could it be new zealand for men?
Hmmm, good question. It might look something like this depending on how you decide:
- New Zealand.
- Germany.
- Australia.
- Canada.
- United States.
Thatâs just a ten second guess off the top of my head.
CanadaâŚshu nuff eh!
Current Oly Champ (male), and current Hawaii Ironman Champs (male & female).
t~
When I conjured up Canada I had images of Simon Whitfield and the other notable cannucks.
I tend to agree with Francois. You missed women Short Course. Iâd put Aussie women in the lead, although the US women are pretty darn fast too !
Big Call Bro!! - - maybe per head capita?? Although some stand out performances from the Kiwi Boys: Hamish Carter (mista consistency) Bevan Docherty (look out in Athens!) Cam Brown has stamped his authority on IMNZ & has placed top 3 three in his last 3 IMH appearences, is this year gonna be his year?? As for the ladies, Erin baker set such a bench mark early on, and no ones has been close since. Lynley Allison and Jo Lawn are threatening though, canât wait to see how Jo goes at IMH this year! One to look out for in the future for Oly D races is Terrenzo Bozzone, Two time world junior tri & Du champ.
i think youâll find nz elite mens team was the best team at itu worlds. nz certainly has some of the most consistent tris.
How can you not say short course women = USA?
Lindquist, Taormina, Reback ranked #1, 2, and 3.
Now that the elites have been hashed out what about age groupers which may be a bit harder to do. I have been told that at ITU NZ the older ag men took the lion share of the honors. I hope noone says so because agâers are the heart and sole of the sport.
As to the best age groupers, having spent a summer in the Geneva area, I would vote for Switzerland. The number of races, quality of organization, and depth of talent is phenomenal. It is no suprise to me that two of the women medalling at the last Olympics came from Switzerland.
im pretty sure nz has about 5 age gpers who took out first in mens at itu worlds. kieran doe, who has switched to ironman, terrenzo bozzoneâŚand all the oldies.
Country with the best triathletes. Define your criteria. Non-drafting or drafting. Personally, no country has the best triathletes, because there are two many variables involved such as do other pro sport take away huge numbers of potential talent pool ie. Canada and ice hockey, Britain and football, France cycling and football, etc⌠Other factors include climate, in Canada training year round is much harder than in say Australia or in the southern American states. With that pickiness said.
Current best short course non-drafting or drafting overall:
Male:without a doubt, Craig Walton can and does beat the best in either format. Look for him to dominate long course soon if he learns a lesson from Macca and doesnât try to do both. As a Canadian, I cheer for Whitfield, but as a complete triathlete, Whitfield doesnât compare.
Female: Barb Lindquist basically same reasons as Walton, but Taormina is a close second.
Current best long course overall:
Male: Peter Reid and Tim Deboom tied. Peter has more Ironman Hawaii wins and more total Ironman wins, but isnât as consistent a winner throughout the season. Timâs season last year was great with the exception of his Hawii DNFâdue to passing a kidney stone. However, Tim races a pretty light season relative to other competitors which in makes him appear to be the weaker than Peter. On the other hand Peter ran a phenomal race to win his first IRMN Hawaii vitcory in the extremely difficult conditions of 2001 where Peter DNFâd. On a final note, I would give McCormack the nod given his talent and his abilities as a complete triathlete, but until he wins on the big island, I dontâ think I will give him the nod.
Pretty Good for a ten second guess but would have to think about UK (Well race for UK anyway!)
Lessing, AJ, Tim Don: Male Short Course (Plus Glenn Cook etc in past)
Leanda Cave, Michelle Dillon, Jodie Swallow, Andrea Whitcombe: Female Short Course
Spencer Smith, Lessing @ IMLP (Question why is everybody concentrating on Walton, rather than Lessing - he has already won Nice, you know!) Mens Long Course
Bella Comerford: Womenâs Long Course
OK after writing this I realsie that UK might be in a pack overall with France and Spain, but there you go!
Two points:
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Didnât Danish men go 1,2,3 at World Long Course a couple of years back ?
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France has awesome depth and great age groupers. Theyâre just not interested in competing at Worlds.
Ross.
I think the UK should be well up there. We regulary place 3 women in the top 10 (short course) and men these days. Long course isnât as hot but wait until Lessing goes this year. Personally, the only thing that irritates me is that half our tri guys are all ex Australians. This âathlete moving to another country on a dual passportâ thing really winds me up.
being french, I wish French cycling was in good shape but since Jajaâs retirement, itâs nowhere to be seenâŚ
there are a few young guns quite promising (Chavanel, and some others) but they have to mature yet.
For soccer you are right, but then I donât like soccer anyway 
no worries francois, as long as you got clean guys like moncutie, itâs worth a lot more than those cheaters e.g. moreau. the germans had a strong spring, but thereâs doubt left.
as for triathletes - (to not be offtopic)
long male: germans pro and AG
short male: kiwi pros
bevan docherty wins athens.
cheers
uli
- Didnât Danish men go 1,2,3 at World Long Course a couple of years back ? <<
Wait until this year. I think you will see the Swedes on the podium at LCWs.
clm
Us Danes ALLWAYS beat the Swedes in any sport ! Soccer, Triahtlon etcâŚ
OK - Icehockey might be a âsmallâ exception.