With one week to go before the opening of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, the International Triathlon Union is excited to announce the Youth Men and Women's Triathlon starting grids, welcoming 32 men and 32 women from 42 nations from six continents. The athletes' start numbers were decided by a draw attended by Olympic champions Simon Whitfield (CAN), Jan Frodeno (GER) and Emma Snowsill (AUS).
Also participating in the draw were Emma Moffatt (AUS), Emmie Charayron (FRA), Mariko Adachi (JPN), Sarah Haskins (USA), Alistair Brownlee (GBR), Jonathan Brownlee (GBR), Bevan Docherty (NZL), and Jarrod Shoemaker (USA). ITU recently released a video clip of the draw, which is available on triathlon.org as well as on YouTube.
A complete list of the start numbers is on triathlon.org (Click to see Women's Start List / Men's Start List).
The triathlon events at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games will be held in Singapore's East Coast Park, the largest and most popular of Singapore's public beaches. The women's event will take place on the first day of the Games, at 9am on 15 August. As the opening event of the games, the winner of the women's contest will be awarded the first-ever Youth Olympic Games gold medal. The men's race will take place on the following day, 16 August. Athletes competing in both the men's and women's races will complete a sprint-distance triathlon (750-metre swim, 20K bike, 5K run).
A 4 x mixed relay triathlon will take place on 19 August, marking the first time the format has been featured at a Major Games. Teams will be made up of two women and two men from each continent. Each of the four participants in the relay will compete a 250-metre swim, 7K bike and 1.7K run before tagging a team member to begin the next segment.
