Challenge Roth To Celebrate Its 10th Anniversary
"The world’s largest iron-distance triathlon” is celebrating its 10th anniversary this weekend. Challenge Roth will take place on July 10th, 2011 with over 3,300 athletes and 600 relay teams from 61 countries.
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“The world’s largest iron-distance triathlon” is celebrating its 10th anniversary this weekend. Challenge Roth will take place on July 10th, 2011 with over 3,300 athletes and 600 relay teams from 61 countries.
The professional field will see 64 athletes toeing the start line with many top names in the sport returning for the anniversary. Eyes will be on German Andreas Raelert to take the title, but he will be challenged by fellow German Sebastian Kienle—Kienle recently won Ironman New Orleans 70.3 this past spring. Also in contention for a podium finish are France’s Benjamin Sanson, a powerful swimmer, and James Cunnama of South Africa who won Rev3 Quassy last month.
On the women’s side, Chrissie Wellington is expected to win. Last year Wellington broke the Ironman triathlon world record and bettered her own previous mark by 12 minutes and 46 seconds and beat her nearest competitor by over 30 minutes.
Triathlete.com Poll: Will Chrissie Wellington Break Her World Record?
If she takes the title, it will be her third win in a row. Fellow British triathlete Catriona Morrison is also on the starting list and is a podium contender. Morrison is having a successful year with top finishes at Ironman Texas 70.3, Ironman St. Croix 70.3 and Ironman Texas. Like Wellington, she is a strong long-course distance competitor.
This year, Challenge Roth expects over 150,000 spectators. But it is possible to watch the action on your computer with three Challenge television channels. The first captures the live coverage of the leaders from start to finish. The second features live cameras at various points along the course and at the finisher’s chute. The third channel broadcasts from web cameras around the course. Additionally, live timing is available through Google Maps—each individual athlete’s icon moves based on their average speed between all timing mats. This can all be viewed at challenge-roth.com.
The action begins at 6:30 a.m. CEST. The start takes place at the Hilpolstein landing stage and ends with a grand finale at 10:30 p.m. CEST with a fireworks display.