ETU Triathlon European Champion, Jess Learmonth and members of the local triathlon community launch entries at Leeds Station for ITU World Triathlon Leeds 2018
Today (Monday 9 October), ETU Triathlon European Champion and Leeds local, Jess Learmonth launched entries for the 2018 ITU World Triathlon Leeds alongside local triathletes from across the city.
The country’s most prestigious triathlon will take place for the third successive year in Leeds on 9 and 10 June 2018 and will aim to welcome 5,000 amateur participants to the city that has triathlon at its heart.
To get onboard and enter the city’s biggest sporting event of the year with discounted early bird entry fees, visit leeds.triathlon.org
The entry launch follows a two-week long priority entry window dedicated to British Triathlon Home Nations members and past participants which saw over 1,500 entries snapped up.
Today, also marks the start of a month-long discount period for all members of British Triathlon Home Nation Affiliated Clubs. Any club member wishing to enter should contact their club secretary for details of your club’s unique discount code before 1 November 2018.
Above: Jess Learmonth helps launch entries for the 2018 ITU World Triathlon Leeds
Leeds is the number one city for triathlon, home to Olympic heroes Alistair and Jonny Brownlee as well as the UK Sport lottery funded British Triathlon World-Class Performance Centre where Jess Learmonth is based and who today was encouraging the local community to enter this year’s event.
Speaking in Leeds, Jess Learmonth who has finished in the top-ten in both 2016 and 2017 commented: “Triathlon is an awesome sport that is so much easier than people think to get involved in. Having an event like the ITU World Triathlon Leeds on your doorstep is the perfect opportunity to take up the challenge with a triathlon to suit all abilities. I come from Leeds and I am really proud that so many people can enjoy the city over the weekend and can’t wait to be back racing in my home city next year.”
GO TRI will be back in Roundhay Park in 2018 and the event is aiming to deliver the biggest ever GO TRI in Leeds supported by a city-wide triathlon activity programme delivered in partnership by British Triathlon and Leeds City Council.
Accompanying GO TRI in the park on Saturday will be a new addition to the programme, a 400m and 750m SH2OUT swim offering newcomers to open water swimming the chance to dip their toe in the water whilst enjoying the fun-filled triathlon experience in Leeds.
On Sunday, it will be the turn of the triathlon community to warm-up the closed road city centre course ahead of the world’s best with sprint, standard and relay events. Britain’s best age-groupers will be able to scoop both British Championship titles and a spot in the Great Britain Age-Group Team, as the event also hosts the first qualification event for the 2019 ETU Triathlon European Championships.
Next year’s event will aim to build on the success of 2017 where 95% of participants would recommend the ITU World Triathlon Leeds to a friend. British Triathlon will once again be delivering the showpiece event with a team of experts aiming to make 2018 even better. Full details of the 2018 routes will be confirmed in the coming months, although little change is expected from this year’s successful course for the sprint and standard distance races with the single transition hub in Roundhay Park’s Event Village.
Once the amateur triathletes have finished their Sunday racing, it will be the turn of the world’s best as they compete in the fourth stop of the ITU World Triathlon Series in front of over 70,000 fans in the heart of Leeds City-Centre.
The ITU World Triathlon Leeds 2018 is supported by National Lottery funding and is organised by British Triathlon, in partnership with Leeds City Council, UK Sport and the ITU.
Wayne Coyle, Event Director for the ITU World Triathlon Leeds added: “Since we launched our charity window last month, entries have been coming in thick and fast, highlighting how the event has grown over the last two years. Both British Triathlon and the host city of Leeds are extremely proud of the event in 2017 and aim to make next year even better.”
Leader of Leeds City Council Councilor Judith Blake, said “We are very excited to welcome ITU World Triathlon to Leeds for a third year in a row. The previous two events held in Leeds have been absolutely fantastic and we are immensely proud that the atmosphere created by spectators in Leeds is now firmly up there as some of the best the ITU World Triathlon series has ever seen. We hope that many people who have taken part previously in ITU World Triathlon Leeds take advantage of this great early bird ticket offer.”
For more information and to enter, visit leeds.triathlon.org.
