, March 19, which is the day after the WWE Network launches on Peacock. The documentary will focus on the origin of the Stunner and its legacy.
On Saturday, March 20, “The Best of WWE: Best of ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin” will be uploaded to the WWE Network and Peacock. A new Broken Skull Sessions episode will debut on the WWE Network and Peacock on Sunday, March 21, with Randy Orton appearing as Austin’s guest.
Here are the full descriptions for the Austin-themed programming that’s coming to the WWE Network:
Meeting Stone Cold
Tuesday, March 16 on WWE Network
WWE Superstars and Legends recall their first impressions of ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin. The Undertaker, Ric Flair, Booker T and others recount a slew of unforgettable moments and memories they shared with Austin throughout the last 30 years.
Birth of the Stunner
Friday, March 19 on Peacock and WWE Network
Learn about the origin of ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin’s famous finisher, its history with Austin and how the legacy of the Stunner lives on today through WWE Superstar Kevin Owens.
The Best of WWE: Best of ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin
Saturday, March 20 on Peacock and the Free Version of WWE Network
The Texas Rattlesnake battles iconic opponents like The Rock, Bret ‘Hit Man’ Hart and The Undertaker in this collection of his greatest matches.
Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions: Randy Orton
Sunday, March 21 on Peacock and WWE Network
‘Stone Cold’ welcomes first-time guest Randy Orton to his acclaimed interview show. Nothing will be off-limits when The Viper and The Texas Rattlesnake sit down to talk about Orton’s legendary career.
Grandstand tickets for the 2016 Columbia Threadneedle World Triathlon Leeds, are now on sale. Ticketholders will be able enjoy unsurpassed views of the thrilling racing action from seats overlooking the finish-line in the heart of Millennium Square.
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The much-anticipated Columbia Threadneedle World Triathlon Leeds, will provide the British public with a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch local heroes Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, as well as other leading GB triathletes including Non Stanford and Vicky Holland, battle for glory against some of the world’s best triathletes in their last race on home soil ahead of Rio.
Ticket holders will see the elite athletes pass them seven times on the bike and four times on the run, before witnessing the race finale, which often end with a thrilling sprint finish. A big screen will be located opposite the Grandstand showing the live BBC coverage so that ticket holders can stay up to speed with the race whilst it momentarily goes out of view.
Jack Buckner, Chief Executive of British Triathlon, said: “The Columbia Threadneedle World Triathlon Leeds is the final opportunity to watch Britain’s world-class triathletes race on home soil before they travel to Rio and we are expecting the city of Leeds to come out in force. The Grandstand is located in the heart of the action and will provide the perfect location to watch the stars of our sport cross the finish line and deliver an atmosphere to remember.”
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Tickets will be priced at £30 for adults and £20 for children (U15s). With the women’s race starting at 13:00 and the men’s at 15:45, ticket holders can expect well over four hours of live triathlon action.
The USA athlete Gwen Jorgensen unbeatable run is over and she has to make do with silver as Brit Helen Jenkins wins WTS Gold Coast, her first WTS win since 2012. The New Zealand athlete Andrea Hewitt took third. Fellow Brit Jodie Stimpson finished in 12th, about three minutes behind Jenkins.
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“I can’t quite believe it,” said Jenkins. “I did not have the best swim today and then on the bike, because it was so technical it was just as hard even if you were at the front, so I sat in and me, Flora [Duffy] and Andrea [Hewitt] were able to get a gap. I have so much respect for those girls, they were smashing it today. And I got to the run and just went for it. But the whole time I was waiting for Gwen, you can never underestimate how quick Gwen’s running is.”
