Schulz continues triathlon dominance in Italy

The German PT4 para-triathlete followed up his European Championship title with another victory in Italy. 21 Jul 2015

A para-triathlete closes his eyes as he crosses the finish line and raises the finish line banner up in the air.

Germany's Martin Schulz hopes to qualify for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games

ⒸDelly Carr | ITU

By IPC

Germany’s Martin Schulz continued to show strong form, taking the men’s PT4 event at the Iseo - Franciacorta International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Para-Triathlon Event on Saturday (18 July) in Italy.

Schulz clocked the fastest time for para-triathletes on the course that day with 1:04.01, finishing ahead of Spain’s second-place finisher Jairo Lopez (1:06.19). Russia’s Alexander Yalchik (1:08.29) followed up in third.

Schulz’s victory came about a week after claiming the European Championships in Geneva, Switzerland. It is also his second ITU World Para-Triathlon Event win in the year, making him a strong favourite for September’s World Triathlon Grand Final in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

The men’s PT2 was tightly contested, with Russia’s Vasily Egorov edging France’s Stephane Bahier (1:15.26) for the gold in 1:15.19. Italy’s Michele Ferrarin came in third at 1:17.17.

A strong swim helped the Netherlands’ Geert Schipper cruise to the PT1 victory in 1:09.02. Meanwhile, a matter of nano-seconds decided the second and third-place finishers, with Italy’s Giovanni Achenza (1:12.20) beating out Great Britain’s Joseph Townsend (1:12.55).

France’s Arnaud Grandjean looked strong in the running portion, which was enough to win the men’s PT5 category in 1:14.48. Great Britain’s Iain Dawson came in second in 1:15.51, and Italy’s Federico Sicura followed up in 1:22.06.

Austria’s Oliver Dreier won the PT3 event in 1:16.17.

Australia’s Katie Kelly clocked the fastest time for the women para-triathletes, winning the PT5 category in 1:17.33. Spain’s Susana Rodriguez finished second in 1:18.01, and Hungary’s Zsofia Lengyel came in third in 1:28.09.

France’s Gwladys Lemoussu (1:21.25) had no trouble winning the women’s PT4 event. Hungary’s Petra Levay took the silver in 1:31.29, and USA’s Sara Koehnke followed up in 1:43.04.

The Netherlands’ Saskia Van Den Ouden captured the women’s PT2 category in 1:33.46, while Finland’s Liisa Lilja (1:37.14) edged France’s Elise Marc (1:37.51) for silver.

Great Britain’s Lizzie Tench (1:33.46) took home the women’s PT1 event.

Next up is the Rio de Janeiro ITU World Para-Triathlon Event in August, which will mimic the Paralympic Games course as the sport prepares to debut at Rio 2016.

For complete results of the Iseo – Franciacorta ITU World Para-Triathlon Event, visit the ITU’s website.