Great Britain’s Jodie Swallow and Julie Dibens both won world triathlon titles at the weekend.
28 year old Swallow became the fourth British women in a row to win the International Triathlon Union (ITU) long course World Championships title in Perth, Australia.
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She crossed the line in 4:07:38 after a 3km swim, 80km cycle ride and 20km run. She was more than 11 minutes ahead of Australia’s Rebakah Keat.
Swallow is a former World Student Games gold medalist, World Junior Athlete of the Year and also competed in the Athens Olympics.
She follows in the footsteps of fellow Brits Bella Bayliss in 2006, Leanda Cave in 2007 and Chrissie Wellington in 2008.
Swallow said, “Everything came together really well for me out there so I couldn’t be happier.
“I went to the Olympics [in Athens] and that was a tough experience but you learn and you move on, so to come back and win a World Championship is very pleasing.”
Thirty four year old Dibens won the Xterra off-road title for a third year in a row. Held in Hawaii the event encompasses a 1.5km swim, a 32km mountain bike that climbs 3,000 feet and a 12 km trail run that traverses lava rock, forest trails, and beach sand.
Dibens successfully defended her title with a time of 2:56:42, more than 7 minutes ahead of runner-up Lesley Paterson of Scotland. Dibens led from start to finish and is the first athlete, male or female, to win the race three times in a row.
These two wins mean that Britain now has five triathlon world champions. In addition to Swallow and Dibens, Hollie Avil is the under-23 world champion, Sophie Coleman holds the world junior title in duathlon and Alistair Brownlee won the World Championships over the standard Olympic distance.
In addition to the five champions recognised by the ITU, Chrissie Wellington is the reigning world champion in the women’s Ironman event, organised by the commercial World Triathlon Corporation.
Louise Hudson, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