Jenkins was strong from the start, and came out of T1 in the top group of 20, led by Spain’s Carolina Routier . The group eventually dwindled down to tally 18-strong, with Duffy (BER) and Jenkins taking turns forging the pack and pushing the pace. The chase group entered the first transition about 20 seconds behind the leaders, with contenders Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) and Jodie Stimpson (GBR) leading the charge. However they could not close the gap as Flora Duffy, Erin Densham (AUS) and Jenkins continuing to take turns to push a furious pace on the lead pack, the gap extended to 55 seconds on the next lap and only continued to widen as the leg carried on.
Duffy, Hewitt and Jenkins then brokeaway from the lead packpushed away as a threesome and were able to have to a ninety-second advantage heading out onto the run, a lead Jenkins was not going to waste knowing Gwen, with her phenomenol run, would be chasing her down. She wasted no time in blasting away to get out on front, and held onto her phenomenal stride and was able to carry herself right into the finish line.
Although Duffy and Hewitt were able to give themselves an advantage at the start of the run, Jorgensen came off the bike with guns blazing. Down by almost two minutes, she used her strongest discipline to earn some ground and close the gap little by little each lap.
It wasn’t until the final lap where the excitement intensified when Jorgensen caught up to Duffy and Hewitt. A sprint finish on the blue carpet ultimately determined the podium as Jorgensen was able to edge out Hewitt by a nose and take the silver. Hewitt was left with the bronze and Duffy finished in fourth.
“Helen was really strong today and she was the better athlete,” said Gwen. “Her, Andrea and Flora were riding really strong and yeah they just had a great race. I was just trying to run as fast as I could, a lot goes through your head and it is hot out there. They were running amazing and they just had a great race. It didn’t even look like I was gaining any ground on Helen, she was just going for it. It is great to be back racing against Helen, she was gone for a bit, so it was great to see her race well.”
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Hewitt said “I rode as hard as I could. I saw that some of the girls were struggling on some of the corners so when we got the break we just kept riding right up until the end. I felt a little wobbly on the run, but I tried to keep pushing, I was with Flora and then Gwen came up at the end. I tried a bit earlier in the sprint, but there was just the technical bit at the end. It was just a tough race. This is my first Olympic distance of the year and I braced myself on the run, I could judge on the U turns where Gwen was and where Flora was. It just came down to the blue carpet at the finish.”
Showing unbeatable form Spaniard Mario Mola is has won his second WTS race of the series and his third straight season win, after taking gold in the Mooloolaba World Cup.
Despite the heat, Mola was able to remain within the top tier from start to finish and then showcase his signature running speed in the final two and a half kilometres to bypass Great Britain’s Jonathan Brownlee and compatriot Fernando Alarza.
Mola said: “It was really tough. Jonny was really strong during most of the run. I am very happy for Fernando that he got second place. I felt great during the whole race. I tried to stay in the front as much as I could on the bike in order to make it a 10k run and I think things went well and I am very happy with the result.”
Running past Brownlee in the final kilometre to earn the silver was Alarza, with Brownlee ending the day with bronze.
“It was an amazing final run, I thought I was only going to get the bronze medal and then when I saw that Jonny was down, I thought now, now now, so I am very happy with the silver medal,” Alarza said. “This is for my family and for my girlfriend. I think this was my best swim, my best cycle and a good run so I am just so very happy.”
The top men all positioned themselves on the right side of the pontoon, to try and make the most of the current at the Broadwater Parklands. It was Richard Varga (SVK), as usual, who led out the swim, followed by Igor Polyanskiy (RUS), Henri Schoeman (RSA) and Jonny Brownlee.
This leading pack were joined by seven others, including Aaron Royle (AUS), Ben Kanute (USA) and Alessandro Fabian (ITA), in the first bike lap to create a 12-strong lead pack on the bike.
However with Alistair Brownlee (GBR), Ryan Fisher (AUS), Ryan Bailie (AUS), Thomas Bishop (GBR) and Mola in the chase group, the leaders were hard-pressed to make their break stick, and by the third lap the peloton then tallied 29.
An episode of breakaway attempts then occurred in the latter half of the bike leg. Alistair Brownlee was first to enjoy a solo ride and his pushed through a lap on his own. But he retreated back to the pack when he was unable to gain any company.
