Olympic Spots At Stake This Weekend In Australia

One country will secure an Olympic spot at the OTU Devonport Oceania Championships on Saturday.

The Oceania Championships are always a tough trans-Tasman battle between two powerful triathlon nations: Australia and New Zealand. This weekend the 2012 Devonport OTU Triathlon Oceania Championships, there is even more on the line. The winner of the elite men’s and women’s races will secure a spot for their National Olympic Committee on the London 2012 startline. It’s also the New Zealand national championships, the first time that the event has been held outside of New Zealand, due to an already packed domestic triathlon calendar.

But Triathlon Australia is planning to be prepared for the Kiwi contingent, particularly after New Zealand claimed both Oceania spots in 2008 before the Beijing Olympics. “As far as Olympic positions alone are concerned, Devonport is a “must win” for Australia and that alone is sure to produce some dynamic racing,” said Australian High Performance Manager Michael Flynn. “Back in 2008 the Kiwis were better organized than us and took the automatic Oceania spots and we will be going all out to ensure that does not happen again.”

The 2012 Oceania Championships will be conducted at a brand new venue in Devonport at the Devonport Surf Life Saving Club and Mersey Bluff foreshore which will allow for a natural amphitheater for athletes and spectators alike.

Read more: Triathlon.org