TRIATHLON Irish triathlete Emma Davis moves into Olympic Qualification spot
Ireland’s Emma Davis, from Bangor, has moved into an Olympic qualifying spot for the first time in her pursuit of qualification for the Games, with a ninth place finish at the Triathlon World Cup in Richards Bay, South Africa over the weekend (3rd May).
Emma Davis, who is supported under the Irish Sports Council’s International Carding Scheme, has climbed eleven places this week to 72 in the latest world rankings after her impressive performance in South Africa, and her strong performances in the previous legs of the World Cup this season.
For the first time this ranking moves Davis into a Beijing qualification position, as it stands today, with only three races left to count towards qualification; the European Championships in Portugal next weekend (May 10th), the final leg of the World Cup in Madrid (May 25th), and the World Championships in Vancouver beginning on June 5th.
Davis commented on her Richards Bay performance: “This is a new PB for me in a World Cup. It also means that at the moment I am in an Olympic qualifying spot. I have to defend the place until after the World Championships now. I'm sure that defending the place will turn out to be just as hard as earning it but at least for the moment I am on the list which is a lot more than I could say this time yesterday!”
Davis opened with her trademark strong swim in South Africa coming out of the water just behind the leaders; moving onto the bike leg in the main pack. Showing her improving run form Emma put in a strong 10km run leg crossing the line in ninth, close behind the leaders. Canada’s Carolyn Murray took the win in a total time of 2.03:32 with Davis recording a time of 2.04:29 for the 1500m swim, 40km cycle and 10km run course.
Ireland’s other leading triathlete Gavin Noble, a native of Enniskillen, County Fermanagh is chasing Olympic qualification via a different route to Davis. Noble is hoping to secure the European Flag qualification slot which is awarded to the leading athlete in each Continent as per the Continental Cup rankings. Noble currently occupies the slot ahead of his closest rivals; Tamas Liptak of Hungary, and Zvonko Cubric of Croatia.
Two tough races now lie between Noble and a place in Beijing and he must perform to the best of his ability in both races to secure that long held ambition. The first of those races is the European Championships in Lisbon, Portugal on May 10th which carries bonus ranking points. The final race that will count towards the flag qualification for Noble is the ITU European Cup in Brno in the Czech Republic on May 18th.
No Irish triathlete has ever qualified for an Olympic Games so if Noble or Davis were to secure qualification for the Games is would be a remarkable achievement and a wonderful boost for a sport growing in its popularity across the country.
Ends.
For more information:
Please visit www.triathlonireland.com ; jag@triathlonireland.com or call Triathlon Ireland on 01-2017758
or
Sinéad McElroy, smcelroy@irishsportscouncil.ie 087-6338512
For more information on the Olympic qualification process or any of the upcoming races visit www.triathlon.org
Additional Information:
Upcoming Events for Emma Davis
May 10 ETU European Championships (Lisbon, Portugal)
May 25 BG Triathlon World Cup (Madrid, Spain)
June 5-8 ITU Triathlon World Championships (Vancouver, Canada)
Upcoming Events for Gavin Noble
May 10 ETU European Championships (Lisbon, Portugal)
May 18 ITU Triathlon European Cup (Brno, Czech Republic)