Tokio moves triathlon to Hamilton

Tokio Millennium Re will host its annual triathlon on Sunday, May 15 in Hamilton.

Jamie Pedro, race director, said: “People don’t have to go all the way out to Clearwater to compete so it makes the triathlon more spectator friendly.

“Another one of the big positives is that people will get a chance to compete in a different area of the island that they usually don’t get the chance to because most of the bike races and the triathlons are held at Clearwater.

“This gives us a different setting and flavour to your typical event.

“The bank wasn’t able to hold their triathlon in town for the first time in a while.

“That was a big event because many people would do the race in town, but since they dropped it last year, we wanted to bring it back to Hamilton.”

He added for spectators the shorter, tighter course would allow them to see more of the action.

Champ

Another difference is the race will start in the waters off Tokio Millennium House with swimmers going out to White’s Island before heading over to Albuoy’s Point for the transition area for the bike and run.

Last year’s champ Tyler Butterfield will not be back to defend his title as he is trying to earn enough World Cup points to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.

Karen Smith is the defending women’s champion.

The senior individual, junior advanced and team races will start at 9:45am with a 750m swim, 20k bike and 5k run.

There will also be a Tri-a-Tri for beginners over a shorter course of 300m swim, 8k bike and 2k run.

Juniors ages seven to 14 will be able to compete as individuals or as a team starting at 8am in a run, bike, run duathlon, another new first for the Tokio event.

The entry fees are $20 for juniors, $30 junior team, $20 Tri-a-Tri, $30 senior and $45 senior team.

Race packets may be collected on Friday, May 14 between 5:30pm and 8pm from Tokio Millennium House, 3 Waterloo Lane (near Miles Market).

Entries close on Wednesday, May 11.