Manama, June 6 (BNA): Following the directives of HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and President of Bahrain Olympic Committee, Bahrain Endurance 13 “Elite” Team members take part in triathlon and endurance championships in three different continents this week.
James Cunnama is first up as he toes the line at the Coral Coast 5150 in Queensland, Australia. Fresh off a heavy training block in Thailand with his coach and Bahrain Endurance 13 Team director Chris “Macca” McCormack, James will be spoiling for action as he tunes up for Ironman Cairns next week.
Two of the team’s world champions will be competing in Europe less than four hours’ drive away from each other. Daniela Ryf, the Ironman 70.3 world champion, is defending her title at Ironman 70.3 Switzerland. The race held in Rapperswil-Jona has been won by Swiss women since 2010. Last year, Daniela won this race in 4:00:14, beating the runner-up by 12 minutes.
At the same time, ironman world champion Sebastian Kienle is on the start list at the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Kraichgau in Germany. He won the 2012 Long-Distance European Triathlon Championship on the same course, and won this event last year when it was held as a Challenge race.
Kienle considers Kraichgau his home race and will be hungry for victory on Sunday. He said, “After I had to withdraw from 70.3 St.George I’m excited about the 70.3 Kraichgau. I do a lot of bike training on the race course, since I live just 20 minutes away. The race is also very important for me on the way to defend my title in Frankfurt. I need some races to get the last bit of performance.”
On the other side of the world, Bahrain Endurance 13 Team members Ben Hoffman and Josh Amberger are in San Francisco for the legendary Escape from Alcatraz race.
The historic race is in its 35th year, and Hoffman and Amberger will be looking to take the title from defending champion Andy Potts, who has won the race six times. They will have received some sage advice from team director Macca, who has won Alcatraz four times.
Hoffman is coming off Ironman Texas. He says, “Escape from Alcatraz has always been on my radar as one that I wanted to do, so I am excited to go and see what it’s all about. It’s been a while since I have raced a shorter distance event like this, so it will be good fun to mix it up in such a historic venue. With it being 3 weeks after Ironman, I’m not entirely sure how the body will respond, but I will give everything I have on the day.”
on his part, Amberger said, “Escape from Alcatraz is my favorite race. The unique distance, course and location combine to make it an unbelievable race experience despite being one of the toughest short course events on the map. My body is ready for the challenge, and I’m only too keen to jump off that boat into the icy bay waters.”
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BNA 1817 GMT 2015/06/06