2014 Weihai ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships Comes to a Successful Close

WEIHAI, China, Sept. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- According to CRI Online, French triathlete Bertrand Billard won the Elite Men's title and Camilla Pedersen from Denmark led the Elite Women's race at the 2014 Weihai ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships held in Weihai, China on September 20-21, 2014.

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The event brought together the ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships, the China Triathlon Champions Cup and the China Amateur Triathlon Points Race. Weihai ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships is the highest-level long distance triathlon. It is the first time that the championships were held in Asia. Seventy-seven delegations consisting of 1,408 triathletes (including 329 from outside of China) from 34 countries and regions, including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, the USA and Japan, competed in the championships.

At just about 1 pm on September 21, Bertrand Billard from France claimed the top prize in the Long-Distance Elite Men's race when he completed the 4-kilometer swim, 120-kilometer bike ride and 20-kilometer run in a time of 5:09. French triathletes Sylvain Sudrie and Viennot Cyril swept the second and third places.

Denmark's Camilla Pedersen won the first prize in the Long-Distance Elite Women's event with a time of 5:43, followed by the runner-up Kaisa Lehtonen of Finland and the third-prize winner Andrea Hewitt of New Zealand.

Weihai,  the first city in China to receive the Habitat Scroll of Honor Award issued by the United Nations and often referred to as the World's Most Livable City, is famous for its beautiful landscapes and weather. The clear and sandy bathing beach and the scenic road encircled by the sea and hills provided a pleasant environment for the triathlon event. The government of Weihai attaches importance to the development of the triathlon in the city as the event serves to burnish the city's brand as "A Blue City of Leisure and the World's Most Livable City." Weihai has hosted international triathlon races every year since 2010 and has been named as China's best triathlon competition area with the highest total scores by China Triathlon Sports Association for three years running since 2011.