The ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Chicago is kicking off this week, from 15-19 September, with more than 6,500 triathletes from 64 countries set to compete. As the racing action gets under way, the International Triathlon Union (ITU) has released a number of facts and figures to showcase some of the headline numbers:
- 2 – Number of athletes on the #DriveFor5 World Championship titles. Javier Gomez could own five after Chicago, which would be more ITU World Championships titles in Olympic distance than anyone ever. He is also responsible for four of the five elite men’s World Championship titles that have been won by Spain. Bill Chaffey could also become the first paratriathlete to win five paratri titles.
- 3 – US cities that have hosted a World Triathlon Series race. Previous host sites included Washington DC and San Diego.
- 4 – Days of competition during the World Triathlon Grand Final Chicago.
- 5 – Paratriathlon sport classes contesting the aquathlon & triathlon World Championships.
- 7 – People being inducted into the ITU Hall of Fame on 17 September. Inductees include Emma Snowsill, Michellie Jones, Vanessa Fernades, Hamish Carter, Peter Robertson, Simon Whitfield and Chiharu Igaya.
- 10 – Amount of times British men have won elite World Championship titles, which is four more than Australia with six. Alistair Brownlee was responsible for two of those.
- 14 – Elite women’s World Championship titles won by Australia, nine more than the US which is ranked second with five.
- 18 – Average temperature in Celsius in Chicago during September.
- 35 – Elite, U23 & Junior World Championship titles that Australia has won, which is 8 more than second-ranked Great Britain.
- 64 – Countries represented at the World Triathlon Grand Final Chicago.
- 85 – World Championship titles to be decided in Chicago.
- 90 – Age of the oldest competitor this week, competing in the men’s 90-94 Sprint Distance World Championships.
- 225 – Points separating Javier Gomez and Mario Mola in the World Championship title hunt.
- 300 – Points separating Gwen Jorgensen and Katie Zaferes as they race for the women’s world title.
- 3,783 – Age group athletes competing in Sprint and Olympic distance World Championship races.
- 2,695,598 – Inhabitants within Chicago’s city limits.
The City of Chicago joined the ITU World Triathlon Series in 2014 and will host the 2015 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final and World Championships in September 2015. Chicago will welcome 150 of the world’s top Olympic-distance triathletes as they compete for a world championship title less than a year prior to the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games.
In addition to the elite races, the event features top-flight sprint and Olympic-distance races for age-group athletes, paratriathletes, juniors and under-23s, as well as an aquathlon to kick off the action. In all, more than 8,000 of the world’s best triathletes will compete for world titles over five days of competition.
The ITU World Triathlon Grand Final and World Championships are hosted by USA Triathlon, the National Governing Body for the sport of triathlon in the United States, and Lagardère Unlimited Events North America. Launched in 2009, the ITU World Triathlon Series is televised in more than 160 countries.
