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Collegiate Club Nationals Head to Clemson
Top Collegiate Triathlon Talent Featured in Three Events
More than 1,000 triathletes from 120 collegiate clubs will make their way to Clemson, South Carolina, on April 24-25 for the 2015 USA Triathlon Collegiate Club National Championships, held at Campus Beach and Lake Hartwell.
Races get underway on Friday, April 24, at 9 a.m. ET, kicking off with the third annual USA Triathlon Draft-Legal Collegiate Championships. The format is similar to International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Triathlon Series and World Cup races, with athletes competing on a 750-meter swim, 20.8-kilometer draft-legal bike, 5-kilometer run course. Up to 75 men and 75 women who qualified for spots through their respective clubs and USA Triathlon's 10 collegiate conferences will be on the start list.
The traditional Olympic-distance 1,500m swim, 40k bike, 10k run USA Triathlon Collegiate Club National Championships will take place on Saturday, April 25. The field is capped at 1,400 participants. The men will race first, with waves beginning at 7:30 a.m. ET, and the women will follow with the first wave scheduled to start at 10:40 a.m. ET. A paratriathlon open wave, which will follow a sprint-distance course, will also take place April 25, beginning at 9:45 a.m. ET.
Following the Olympic-distance event, the fourth edition of the Mixed Team Relay event will be contested with 50 relay teams, scheduled for 4:15 p.m. ET on April 25. Teams are comprised of four athletes (two men and two women), with each athlete covering a 250m swim, 6k bike, 1.25k run course. Mixed team relay events have been gaining popularity in the U.S. and worldwide as the ITU pushes for the format to be a possible addition to the program at future Olympic Games.
Qualified athletes may compete in both the draft-legal and Olympic-distance Collegiate National Championship events, and both races will count toward the overall team scores. Winners of individual races as well as all team standings will be announced at the award ceremony, scheduled for 8 p.m. ET at D.W. Daniel High School.
The University of Colorado enters 2015 Collegiate Club Nationals with five consecutive years as the defending overall team champion. The Buffs also captured the men's team title a year ago at the event in Tempe, Arizona, while UCLA claimed the victory in the women's team event to finish as the second team overall. Colorado's Rudy Von Berg and UCLA's Liz Noey contributed to their team's overall points score with wins in the Olympic-distance event, while Ian Boggs from Indiana and Taylor Spivey from Cal Poly claimed Draft-Legal Collegiate Championship wins.
Visit usatriathlon.org/usatcn15 for complete Collegiate Club Nationals information.
About USA Triathlon: USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon, as well as duathlon, aquathlon, aquabike, winter triathlon, off-road triathlon and paratriathlon in the United States. Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon sanctions more than 4,300 races and connects with nearly 500,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work with athletes, coaches and race directors on the grassroots level, USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. USA Triathlon is a proud member of the ITU and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).
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