ABU DHABI // Abu Dhabi makes its formal introduction into the elite triathlon world when it stages the Ipic World Triathlon Abu Dhabi this weekend.
The capital has hosted a triathlon with high-quality fields for the past five years, but Sunday’s race is the official season opener of the International Triathlon Union’s (ITU) 10-race world triathlon series.
The ITU granted that recognition to Abu Dhabi late last year, making it the first city in the Middle East to find a spot on the international circuit. After Yokohama, it is only the second city in Asia to be part of the series.
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It could not be any more elite. Nine of the world’s top 10 male triathletes and six from the top 10 female triathletes will take part, headed by the likes of the men’s world No 1 Javier Gomez Noya and No 3 Jonathan Brownlee, and the women’s world No 1 Gwen Jorgensen and No 2 Sarah True.
Both male and female fields are full, with 65 elite athletes in each, and they will lead a participation of more than 2,000 across various distances and age groups.
“It is great to be here in the Middle East,” ITU president Marisol Casado said on Thursday.
“We are trying to grow this sport all over the world and we have been working very hard to bring an event of this magnitude here.
“We have been it at for the past six years. Now, the world will be watching the Middle East.”
The course, along the Corniche, has been redesigned to make it more spectator-friendly this year, and organisers are expecting more than 3,000 spectators over the weekend.
“It is very exciting,” Gomez said. “It is my first time in Abu Dhabi. I haven’t seen the course yet but I expect it to be tough and interesting. It is the first event of the season and you really don’t know what to expect.”
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
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