It was then that Ben Shaw (IRL) and Tom Bishop (GBR) went together on a breakaway push and were able to create a gap of 50 seconds and enter the second transition zone together with a slight advantage.
However Mola and Brownlee ran them down and running stride for stride, Mola and Jonny Brownlee stayed together for the first three laps of the run, before Mola was able to finally kick in some final energy in the final lap and bypass Brownlee and cross the finish line and claim his third straight victory of the season.
Alarza found himself in a comfortable third place position for the first three fourths of the run, but when Brownlee started to run out of gas in the final kilometre, Alarza was able to come past him for silver.
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Australian Bailie was fourth, cementing his place on the Australian Olympic team. He said, “It hasn’t quite sunk in yet to tell you the truth, it has been a lot of hard work to get here. I knew what I had to do and I just wanted to take it out of the selector’s hands. When Rio did not go quite as planned I knew this was the race that I wanted to peak for. I just can’t believe it to tell you the truth.”
On Saturday 9 April the cream of UK triathlon attended the 12th annual 220 Triathlon Awards at Stratford Town Hall, including a wealth of athletes, brands and industry greats, to find out who had won top honours in each of the ceremony’s 21 categories – as voted for by you, the readers of 220 Triathlon and 220triathlon.com.
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The evening was hosted by 220’s editor Helen Webster alongside guest speaker and track legend Derek Redmond, who delivered the memorable pre-awards speech about his Olympic history.
The award winners had more of a foreign flavour this year, with the cream of international triathletes beating our Brits in the major elite honours. In a change from the Brownlee norm, taking the Men’s Elite Triathlete of the Year title was Javier Gomez after a year that saw him become the record five-time ITU world champion, as well as taking bronze at the Ironman 70.3 Worlds in Austria. Gomez edged out Ironman and 70.3 world champ Jan Frodeno to take the award.
Storming to victory in the Women’s Elite Triathlete showdown ahead of Vicky Holland and Lucy Gossage was America’s Gwen Jorgensen, the short-course superstar who extended her unbeaten ITU run in 2015 to successfully defend her ITU world champs title. Gwen also edged out Gomez and Frodeno for the International Triathlete gong, while Emma Pooley won Duathlete of the Year.
You voted Charles Pennington your Men’s Age-Grouper of the Year. Royal Marine Pennington was fifth out of the age-group athletes at the Ironman Worlds in Hawaii last October. Crowned Women’s Age-Grouper of the Year was Lucy Charles, who beat the vast majority of the pros by producing the fifth-fastest swim at the 2015 Ironman World Champs in Kona, Hawaii.
The Men’s Paratriathlete of the Year award once went again to Phil Hogg, who won the GB National Champs in 2015 and is vying for Paralympic selection at Rio. Another repeat winner was Lauren Steadman, who claimed the Women’s Paratriathlete of the Year.
Simon Ward continued his hold on the Coach of the Year award, with the Yorkshireman now having guided over 250 Ironman finishers during his coaching career.
The evening ended with the one award shortlisted by readers but with the final result chosen by an industry panel: the Jane Tomlinson Award for Outstanding Contribution to Triathlon. This year’s panel was made up of Helen Webster, Liz Barrett and Matt Baird from 220, as well as our columnist Tim Heming and former editor James Witts.
This year’s award was posthumously awarded to Peter Howard, a stalwart of the UK triathlon scene for many years who passed away in May 2015 aged 81 years. Peter became involved in the sport back in UK triathlon’s formative years in 1983, and he’d medal at 15 world Olympic-distance and long-course championships during the period, competing in all but one ITU world championships from the first in 1989 until 2010.
