Triathlon: XTERRA Australia Championship
When: Saturday, April 19, 2008
Where: TBD, Australia
Divisions: Professional, Age-group
Website: www.xterraaustralia.com.au

The popular off-road triathlon race series is headed down under as Australia lands a spot on the XTERRA Global Tour. The tour currently consists of some 20 off-road races in stunning locations around the world, such as Argentina, Saipan, South Africa, Italy, New Zealand, and the United States.

The 2008 XTERRA Australia Championship race will have a professional prize purse and award qualifying spots to the XTERRA World Championship race which takes place in October each year in Hawaii.

A traditional XTERRA off-road triathlon race consists of a 1.5km swim, 30km mountain bike and a 10km trail run. The Australia off-road triathlon championship is set to take place a week after the XTERRA New Zealand race. “The pairing of XTERRA New Zealand and XTERRA Australia on back-to-back weekends in April is very attractive for athletes from all over the world. It’s early Fall in Australia with great racing weather and provides a perfect early season training and racing opportunity.”

The Ironman 70.3 Series is on a roll as it continues its reach around the world with the addition of 2 announced races and 1 yet to be announced race. This will bring the number of races in the half-iron distance series to 27. A Ironman 70.3 triathlon takes athletes on a 1.9km Swim, 90km Bike and 21.1km Run.

Several weeks ago South Africa gained a new triathlon race with the announcement of the Ironman 70.3 South Africa in Buffalo City. Triangle South Africa, the company that puts on the Spec-Savers Ironman South Africa race in Port Elizabeth will also manage the new 70.3 race in East London.

Triathlon: Ironman 70.3 South Africa
When: Sunday, January 13, 2008
Where: Buffalo City (East London), South Africa
Divisions: Professional, Age-group
Website: www.ironman703.co.za

Just last week one of the oldest triathlon races in Chile was re-branded as the Ironman 70.3 Pucón triathlon. Pucón, a word that means "entrance to the mountain range" is a city in Southern Chile which is surrounded by Villarica Lake and the Villarica Volcano. Pucón has been a favorite destination race for professional triathletes for almost two decades.

Triathlon: Ironman 70.3 Pucón
When: Sunday, January 20, 2008
Where: Pucón, Chile
Divisions: Professional, Age-group
Website: triatlon.canal13.cl

This week will we see the announcement for the third 70.3 race to be added to the schedule in a month with the announcement a brand new triathlon race in Ontario, Canada, the Ironman 70.3 Muskoka. This will be the second 70.3 race for Canada; the other race recently took place in Pasadena at the inaugural running of Ironman 70.3 Newfoundland.

Triathlon: Ironman 70.3 Muskoka
When: Sunday September 14, 2008
Where: Huntsville, Ontario, Canada
Divisions: Professional, Age-group, CEO Triathlon Challenge
Website: www.ironmanmuskoka.com


And now for the more... We should see more announcements in the near future for possibly 3 new 70.3 races in North America. It might look something like this, one in the Southeast, one in the Northwest and possibly another one in the Northeast. It's unclear at this time if these will be new triathlons or re-branded races.

Colorado Springs, Colorado (August 9, 2007) - American triathletes will get three chances over the next 10 months to earn a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team at the Beijing Olympic Games in August 2008.

USA Triathlon is pleased to announce that Beijing, China; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Des Moines, Iowa will serve as the three draft-legal events for triathlon's 2008 U.S. Olympic Team selection process.

The triathlon team will have a maximum of three slots per gender based on country and athlete rankings, which will be finalized after the 2008 World Championships in Vancouver.

The 2008 U.S. Olympic Team selection process for triathlon begins September 15-16 at the Beijing World Cup, where the first male and female American athletes to cross the finish line will be awarded spots on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team. The next male and female triathlon team members will be selected in a similar manner at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials at the Honolulu Triathlon on April 26, 2008. The final members of the team will be selected following the Hy- Vee Triathlon in Des Moines on June 22, 2008. These final slots will be determined on a points system that takes into account the athletes' best two finishes over the three races. The points system will also determine the team's male and female alternates.

USAT chose a three-event process because of the unpredictable nature of the sport, where equipment issues, tactics, environmental conditions, injury or illness can all affect an athlete's performance. By spreading the qualification across three races, consistency is rewarded and the best team will be selected.

The events were chosen based on the challenge they will present to the athletes and the similarity in course features and conditions they offer to the Olympic race venue. They will be open to both U.S. and international competitors, but only U.S. citizens who carry a USA Triathlon elite license are eligible to make the U.S. Olympic Team.

We as amateurs don't often get opportunities like this in the sport of triathlon, so if you are you looking for your 15 minutes of fame and more, well then here is your chance.

Triathlete Magazine is currently looking for a few good men and women interested in participating in the publication's swimsuit edition. If you think you have what it takes besides giving it 100% on race day, then you might want to TRI this. The magazine is currently accepting applications from triathletes for the job. If you are interested in being considered then you will need the following:

1. Photos of you in a swimsuit
2. A racing / training photo
3. A brief bio describing your life and your triathlon experience

Read the article to see how you can email your application materials to the magazine.
Model search for 2008 Triathlete Magazine Swimsuit Edition

Last year's swimsuit edition was shot in Jamaica.

It appears that the new and innovative Triathlon One O One Series, which was announced last year and had four scheduled races in 2007, has been cancelled indefinitely as stated on their website. It appears that there are no plans to continue the Triathlon One O One series in 2008. The Triathlon One O One Series tried to build a new niche in the long distance triathlon market with a race that totaled 101 miles, or roughly 3/4 of an iron-distance race. The initial roll-out only included races in North America but the plans were to expand the series internationally. Only two of the four scheduled events to take place this year actually became a reality, Bradenton and Clear Lake.

This race attracted quality pros to the two races it was able to produce with a nice overall prize purse and a huge $10,000 check for first place. David Thompson and Leanda Cave took first place at both of the races staged.

It’s sad to see this but the new triathlon series seemed to be plagued from the start. It initially had problems getting permits for the inaugural series race in Bradenton, Florida. Besides that, it was unable to secure more than 200 participants for the initial race. The race in Clear Lake, California seemed to go off without a hitch, but again it had low participants numbers. Then the Halifax, Nova Scotia race was postponed for a year, it was stated that it was related to the departure of the race director. The only other One O One scheduled to take place this year was the series championship in The Woodlands, Texas in November and now that’s gone. The race showed signs of life with the the addition of new race distances, the opening of registration for the 2008 race in Clear Lake, California and rumors of a One O One option being added to the Spirit of Racine race in Racine, Wisconsin.