San Diego sports medicine doctor John Martinez, MD is in Madrid, Spain this week as part of the medical staff with the USA Triathlon elite men and women teams racing in the second of eight World Championships Series triathlon races.
Follow along with his daily updates on TriathlonDoctor.com and some behind-the-scenes looks at the USA Triathlon team as U.S. Olympians Jarrod Shoemaker and Sarah Haskins lead the men and women's team with Mark Frett, Joe Umphenour, Sarah Groff and Mary Beth Ellis proudly representing the Stars and Stripes in what should prove to be an exciting race this Sunday, May 31st.
Follow the triathlon with live coverage at www.triathlon.org or on your local Universal Sports TV in the United States.
Triathlon hotbed Tuscaloosa, Alabama was home to the 2008 USA Triathlon Olympic Trials today. The elite women's race featured a tight competition, with the top three finishers separated by just over 30 seconds between first and third.
Elite Women's Results
1. Julie Swail Ertel - 2:02:21 2. Sarah Haskins - 2:02:50 3. Sarah Groff - 2:02:59
The top three women all came out of the water together at 19:21 just behind swim leader Sara McLarty at 19:09. The 40k bike also saw the eventual top three turning in almost similar bike splits (1:06:39 to 1:06:43).
Julie Swail Ertel was able to pull away on the run with a 35:19 10km run split (about a 5:40 min/mile) while Sarah Haskins clocked a 35:42 and Sarah Groff went from the Bike-Run transition to the finish line with a 35:51 run.
Due to her first place finish, Julie Ertel joins Laura Bennett on the US Women's Olympic Triathlon team. The third and final spot for the women's team will be determined at the Hy-Vee Triathlon in Des Moines, Iowa on June 22nd. The final spot is awarded to the triathlete with the best results in 2 out of the three US Olympic team qualifier races.
Want to see the bike course? USA Triathlon has a YouTube video of the bike course:
