Valais seller Andrea Salvisberg won the sixth St. Moritz triathlon over the sprint distance. Zurich-based Michèle Derron won the women. St. Moritzer Nicola Spirig by choice refrained from swimming this year: She contested — and won — the duathlon. In the men's duathlon, Oensinger Max Studer won.
500 meters of swimming in Lake St. Moritz, 20 kilometers of cycling in the Engadin mountains and 6.6 kilometers of running in the picturesque Stazerwald: With its unique route, the St. Moritz Triathlon once again attracted more than 200 amateurs and professionals to the Upper Engadin in its sixth edition. The professionals use the sprint competition as a special training session and the amateurs enjoy the opportunity to compete with world-class people.
The list of winners at this small but important event includes several Olympic champions, World Champions and European Champions.
Superstar Nicola Spirig, who had once co-founded the event and the organizing association “Home of Triathlon St. Moritz” and became a mother again just four months ago, refrained from triathlon this year but won the duathlon. Like many other world-class athletes, the 2012 Olympic champion has been training in St. Moritz for years and actively promotes triathlon sports in her adopted home.
Three weeks before the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Lausanne, she is satisfied with her build up of form. “The training and previous competitions are going very well,” said St. Moritzerin by choice. At the same time, she dampened too great expectations for the season's peak: “A podium finish in Lausanne is anything but certain; you shouldn't forget that it's only been 17 weeks since the birth of my third child.”
The men's duathlon was won by Max Studer from Oensingen, who, like Nicola Spirig, trains in St. Moritz with coach Brett Sutton.
On Saturday, 150 children between the ages of five and 14 took part in the “Kids Cup by Nicola Spirig” again. Many of them had their first experiences in triathlon in St. Moritz and crossed the finish line, cheered on frenetically by Nicola Spirig and her families and friends.
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Photos: Kirsten Stenzel Maurer, www.kirstenstenzel.ch
infos
Home of Triathlon St. Moritz Engadin Association
Reto Hug, President
mail@retohug.ch
+41 79 307 17 50
Home of Triathlon St. Moritz
St. Moritz hoteliers, providers of training and sports infrastructure, Engadin sports supporters and tourism professionals founded the Home of Triathlon St. Moritz association in 2015 to bring more triathletes and other multi-sport athletes to the Upper Engadine for training. Individual athletes and teams receive special offers for training in the three sports, stays in hotels and apartments, and special services. All offers are specifically tailored to the needs of triathletes and are also open to locals and young athletes.
Christian Gartmann is a member of the board of the “Home of Triathlon St. Moritz” association and has supervised the media relations of the St. Moritz Triathlon since 2015.