Away from the race course, he was a driving force behind the development of the sport on a domestic and international level, which included his chairmanship of the British Triathlon Association in its early years. Locally, he was an ambassador for the sport in his native Yorkshire, where he influenced the establishment of clubs and inspired individuals to become involved with the sport he was so passionate about. Quite simply, he’s everything the Jane Tomlinson Award represents.
What a great weekend for British women triathletes – not only did Helen Jenkins win WTS Gold Coast but there were two Brits on the Ironman Port Elizabeth podium; Susie Cheetham in silver and Lucy Gossage in bronze. Kaisa Lehtonen won.
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British triathlete Jodie Swallow was the early leader, with an expected strong swim in some choppy water, however a fall on the bike allowed Australian athlete Annabel Luxford the opportunity to take the lead, which she held until T2. Swallow carried on and remained in second position until T2 with the gap between first and second over five minutes, howver she withdrew 2km into the run.
Lehtonen stayed as close as possible to the leading pair on the bike, entering T2 in third with Lucy Gossage (GBR) and Susie Cheetham (GBR) following.
Luxford headed out onto the run with a valuable time cushion considering the running talent in the chasers, however the winning trio, passed her after 13km. It could have been gold for Britain but Lehtonen managed to hold off Cheetham’s charge to win her first Ironman.
Racing a good friend helps you push through the pain! Brilliant race @susiecheetham . Love and hate racing with you! https://t.co/8BiiIpKtsB
— lucy gossage (@lucygoss) April 10, 2016
Staged in Nelson Mandela Bay and the city of Port Elizabeth, South Africa’s second oldest city. The day begins with a one-lap, 3.8km swim course. The bike course, featuring a new route in 2016, takes athletes out on two flat, fast laps of 90 km on one of the most spectacular bike courses on the Ironman circuit. Athletes return along the coast to the transition area to start the run.
Although it is commonly believed that exercise helps fight, and prevent cancer, scientists have been unable to explain quite why until now. However University of Copenhagen now believe that have found a link that explains why running can reduce cancer risk and tumour growth.
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They discovered that training mice regularly on a wheel (the mouse version of a treadmill) decreased the growth of multiple types of tumours, including skin, liver, and lung cancers. Furthermore, mice that exercised regularly had a smaller chance of developing cancer in the first place.
The beneficial effects of running went beyond tumor formation and growth, extending to cancer-associated weight loss, a process termed cachexia that is seen in cancer patients. Mice that exercised regularly showed no signs of cancer-associated weight loss in the researchers’ lung cancer mouse model.
The researchers say they identified several factors behind the anti-tumor effects of exercise. These anti-cancer effects are linked to the release of adrenaline (also called epinephrine), a hormone that is central to the “fight-or-flight” response. Adrenaline production is known to be stimulated by exercise.
In particular the production of adrenaline results in a mobilisation of immune cells, specifically one type of immune cell called a Natural Killer (NK) cell, to patrol the body. These NK cells are recruited to the site of the tumour by the protein IL-6, secreted by active muscles. The NK cells can then infiltrate the tumour, slowing or completely preventing its growth.
And there is no short cut injection either that works instead of running, as the researchers note that injecting the mice with either adrenaline or IL-6 without the exercise proved insufficient to inhibit cancer development, underlining the importance of the effects derived only from regular exercise in the mice.
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Their conclusions of this study is published in Cell Metabolism
The annual shindig, that is the 220 Triathlon Awards were held last weekend at Stratford Town Hall in London, with Olympic legend Derek Redmond on hand to give out trophies to the winners.
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In his speech Derek spoke about the impact sport has had on his life, and that iconic moment when his hamstring went in the Barcelona Olympics and his father helped him cross the finishing line.
The beautiful Stratford Town Hall
Ian Whittingham from Sigma Sport making his way to receive Retailer of the Year
Ben Dijkstra getting up to collect his award
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For full details of all the winners and runners up from the awards please click here
My first Ironman race was at the end of 2010 in Cozumel – a beautiful Island off the coast of Mexico, which my then fiancée (now husband) Mark suggested it as our honeymoon. Anyway, the point is that our first Ironman was not planned for long, came shortly after we got married, and I went there just to finish.
