World Championships Week in Cozumel Opens with Aquathlon Worlds

The ITU World Triathlon Grand Final and World Championships will begin Wednesday with the Aquathlon World Championships, and 150 Americans are set to compete for world titles in the run-swim-run event.

This year's Aquathlon World Championships will see athletes competing on a 2.5-kilometer run, 1-kilometer swim, 2.5-kilometer run course to kick off five days of championship events in Cozumel, including the elite ITU World Triathlon Grand Final on Sept. 17-18. More than 600 U.S. amateur athletes from 45 states and Washington, D.C., will compete for world titles throughout the week in sprint and Olympic-distance age-group triathlon world championships, as well as paratriathlon, junior and under-23 events. Visit usatriathlon.org for full coverage of each race.

Races begin at 8 a.m. CT on Wednesday with the elite men, where Josh Izewski (Doylestown, Pa.) and Tommy Zaferes (Santa Cruz, Calif.) will be representing the U.S. Zaferes finished fourth at 2015 Aquathlon Worlds. Amy Dixon (Greenwich, Conn.), a PT5/visual impairment athlete, will compete in the para division.

The age-group Aquathlon Worlds event begins at 8:40 a.m., and 7 of the 10 world champions medalists from last year's Aquathlon World Championships in Chicago are slated to compete for Team USA and defend their titles:

• Jennifer Huffman (40-44, Oceanside, Calif.)

• Jennifer Meyer (50-54, St. Louis, Mo.)

• Daniel Wirls (55-59, Santa Cruz, Calif.)

• Susan Griffin-Kaklikian (60-64, Castle Rock, Colo.)

• Philip Friedman (60-64, Erie, Pa.)

• Colleen Burns (65-69, McIntosh, N.M.)

• Arby Kitzman (75-79, Morro Bay, Calif.)

Also competing for the U.S. will be 2015 silver medalists Sharon V Smith (55-59, Austin, Texas), Susan Thompson (70-74, Sugar Land, Texas) and Richard Smith (70-74, Richmond, Ind.), and 2015 bronze medalists Pieter deHart (35-39, Lexington, Va.) and June Black (75-79, Austin, Texas). In total, Team USA earned 24 Aquathlon Worlds medals last year in Chicago's Grant Park.

Complete start lists are available at triathlon.org, and more details on the 2016 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Cozumel are available at cozumel.triathlon.org.

USA Triathlon's Team USA program is comprised of amateur athletes who represent the United States at each ITU World Championship event. Visit usatriathlon.org/teamusa for more on Team USA. 

About USA Triathlon: USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon, as well as duathlon, aquathlon, aquabike, winter triathlon, off-road triathlon and paratriathlon in the United States. Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon sanctions more than 4,300 races and connects with nearly 500,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work with athletes, coaches and race directors on the grassroots level, USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. USA Triathlon is a proud member of the ITU and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).