Professional triathlete Julie Dibens, an Olympian, holder of four major World Champion titles and a podium finisher at the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, will keynote the TRI-MANIA Summit and Expo, slated for Saturday 28 March at the Zesiger Sports & Fitness Center at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Dibens will also participate with local teams in the swim and indoor bike time trial competitions at the event’s annual TRI-MANIA Team Challenge.
“I know New England is a hot-bed of multisport athletes who like to compete both off-road and on, so I’m really excited for my first visit to the great city of Boston,” said Dibens. “Meeting triathletes and inspiring them to achieve their goals and to try new things is my passion. I’m really looking forward to coming to MIT to mix it up and share tips and stories with Boston-area swimmers, bikers and runners.”
Dibens, one of the few professional multisport athletes who boasts major titles in both road and XTERRA triathlon events, will share stories and training tales on her 2015 journey to compete in the storied Leadville 100 mountain bike race this August, known as one of the most difficult cycling events in the world and an annual draw for some of the world’s top athletes.
Produced by Sun Multisport Events in partnership with the USA Triathlon (USAT) Northeast Regional Council, TRI-MANIA Boston is designed to educate, equip and excite athletes for the coming season. The event features informative seminars, panel discussions, clinics and workshops, competitive events and an expo with nearly 100 exhibitors including multisport clubs, coaches, race directors, health & wellness professionals, and retailers and manufacturers of the latest gear, apparel and nutritional products.
“TRI-MANIA is the definitive season kick-off for a strong community of New England-area triathletes and endurance athletes,” said Mark Walter, Sun Multisport Events owner and TRI-MANIA producer. “Julie is an amazing athlete both on road and off-road and will inspire athletes to find their edge, try new things and get out of their comfort zone.”
Julie Dibens is one of the most versatile and accomplished triathletes in the world having won three consecutive XTERRA World Championship titles (2007, 2008, 2009), the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship title in 2010 and racing on to the podium in her first IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, taking third place in 2010.
In 2011 Dibens won at IRONMAN Coeur D’Alene, setting a record-setting bike course split of 4:52:18, and also took first place at Rev3 Quassy, New Orleans 70.3 and, for the second consecutive year, the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon.
Born in the United Kingdom, Dibens was the British National Champion in triathlon and competed for the UK at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. She came to the US after winning a swimming scholarship to compete at Lousiana State University, where she earned All American honors and earned a Bachelors of Science degree in Kinesoiology and a Masters degree in Exercise Physiology.
With events in the Washington DC and Boston markets, the TRI-MANIA Summit and Expo is the largest pre-season event series developed exclusively for triathletes. The 2015 series is expected to draw 4,500+ attendees. Admission to the TRI-MANIA seminars and vendor expo is free to registered attendees.
Julie Dibens joins a stellar line up of TRI-MANIA speakers, which this year will also feature Mike Reilly, the ‘Voice of IRONMAN’, at its Washington DC event as well as four-time Olympian Sheila Taormina, nutrition expert Brian Shea, endurance sports legend Dave McGillivray and others.
Past TRI-MANIA keynote speakers include three-time IRONMAN World champion Mirinda Carfrae, six-time IRONMAN Champions Dave Scott and Mark Allen, World Champion triathlete and renowned coach Siri Lindley, IRONMAN Champion Timothy O’Donnell and others.
