Snowsill strikes first
Olympic Gold medalist Emma Snowsill passed Emma Moffat late in the run to claim the inaugural Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championship series race in Tongyeong, Korea. Moffatt held on for second and last weekend's Ishigaki ITU Triathlon World Cup winner, Juri Ide from Japan, finished third. Canada's Kathy Tremblay and Kirsten Sweetland grabbed the final podium positions in the $150,000 prize money race.
Sara McLarty exited the 1,500m swim first with Emma Moffatt close on her heels. Jodie Swallow and Kirsten Sweetland were next with most of the field including Emma Snowsill in close contention.
Moffatt and McLarty were the early leaders on the bike but Moffatt pushed so hard that McLarty fell off the pace. The pack soon caught Moffatt too, and before too long the second chase pack made contact too, creating a relatively large peloton.
Towards the end of the bike, Sam Warriner was brought down while she was refueling. The Kiwi quickly remounted and powered her way back up to the leaders.
A determined Moffatt quickly cruised through T2 and looked determined to put distance between her and the rest of the field. Snowsill's transition was relatively slow, but she methodically worked her way to the front. Snowsill caught Moffatt at the halfway point of the run and the 2 Aussies ran together until the final km. A well timed surge by Snowsill allowed her to gap Moffatt and win by ten seconds.
After the race an exhausted Snowsill said: "I was really pushed today and Emma (Moffatt) is a training partner of mine. It was really tough but it allowed me to see where I am at in terms of fitness."
Tongyeong Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championship
1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run
Elite Women – Official Results
1. Emma Snowsill (AUS) 2:02:42
2. Emma Moffatt (AUS) 2:02:52
3. Juri Ide (JPN) 2:03:30
4. Kathy Tremblay (CAN) 2:03:32
5. Kirsten Sweetland (CAN) 2:03:39
6. Kiyomi Niwata (JPN) 2:03:56 +1:14
7. Magali Di Marco Messmer (SUI) 2:04:07
8. Samantha Warriner (NZL) 2:04:25 +1:43
9. Vendula Frintova (CZE) 2:04:26
10. Lauren Groves (CAN) 2:04:27
Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championship Rankings
After Race One of Eight
1. Emma Snowsill (AUS) 800pts
2. Emma Moffatt (AUS) 740pts
3. Juri Ide (JPN) 685pts
4. Kathy Tremblay (CAN) 633pts
5. Kirsten Sweetland (CAN) 586pts
