2010 Proves To Be Rough Start For World Champions

Published March 3, 2010 02:28PM

So far 2010 has not been kind to four of the world’s top triathlon stars. Ironman World Champions Chrissie Wellington and Craig Alexander, and ITU World Champions Alistair Brownlee and Emma Moffatt have had setbacks in the first couple months of the New Year.

Wellington underwent wrist surgery after being involved in a bike accident on January 2. Moffatt was the next to suffer an injury after also being involved in a bike accident. Her injuries included a broken shoulder that will keep her out of the pool for several weeks. Brownlee will likely be out the longest due to a femoral stress fracture.

While Alexander has had a healthy start to the new season with a win at Ironman 70.3 Geelong on Feb. 7, the next few weeks literally will be a rebuilding process as Alexander works to get two new bikes after they were both stolen from his garage in Australia.

Alexander will likely be able to get his bikes ready for his next race on March 21 at Ironman 70.3 Singapore, but the start of the seasons for Wellington, Moffatt and Brownlee are still in question.

While Wellington’s injuries were early in the year and she stated that she expected a full recovery fairly quickly, she still has not announced her first race of the 2010 season. Regardless of how or if she races in the first few months of the season, Wellington should be fully recovered and ready for the Ironman World Championship in October.

As ITU athletes, Moffattt and Brownlee have the most to lose with early season injuries. In order to become an ITU World Champion, an athlete must earn the most points over the seven-race ITU World Championship Series. Moffatt may or may not be ready for the first series race on April 11 in Sydney. Brownlee is not as lucky, and is skeptically planning his return for the June 5 race in Madrid. If Brownlee makes his comeback in Madrid, he will have missed the first three races of the series.