Olympic silver and bronze medallists, Jonathan Brownlee and Vicky Holland have been named as part of the Great Britain squad for the Accenture World Triathlon Mixed Relay Nottingham along with Commonwealth bronze medallist, Marc Austin and former World Champion, Non Stanford.
The overall British squad of six athletes is well-decorated, also including double Commonwealth Champion, Jodie Stimpson and Tom Bishop who helped Great Britain to mixed relay gold at the 2016 European Championships.
Nottingham’s Victoria Embankment is expected to come to life on the evening of Thursday 7 June, as national squads from the world’s top 18 triathlon nations line up at 6:30pm in front of thousands of spectators. They’ll battle for the top step of the podium, and all important Olympic qualification points for Tokyo 2020. Mixed relay squads will comprise two men and two women, with the final team selections being made in the immediate hours prior to the event.
A relatively new racing format to enjoy, mixed relay is fast and thrilling, with athletes racing over much shorter distances than spectators are used to seeing. With the action taking place in little over an hour’s time, the event is hoping to attract families, sports fans and those completely new to triathlon to the Embankment for an evening on non-stop entertainment.
Jonathan Brownlee, Olympic silver medallist, said: “The addition of mixed relay to the Olympic programme in 2020 is massive for our sport. It’s exciting, fast paced and extremely spectator friendly, and I’m sure Nottingham will put on a fantastic show.”
Andy Salmon, British Triathlon CEO, said: “We are thrilled to announce a strong British squad for the very first Accenture World Triathlon Mixed Relay Nottingham. With an additional Olympic medal now on offer in Tokyo in two years’ time, it’s clear to see the level of importance nations have put on mixed relay and it’s fantastic to be able to showcase this to an engaged Nottingham audience.”
Jon Collins, Leader of Nottingham City Council, said: “This is a chance to see some of the best triathletes in the world, including Jonathan Brownlee and Vicky Holland. It’s not often we get a world class events with world class athletes of this calibre in the city, and last year’s event shows how exciting relay triathlons actually are. It might be a Thursday evening, but this will be a great event for people to come and see, whether its standing around the course for free or paying a bit extra for grandstand seats.”
Aside from the elite action, there’s plenty to enjoy on the Embankment in three weeks’ time. With face painting, a pre-event parade and local mascot race to keep families entertained, there are also food and drink stalls dotted around the course for those that simply want to sit back and soak up the atmosphere.
Tickets are still on sale for the grandstand, allowing the best view of the stars from the moment they dive into the River Trent, all the way to the finish line. Starting at £13.50 (plus booking fee), they can be purchased at Nottingham.triathlon.org/tickets.
For those wanting a taster of the course themselves, a number of mass participation race opportunities are taking place from 1:15pm the same day. Whether you want to team up as a trio and take on a discipline each, or tackle to entire course yourself, book your spot on the start line before entries close at midnight Wednesday 23 May at Nottingham.triathlon.org.
The Accenture World Triathlon Mixed Relay Nottingham is being organised by British Triathlon, in partnership with Accenture, Nottingham City Council, UK Sport, the ITU and OSB Events.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Emma Cluley on 07587 038061 or emmacluley@britishtriathlon.org. Please visit https://www.britishtriathlon.org/media for British athlete profiles, free images* and general information about triathlon. *Please refer to image use restrictions in the gallery section of the site (https://www.britishtriathlonmedia.org/media/licence)
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British Triathlon is the Governing Body for the sport in Great Britain. It is responsible for raising the profile and delivering elite performance for Triathlon, Paratriathlon, Duathlon and Aquathlon in Great Britain. Triathlon is a fast growing, dynamic and modern Olympic and Paralympic sport with talented world class athletes, coaches and support staff, focused around delivering world-class success and inspiring participation.
Visit www.britishtriathlon.org/media for downloadable image galleries, detailed athlete profiles, results, stats and information.
UK Sport is the nation’s high performance sports agency responsible for the strategic investment of National Lottery and Exchequer funding into Olympic and Paralympic sports and bringing major sporting events to the UK. Events already secured include the 2018 Women’s Hockey World Cup, 2019 Netball World Cup and 2019 UCI Road World Championships. www.uksport.gov.uk/events
The ITU is the world governing body for the Olympic sport of triathlon and all related MultiSport disciplines. ITU is proudly committed to supporting the development of the sport worldwide through strong relationships with continental and national federations, working with its partners to offer a balanced sport development programme from grassroots to a high performance level. www.triathlon.org