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I did pretty well in that race all things considered, and I loved it. We told ourselves it would be a one off, and that there was no way we wanted to go all the way to Hawaii to race in this “Kona thing” that everyone talked of.
Six years on and that has all changed. Now racing as a professional on the Ironman and 70.3 circuit, my focus this season is to try and qualify for the race that founded our sport and continues to inspire thousands and create legends year after year. I qualified as an age grouper in 2014 and raced to an AG third place finish on the Big Island; the experience of racing there was incredible.
When I turned professional at the start of last year my eyes were not turned towards Kona at all, as qualifying as a professional is a whole different story, however I came very close, and it is that which I want to give an insight into now.
How professionals qualify for the Ironman World Championships
The World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) who organise the Ironman World Championships allocate 50 places on the start line at Kona for the professional men each year, and 35 for the professional women.
I find this inequality totally disgusting and it is sometimes hard to believe that it is actually true. Much has been written about why the WTC believe it is fair to discriminate and I don’t want to get into the arguments for and against- that would be one hell of a rant!
50 Women to Kona tackles ‘a very visible show of inequality’
Instead I want to give a flavour of what that number 35 actually means to me, and how a newbie PRO goes about trying to qualify.
To qualify to race as a professional at Kona you currently have to score points on the Kona Pro Ranking system – or KPR. This KPR is constantly updated as races are completed throughout the year and all athletes are ranked continuously depending on the points they have gathered. Athletes have up to five races to count but can race as many times as they like.
The tally of five can be up to three 70.3 races and up to three full Ironman races but athletes have to complete at least one full distance Ironman (outside of Kona). Races are allocated different points, but the majority of full Ironman races have 2000 points for the winner. The exception to this is the regional championships, of which there are five, which are 4000 points for the winner. Kona is an 8000 point race and points gathered there count towards the following year. 70.3 races carry much lower points, typically 500 or 750 for the winner. Sound complicated? That’s not even half of it. Previous winners of Kona from the past 5 years can qualify automatically by completing one full distance race, and those who win a regional championship also get an automatic slot.
Ok that’s enough of the confusion. Here are some facts about the PRO ladies which might help paint a picture:
In 2015 19 of the women who lined up had scored points at Kona the year before – and 12 of the top 15 from 2014 returned to race again. That means about 180 PRO ladies were competing for the other 15-20 slots (some of the above get an automatic place). So qualifying as a PRO rookie is really not easy. Kona is the “Olympics” of long distance triathlon so everyone wants to be there.
The ladies who are new to racing Kona are finishing an average of three full distance races in the qualifying year. Things go wrong during racing– so to get three good finishes probably requires lining up to start far more often.
This year the number of points needed to qualify as a female PRO will sit at about 4,500 for the July cut off where most of the places are allocated. Two Ironman podiums would give you about 3,000 points if you are lucky. So to qualify a female athlete would still need a third Ironman race and a couple of good 70.3 finishes. By contrast the July male PRO cut off was 3600 in 2015 and is likely to be 3500 in 2016.
In 2015 I actually came very close without realising until the last minute. I know now that qualifying for Kona requires a strategy. In 2015 I didn’t have one, mainly because I considered it to be out of my league. It is safe to say that my results last year were beyond my expectations.
Despite hard training and big improvements I had not in my wildest dreams thought that two full distance podium spots were possible. So after Ironman UK (where I gained my second podium spot) it was with mild incredulity that I realised I was in with a shout for Kona qualification. I “just” had to complete one final race.
Unfortunately my body (and mind) had other ideas. Despite going to Wiesbaden European 70.3 Championships with the very best of intentions, looking back I was masking a strong desire to just call it a day and hit off season with gusto. The race was a struggle from start to finish, and I didn’t get the top seven finish I hoped for. I was labelled one of the “missing 15” – ladies who would have qualified in 2015 had the number of places for men and women been equal. In fact I was only four places away from a slot in the rankings. I suspect there were many other ladies in similar positions when the final count was done – great results all year – just not great enough.
