Olympic champion Nicola Spirig and Scotsman Richie Nicholls won the second St. Moritz triathlon. Together with other world-class athletes, they train in Upper Engadin all summer; they used the sprint competition as competition training.
The second St. Moritz triathlon over the sprint distance offered the best conditions for amateur athletes and world-class athletes: 18 degrees water, 18 degrees air and virtually no wind were ideal for the competition.
“The conditions were simply perfect,” enthused winner Richie Nicholls at the finish line. The 2013 European champion knows Engadin very well; the Scotsman has been training in St. Moritz all summer. After 500 meters in Lake St. Moritz, he and his pursuers cycled 20 kilometers and then ran 6.6 kilometers on lakeshores and in coniferous forests. Nicholls drove Mexican Alain Corillo and Reiny Brown from Hong Kong to places.
Swiss Olympic Champion Nicola Spirig, who clearly won the race, is also at home in St. Moritz. “Competition at 1800 meters is always tough,” she said at the finish line. “But the warm lake and the great atmosphere were great fun, I could just enjoy it.” Behind Spirig, their training colleagues Eimear Mullan from Ireland and American World Champion Mary Beth Ellis secured podium finishes.
A total of around 100 men and women in six age categories and a team ranking started for the 2nd St. Moritz triathlon. Many hundreds of spectators lined the competition course around the St. Moritz altitude training center on the polo meadow.
119 children from four countries had already contested the “Nicola Spirig Kids Cup” on Saturday. The triathlon for girls and boys between 5 and 14 years of age had already doubled the number of participants in its second edition.
The St. Moritz triathlon weekend is part of the “Home of Triathlon” initiative, in which hoteliers, providers of training and sports infrastructure, Engadin sports supporters and tourism professionals have come together to improve training conditions for triathletes.
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 spring 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. www.homeoftriathlon.ch
gartmann.biz supports the “Home of Triathlon St. Moritz” initiative in communication. Christian Gartmann is board member of the “Home of Triathlon” association.