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Americans Head to Portugal for Next World Cup
By Jason Mucher // USA Triathlon // May 4, 2007
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Jarrod Shoemaker of Sudbury, Mass., headlines a large American contingent in Lisbon this weekend for the third stop of the 2007 BG Triathlon World Cup series. They will be among a host of international athletes from 34 countries battling for US$100,000 prize purse and valuable Olympic points as the race to qualify for Beijing continues.
Leading the American charge is Shoemaker, the 2005 Under23 World Champion. He’s coming off a 10th place finish in the last World Cup in Ishigaki, Japan which propelled him to number 15 in the world rankings.
In the women’s field, Joanna Zeiger of Boulder, Colo., is among the contenders again and will race in her first World Cup since 2005. She was a bronze medalist at the 2001 World Championships and finished just off the podium at the 2000 Olympics. This year Zeiger is back on the ITU circuit and back in winning form after claiming two Pan American Cups in 2007. Heidi Grimm is another American to watch as the Army Lt. Col. makes her ITU World Cup debut in Lisbon. After winning the World Military Championships and the Armed Forces Championships in 2006, she won bronze earlier this year at the La Paz Pan American Cup. Her fellow Armed Forces Champion, Timothy O’Donnell, will also compete in his first World Cup of 2007.
Americans in the 2007 Lisbon BG Triathlon World Cup are:
Jarrod Shoemaker (Sudbury, Mass.) – 2005 Under-23 World Champion
Matthew Seymour (Honolulu Hawaii) – 7th place at 2006 Under23 World Championships
Manuel Huerta (Colorado Springs, Colo.) – 2 career Pan American Cup podium finishes
Timothy O’Donnell (Colorado Springs, Colo.) – 4 career Continental Cup top ten finishes
Joanna Zeiger (Boulder, Colo.) – 2000 Olympian, 5 career World Cup podium finishes
Sarah Haskins (St. Louis, Mo.) – 2nd ranked American in 2006 year-end rankings
Rebecah Wassner (New York, N.Y.) – bronze medalist at 2006 Pan American Championships
Amanda Stevens (Enid, Okla.) – 2 Pan American Cup top five finishes in 2007
Heidi Grimm (Fort Lewis, Wash.) – 2006 World Military Triathlon Champion
Mary Beth Ellis (Boulder, Colo.) – 1 Pan American Cup win in 2006
After competing and winning World Cup races around the globe, Portuguese sensation Vanessa Fernandes comes home to compete on home soil. After claiming her 15th World Cup win in Ishigaki, she continues to chase triathlon history and is certain to thrill the local crowds. Fernandes is tied for second among all-time World Cup winners. This race marks the first time Lisbon will be home to World Cup triathlon.
Full race results and race report will be available immediately after the event (Sunday morning in the U.S.).
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