I enter the 2016 qualifying year with a plan. I will have to race four full distance Ironman races at the very least to be in with a shout. In 2015 I raced a total of eight 70.3 and Ironman races in just over eight months. As anyone will tell you – that number of races in one year is not good for the body and long term health. I hear people saying that “the PRO’s are used to racing a lot”.
Maybe these people believe we are superhuman recovery machines. The fact is I work full time, I squeeze racing into long weekends of unpaid leave, and I “recover” while eating porridge at my desk after an early-morning training session before a full day at work followed by another training session in the evening.
Recovering from an Ironman race does not get easier just because you buy a PRO licence. Yes – I know some PROs are full time athletes – but many are not. Most have second jobs to make ends meet or are studying/training for another profession so they have an income when they retire from sport.
Racing a lot is hard, it’s painful, and it’s riddled with periods of injury and exhaustion. By limiting our spots to just 35 the WTC are forcing the PRO ladies to race more, take more risks and compromise our bodies in the process.
I have already started my campaign for 2016 (the qualifying year started in September 2015) and have about 1100 points racked up having started three races.
So I face having to complete another three full Ironman races in the next few months. I will start with Lanzarote and make plans for the rest of the season after that. I have Ironman Nice in the calendar and Frankfurt too, but I am also not going to risk everything just for a spot in Kona.
However I also know that I am making demands of my body, which are not sustainable and probably not sane and I realise how truly difficult qualification is. I will have to have, for me anyway, exceptional races.
However this year finishes I know I won’t regret trying. If I hadn’t been so desperate to enjoy a holiday/honeymoon while I was baking in dusty Afghanistan I may have never completed one of these extreme races. But fear of failure is never a good excuse. Hell – we only get one chance at life what’s the point in playing it safe.
You can follow Caroline on Twitter and find out more about her plans for 2016 at her website
Caroline on the podium at Ironman UK Bolton in 2015 where she was 2nd.
With memories still fresh of a sun-soaked Glasgow hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2014, the city is once again preparing to host a major sporting showcase. And this time age-group triathletes could be invited to join the party.
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Announced in March 2015, the inaugural European Sport Championships have been created by the continental governing bodies of athletics, cycling, rowing and swimming, plus the European Triathlon Union.
The aim of the new four-yearly event (not to be confused with the rival European Games) is to ‘bring together the existing individual European Championships into one co-ordinated multisport concept’, with Berlin (athletics) and Glasgow (triathlon, cycling, rowing, gymnastics, aquatics and golf) announced as the co-hosts for the 1-12 August 2018 showcase.
“This is a really exciting step forwards for our sport,” said ETU President Renato Bertrandi. “We can anticipate having not only a domestic European audience but viewers from around the world. Our European athletes will have the chance to compete on a challenging course and to be seen globally. Instead of a standalone event, we’ll be part of an engaging programme of sports, which will enable greater media coverage than ever before.”
The Commonwealth Games triathlon received a significantly larger worldwide TV audience than that year’s ITU World Champs, even though major triathlon nations such as Spain, the USA and Germany were absent from Glasgow.
Where triathlon differs from the other elite European Championships is that age-group athletes race over the same weekend and on the same course as the elites. So the 2018 Glasgow games could represent a break between the pro and age-group triathletes for one of the rare occasions in the European Championship’s 30-year history… or it could offer the tantalising prospect of the finest age-group triathletes being the only amateurs racing at the Games.
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A decision on any age-group involvement in Glasgow is due to be made imminently. If the amateurs are not to be included, the ETU will need to find a host for its age-grouper Euros in 2018. This year’s Euros are in Lisbon, with Austria hosting the 2017 edition.