The ITU Short Course Duathlon World Championship takes place on September 24-25 in Gijon, Spain. This race is one of the premiere events for duathletes in which competitors will come from all over the world to compete in their age group and division. The competition this year will have athletes from 50 different countries, including 15 from North Carolina. Among those that have qualified to compete in the duathlon is Sally Almekinders, instructor for the PE 106 Triathlon course.
The standard distance for short course duathlon is 10K run, 40K bike and 5K run. The only qualifying event for the 2011 Short Course Duathlon World Championship was held April 30, 2011 in Tucson, Arizona. The top 18 in each age group earned an invitation to be on TEAM USA. This team, formed by USA Triathlon, is a group of amateur and elite athletes competing in a variety of divisions including age groups, elites, juniors and paraduathletes. The team that will represent the USA in the World Championship race in Gijon, Spain is composed of a total of 247 athletes. It will be an exciting weekend of racing.
For those interested in similar events, TEAM USA also has groups of athletes that compete in World Championships for triathlon, aquathlon which is run, swim, run and winter triathlon which is trail run, mountain bike, cross- country ski.
