Universal Sports To Televise ITU World Triathlon San Diego

Second qualifier for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team will be held May 11-12.

See the announcement from USA Triathlon below:

Multisport enthusiasts and sports fans nationwide will witness the excitement of world-class triathlon firsthand when Universal Sports televises the second and final qualifier for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team – the ITU World Triathlon San Diego, which will be held May 11-12.

Universal Sports will air two two-hour, tape-delayed programs – one dedicated to the women’s race May 19 and one covering the men’s race May 20. Following the initial television broadcasts, both races will re-air on Universal Sports on to-be-determined dates.

Additionally, both races will be streamed live online and will be available on-demand at UniversalSports.com.

“We are excited to expand our partnership with USA Triathlon to be the exclusive national television broadcaster for the ITU World Triathlon in San Diego,” said David Sternberg, CEO of Universal Sports. “Adding this high-profile international event to our robust lineup of Olympic, endurance and adventure sports programming further demonstrates the value of Universal Sports to our viewers and business partners.”

“We are delighted to have Universal Sports as our domestic partner for this world-class event,” said Dennis Spencer, Executive Vice President of Lagardère Unlimited, which is partnering with USA Triathlon to produce the event. “We know that the viewers of Universal Sports on all their platforms will find the competition compelling. The ITU World Triathlon Series and Universal Sports are perfect partners.”

One of just eight ITU World Triathlon Series events in 2012, the elite races in San Diego will serve as the second of two qualifying events to determine the 2012 United States Olympic Men’s and Women’s Triathlon Team. The third and final spot for the U.S. Women’s Olympic Triathlon Team will be on the line, while no U.S. male athlete has yet earned a spot on Team USA entering the San Diego event. A top-nine overall finish by an American will punch an automatic spot on the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team.

The event also will play a key role in determining the Olympic squads for a number of other nations, as it is the second-to-last ITU World Triathlon Series event prior to the closing of the ITU’s 2012 Olympic qualification window at the end of May. The women’s elite race will be held Friday, May 11 at 3 p.m., followed by the men Saturday, May 12 at 2:30 p.m. The Olympic-distance (1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer run) elite races are comprised of 65 athletes per gender.

Set for the morning of Saturday, May 12, top-flight Olympic- and sprint-distance age group races, as well as an Olympic-distance relay, will offer amateurs the chance to compete in the same epic venue as the world’s best athletes.

Visit Sandiego.triathlon.org for more information on the event.