News & Notes: New Tri Esports World Champs, State Championships Announced, and More

World Triathlon & Super League team up for triathlon esports world champs

In the wake of Super League’s Arena Games earlier this year, Super League and World Triathlon announced this week a partnership to expand that model into a full championship series. The Arena Games will be competed in an indoor arena using a pool and Zwift on a treadmill and trainer. The full series is expected to be announced soon, but will happen in the spring of 2022. As part of the partnership with World Triathlon, the events will count towards an athletes’ points for the World Triathlon season standings and a series champion—ie. tri esports world champion—will be crowned. “I am absolutely convinced that the Arena Games Triathlon will be a fantastic event for athletes, broadcasters, sponsors and fans alike,” said World Triathlon president Marisol Casado. (More to come.)

Ironman announces new 70.3 in Argentina

The newest 70.3 location was announced this week: San Juan, Argentina on March 27, 2022. This expands on the races offered in Argentina and South America. San Juan, in the eastern mountains of Argentina, will feature a point-to-point race with a lake swim, a net downhill bike, and a run through the town. Athletes can earn sports for the 2022 70.3 World Championships.

USA Triathlon announces state championships

Another series of races to add to your calendar: The 2022 state championships. In 2022, every state will host a state championship. The events are all local races, starting with Florida’s Florida Challenge Triathlon on March 12, that have partnered with USAT to offer a state championship and state title. The state championships race are open to all triathletes; no qualification is required to compete. The top overall female and male athletes in the sprint and Olympic-distance races, as well as in the high school race, will be crowned the state champions. The state championship races will also offer more qualification spots than regular races to the USA Triathlon Age-Group National Championships. (State championships held after June 1, 2022 will qualify athletes to both the 2022 and 2023 national championships.) See the full list of state championship races here.

Sika Henry featured in New York Times

The first Black female pro triathlete, Sika Henry’s story was highlighted in the New York Times this week with a piece that followed her journey from college high jumper to triathlete to coming back after a horrific crash. From the story: “I can’t just quit,” Henry remembered thinking. “What kind of role model would I be if I just gave up the second things got really bad or really hard?” Be sure to also check out our Q&A with Henry after her first race as a pro.

Parrot eats cyclist’s wheel

It’s not triathlon-specific news, but it’s a triathlete’s nightmare: A hungry pet parrot in Australia chewed through her owner’s carbon front wheel overnight. While Gypsy, the bird, has chewed through many things before, this was the first expensive piece of cycling equipment she’d eaten. Relatedly, we’ve compiled all the triathlon Black Friday & Cyber Monday deals here.

Podcast notes

• In advance of the Xterra World Championships next weekend in Maui, The Triathlete Hour talks with another Xterra champ: the Scottish Rocket, Lesley Paterson. Plus, a discussion of what counts as a world record and when courses should be shortened.
• Greg Bennett talks with Rudy von Berg about his growth in the sport.
• The second part of a two-part Team Charles-Barclay series has The Ironwomen podcast chatting with Holly Charles, Lucy’s sister and the photographer behind the lens.
• Julie Dibens is on the Zwift PowerUp podcast to talk about what it takes to coach the best.
• And Pro Tri News has the interview everyone wants this week: Answers straight for the new Ironman world record holder himself, Kristian Blummenfelt.

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