5,000 Plus triathletes expected to converge on Cleveland this weekend for the USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships. The event features two national championship races over two days at Edgewater Park.
USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships
The Olympic-Distance National Championships, set for 7 a.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 11, will cover a 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike and 10-kilometer run. The Sprint National Championships, which feature a 750m swim, 20k bike and 5k run, will begin at 7 a.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 12.
In addition to chasing national titles, athletes will also compete for coveted spots on USA Triathlon’s Team USA, comprised of the nation’s top amateur athletes who represent the U.S. at ITU Age Group World Championship events. At Olympic-Distance Nationals, the top 18 finishers in each age group rolling down to 25th place, will earn the right to represent Team USA at the 2019 ITU Standard-Distance Age Group World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Sprint-distance competitors must finish in the top eight of their age groups to make Team USA for the Sprint World Championships.
Bad Water in Lake Erie
Currently, Cleveland.com is reporting: Edgewater Beach will likely reopen Thursday after Northeast Ohio Sewer District test results revealed safe bacteria levels.
The beach was closed Tuesday and Wednesday after a combined sewer overflow late Monday night drained 130,000 gallons of combined sewage and wastewater into Lake Erie. The district tested the water twice a day since then to check if it was safe to swim.
The news comes just before 5,000 athletes are expected to arrive in Cleveland this weekend for the USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships.
About USA Triathlon
First held in 1983, this event regularly draws athletes from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The size of the field has more than tripled since 2010, making Age Group Nationals consistently one of the top-five largest triathlons in the United States. This year’s race will draw near-record participation, as more than 4,000 athletes are registered with a month to go until race day. The largest participation to date took place in 2014, when 5,789 athletes registered to race in Milwaukee.
