Triathlon has seen it’s fair share of controversy this week. Liz Blatchford is appealing against not being selected for the GB Olympic team. Lucy Hall, ranked over 100 places further down the world rankings, was chosen over Blatchford. Lucy Hall may have been selected to perform the role of ‘domestique’. She will sacrifice her own race, I presume, to assist Helen Jenkins. In my opinion Helen Jenkins doesn’t need the help. She is one of the fastest women in triathlon in the swim, the bike and the run. I can see why Liz Blatchford is appealing the decision.
Will Clarke was also overlooked for the GB Olympic team in favour of Stuart Hayes. Last time I checked the men’s Olympic rankings Will Clarke was ranked 12th and Stuart Hayes 46th. Was Stuart Hayes selected as a ‘domestique’ for the Brownlee brothers? Stuart Hayes is a strong cyclist. He may be asked to sacrifice himself on the bike for the Brownlees, chasing down breakaways should they happen. In my opinion the Brownlees don’t need help. Just like Helen Jenkins they have the strength needed in all three disciplines to take gold and silver. Speaking of the Brownlee brothers, both were in action at Blenheim last weekend, they finished 1st and 2nd in the same time and two minutes ahead of the field.
It seems Lance Armstrong can’t get away from the doping allegations that have plagued his career as a cyclist and threaten to ruin his career as a triathlete. He has unfortunately been banned from triathlon until the resolution of an investigation brought against him by USADA. I am a big LA fan. I think it is a great tragedy that he will no longer be competing in triathlon at least for the duration of the investigation. I don’t know if there were any transgressions in his career prior to being diagnosed with and over coming cancer. I very much doubt anyone who has survived cancer would jeopardise their health in order to succeed in sport by doping of any kind.
On a much more happy note, LFTC has it’s first male age group representative! Andrew Finn, last year’s LFTC triathlete of the year, qualified for the GB team to compete at the Long Distance Triathlon World Championships in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain at the end of July. Nice work Andrew! Best of luck to all those competing over the weekend. Especially those of you up against Macca in Wimbleball. Go get him, Nathan!
Our newly qualified triathlon coaches will be putting you through your paces on Saturday. We will be using fins and pull buoys so please bring your kit to training. Saturday is now our ‘long swim’ day. But don’t be afraid. This just means it’s geared towards aerobic endurance development with longer intervals but with just the right mix of technique and triathlon specific skills too.
See you in the weekend. Tim (LFTC Coach).
I get annoyed that he wont be in Kona, so Macca and Craig would shut him up 😉 as I dont like things he has been talking about Olympic distance. As per doping talking, I have always said it, I am not sure how guilty he is but when many people talk about it saying he was doing it there is a reason, but if they dont have prepper evidence they should drop it.
What has he said about Olympic distance Sebastian? I missed that. By the way you can watch all the action from the Blenheim Triathlon on Channel 4, where a highlights show will be broadcast on Sunday 24 June at 7.05am. Tim (LFTC Coach)
Hey so:
Lance Armstrong tweeted today :
Dear @usantidoping – we have now sent you THREE letters requesting all the relevant info in order for me to respond to your “review board Until now there has been no response, not even an acknowledgement of receipt. The knife cuts both ways – it’s time to play by the rules”
I don’t want to believe that it is true though l am sure that somewhere along the path of his enormous cycling career that yes he maybe has. However to ban somebody from separate sport before actually being found guilty is madness. It does seem like a witch hunt and cannot be good for anyone let alone triathlon.
With regards to the GB team, it is bit embarrassing that we feel the need to bring athletes into the event as a sacrifice in favour of stronger options. I think it is a shame and they are probably worried from a PR perspective what would happen if our golden kids didn’t win in London, in 2012. Well know they will but sad that the selectors didn’t have the conviction and confidence to do the right thing.
On a more positive note, nice one Andrew!!!
He was saying Olympic distance was easy and that he wasnt a big challenge, so then Macca twitted him saying that try to run like this kids and then talk.
About GB Lucy Hall has said that she was told that to go she had to go to help Helen, she made it v clear that the federetion told her that, and that she knows thats what she is gonna do. I feel sad for Clarke as u could see he was trying v hard, but he said it he wasnt gonna go to help someone else so I guess thats the reason he wasnt selected
For me this is the big flaw in draft-legal triathlon. There is absolutely no point in having a bunch race when the finish line is not the finish of the race. For me it has always seemed silly.
In fact, it surprises me that it took that long to someone start doing team work. And, in my opinion, there is no turn back.
Maybe it is time to people start thinking in assuming it, and everyone will compete as part of a team. Otherwise better drop the drafting and we are all happy (well, I am).
About Lance, who knows. Maybe he has, maybe he hasn’t. But yes, if you can’t prove it, you gotta let him race, as with any athlete in any sport.