With a double victory, Olympic triathlon champion Nicola Spirig completed her last competition test before the Olympic Games in Rio extremely successfully in St. Moritz. Spirig won first in duathlon and then in triathlon.
The Olympic champion from 2012 did not have much time to get ready for the 3rd St. Moritz triathlon. After winning the duathlon over 6 km running, 20 km bike and 6 km running, she sprinted straight into the transition zone and put on a wetsuit.
The elite field was already waiting for them on the shores of Lake St. Moritz. One minute after she had arrived at 15 degrees cold water, the start of the 3rd St. Moritz triathlon rang out.
After just 500 meters of swimming, Spirig led the women's field. She didn't let anything burn on the 20-kilometer bike, extended her lead and took the final 6 kilometers through the forests on Lake St. Moritz as the clear leader.
She won 4:02 minutes ahead of Dutchwoman Mirjam Weerd and 5:05 minutes ahead of Swiss Nina Derron.
For Spirig, the St. Moritz double competition was tough training: She had no break between the two competitions and completed the Olympic distance or even more with a total of 40 kilometers of cycling and 18 kilometers of running.
At the finish line, she was happy to have completed the double competition. On August 17, she flies to Rio, where she will defend her title on August 20.
The men's St. Moritz triathlon was also heavily staffed: German Andreas Dreitz celebrated a start-finish victory. He left Croatian Andrej Vistica behind him by one and a half minutes and Swiss Reiny Brown by more than three minutes.
As always, the 3rd St. Moritz Triathlon was also a competition for amateur athletes and beginners. The three disciplines could also be completed as a mixed relay team of three. A duathlon was also held for the first time in 2016.
Italian Michele Ferrarin provided another premiere as a parathlete. He is preparing for the Rio games in Engadin, where he will take part in the Paralympics triathlon in September.
Nicola Spirig had already attended the Kids Cup by Nicola Spirig on Saturday. A record number of 164 children between the ages of 5 and 14 had measured themselves against their peers and were welcomed at the finish line by the Olympic champion.
The Kids Cup by Nicola Spirig is intended to encourage children and young people to move and compete with their peers in swimming, cycling and running.
Results
3rd St. Moritz triathlon: 500 m swimming | 20 km bike | 6 km run
women
- 1st Spirig Nicola (Home of Triathlon St. Moritz) 1:08.06
- 2. Weather Mirjam (NED) 1:12.14
- 3. Derron Nina (Zurich) 1:13.11
men
- 1st Dreitz Andreas (GER) 1:03.06
- 2. Vistica Andrej (CRO) 1:04.33
- 3. Brown Reiny (Home of Triathlon St. Moritz) 1:06.09
Duathlon: 6 km run | 20 km bike | 6 km run
women
- 1st Spirig Nicola (Home of Triathlon St. Moritz) 1:25.41
- 2. Bilham Emma (Chernex VD) 1:29.43
- 3. Eggenschwiler Petra (Rubigen) 1:30.21
men
- 1. Charcoal burner Felix (Basel) 1:19.18
- 2. Bochsler Lucius (Elsau) 1:21.09
- 3. Widmer Marc (Wädenswil) 1:21.17
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