Elite triathletes to battle it out in Tiszaujvaros

(BEIJING, July 9) -- Tiszaujvaros, which lies in the northern part of Hungary, will stage the ninth stop of the Triathlon World Cup series. This is the 12th time that the event will be hosted by the town.

The elite women start at 10:30 a.m. while the elite men start at 1:30 p.m. The Tiszaujvaros event is a favorite to many top triathletes.

After winning silver in Hamburg last week, Australian Felicity Abram will certainly be in the hunt for gold. She has yet to win a world cup title, but has had three podium finishes in the World Cup this year.

German Anja Dittmer, the winner of the Tiszaujvaros stop in 2003 and 2004, will be in the field this Saturday after finishing fourth in Hamburg last week. British veteran Andrea Whitcombe, Brazilian Mariana Ohata, Czech Vendula Frintova and American Sarah Groff are also prospects for gold. The home team consists of eight women, including Zita Szabo, Hungary's only qualifier for Beijing 2008.

The men's competition features world No. 1 Spaniard Javier Gomez and his Australian rival Brad Kahlefeldt who finished second to Gomez in Mooloolaba and New Plymouth earlier this year. Both Gomez and Kahlefeldt are past winners of Tiszaujvaros, in 2007 and 2006 respectively.

As the reigning champion of the Tiszaujvaros stop, Gomez has captured three world cup titles this year. He also netted the World Championships in Vancouver on June 8.

Also joining the competition will be another favorite, Dmitriy Gaag of Kazakhstan. He has had five podium finishes in Tiszaujvaros since 1998.

Czech Martin Krnavek, who finished first at Tiszaujvaros in 2000 and 2001, will also be participating.