Triathlon News & Notes: Ruth Astle to Pace Kat Matthews in Sub8, Details on the Challenge, and First WTCS Races of the Year

This article originally appeared on Triathlete

Brits take top steps at WTCS Yokohama

Great Britain's Georgia Taylor Brown and Alex Yee won the women's and men's race respectively at Saturday's World Triathlon Championship Series Yokohama. The races were star-studded on both sides, with many of the world's best draft-legal athletes racing in wet conditions on a technical course. In the women's race, Taylor Brown won a battle for the podium in the late throes of the run, outdistancing France's Leonie Periault and Olympic gold medalist Flora Duffy of Bermuda (the top five were separated by less than 30 seconds). The men's race was also close, with Yee using his track star speed to outkick New Zealand's Hayden Wilde by 10 seconds. While no Americans podiumed, the women fared well with Taylor Knibb, Taylor Spivey, and Kirsten Kasper placing sixth, eighth, and ninth. The top American male was Kevin McDowell in tenth.

Ruth Astle says she has "no doubt" about Sub8 Challenge

British long-distance pro Ruth Astle, who will be a pacer for countrywoman Kat Matthews in next month's Sub8 Challenge shared a confident prediction for the event's outcome in a Q&A this week. "I have no doubt we will break eight hours; the question is just how fast we will go and how much can we beat Nicola and her team by," Astle shared, adding that it's an honor to pace for Matthews, whom she calls a "great friend." For her part, Astle, who finished fifth last weekend at the Ironman World Championships, will help pace Matthews on the 112-mile bike ride, and shared earlier this month that she may also "jump in for a bit of the run just to keep Kat entertained," depending on how her legs feel after the bike.

Mary Cain wins Bridget Inspires Grant from USAT Foundation

Mary Cain, the running phenom who recently announced her plans to turn pro in triathlon, is one of the recipients of the 2022 Bridget Inspires Grant, the USA Triathlon Foundation shared this week. The grant, named in memory of Bridget Dawson, an accomplished age-group athlete who passed away in 2016, provides funding to young women pursuing competitive success in triathlon. Cain is among three recipients of the Bridget Inspires Grant; the others are the Dialed Juniors Triathlon Team in Camas, Washington, and Swim Bike Run 4 Equality Foundation in San Antonio, Texas. The grant is part of $100,000 awarded by USAT Foundation to multisport athletes, programs, and initiatives in 2022.

RELATED: Running Phenom Mary Cain Makes Move to Triathlon

Watch the Herbalife24 Triathlon Los Angeles Live on Sunday

Pro triathletes Lionel Sanders, Sam Long, Heather Jackson, and Haley Chura (a last-minute replacement for Holly Lawrence), as well as Paralympians Allysa Seely and Chris Hammer are among the headliners in Sunday's Herbalife24 Triathlon Los Angeles Pro-Am race. The new event, which will be part of the Olympic-distance race, is hosted by the Pro Triathletes Organization (PTO) and will feature an athlete from the Challenged Athlete Foundation in the 1500m swim, a pro triathlete on the 40km bike leg, and then an amateur running 10km. You can watch it all, including the stand-alone pro race, on the stream on Triathlete here or on Outside Watch or the Outside app. (Available live for all, and available as on-demand replays for Outside+ members.)

RELATED: Watch Here: L.A. Triathlon and the First-Ever Pro-Am Race

Ibiza to host 2023 Multisport World Championships

Ibiza has been named as the host for 2023's 10-day World Triathlon Multisport Championships, scheduled to take place from April 29 to May 7. A festival of races, the event will include the aquathlon, duathlon, triathlon, cross duathlon, long distance triathlon, and aquabike. Age-groupers, juniors, elites, and paratriathletes will all compete for world titles, at events staged in three different locations on the Spanish island, known for its thriving nightlife and stunning coastlines.

Varlo Apparel launches mentorship program

With the help of Sika Henry, the first first African-American female professional triathlete, apparel brand Varlo Sports has launched a mentorship program with Naugatuck Triathlon Team in Connecticut. The team, currently composed of three African American high school students aiming to diversify triathlons will be sporting the same Varlo tri kit Henry wears in their races this season, and they'll also benefit from a mentorship program with Varlo pro athletes, which includes Lara Gruden and Lisa Becharas. “As a brand, it’s essential that we do our part to help grow the sport of triathlon and provide pathways for newcomers and emerging athletes,” said Varlo founder Soj Jibowu.

Kids Day races will be free at Boston Triathlon

The Boston Triathlon and Amazon have teamed up to offer complimentary entry into both the Splash & Dash (ages 7 to 15) and Kids Fun Run (ages 7 and under) this July. Kids Day, part of the Boston Triathlon weekend, is focused on encouraging youth participation in multisport and will be held on July 23 at Carson Beach in South. Click here for more details and registration information.

Podcast Notes

• The Triathlete Hour wraps up the Ironman World Championships in their latest; with on-the-ground interviews and some perspective on how the event stacked up compared to Kona.

• Triathlete's managing editor Emma-Kate Lidbury heads to the Tower 26 podcast to chat about her recent experiment with Norwegian style of training, including double threshold workout days, long easy runs, and lactate testing.

• Hear from the man behind the Sub7-Sub8 Challenge and Super League himself, Chris McCormack on the World Triathlon Podcast. The World Triathlon and Ironman world champion offers some insight into his latest ventures, including how he thinks the challenge will go down (spoiler: Norway's Kristian Blummenfelt is aiming for a 2:20 marathon and will be paced by champion marathoners from Kenya).

• Alyssa Godesky answers listener questions ranging from coming back from COVID to imposter syndrome on the latest episode of IronWomen.

• That Triathlon Life touches on coping with failed triathlon workouts, staying calm in open water, and offers a quick recap on the Ironman World Champs.

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