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Video: XTERRA triathletes go all Gangnam Style

Gomez and Paterson win XTERRA World Championship in Hawaii

Kapalua, Hawaii (October 28, 2012) - A tsunami warning for the Hawaiian Islands was canceled early on Sunday morning, and then Javier Gomez Noya and Lesley Paterson went out and stormed the competition at the 2012 XTERRA World Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua on the island of Maui.

Gomez Noya was the overall winner, completing the course (1.5-kilometer swim, 30K mountain bike, 10K trail run) in 2 hours, 26 minutes, 50 seconds.  The 29-year-old from Spain followed up his silver medal performance at the 2012 Olympics with an impressive victory in his inaugural XTERRA appearance.

Paterson was the top female, not only repeating her accomplishment of a year ago, but bettering it. She finished with a time of 2:44:11, which was nearly two minutes faster than her winning time of a year ago.

A capacity – and XTERRA World Championship record – field of 750 athletes from around the world participated in the event, which was held on Maui for the 17th consecutive year.

XTERRA World Championship set for this Sunday: Watch them live

The XTERRA World Championship is Sunday at 9am Hawaii time (3pm EST, 9pm in Europe, 5am in Sydney).  All pros will be wearing a GPS tracking device that reports location, speed, distance, and elevation.  Pros will put the GPS tracking belt on at the swim-to-bike transition so you should see their “shadows” moving once they get on the bike around 9:20am.  To watch you can download a free app for the iPhone or just go to www.xterralive.com.

The XTERRA World Championship is indeed global.

More than 700 athletes representing more than 30 countries and 42 states are entered in the 2012 XTERRA World Championship off-road triathlon, which is scheduled for Sunday, October 28, at the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, on the island of Maui.

Perhaps no other entrants can appreciate it more than professional triathletes Ben Allen and Jacqui Slack. For starters, Allen is from North Wollongong, Australia, and Slack is from Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom.

Josiah Middaugh and Lesley Paterson win XTERRA USA Championship

(Snowbasin Resort - Ogden, Utah) - Josiah Middaugh of Colorado and Lesley Paterson from Scotland earned long-awaited victories at the XTERRA USA Championship on Saturday, Sept. 22, at the Snowbasin Resort near Ogden, Utah.

Middaugh was the overall winner, breaking a string of frustratingly-close performances in this event. Paterson took the women’s title after back-to-back runner-up showings in 2010 and 2011.

Conrad Stoltz of South Africa placed fourth, but earned enough points to win his unprecedented 10th XTERRA U.S. Pro Series championship. Paterson captured her first XTERRA U.S. Pro Series title in the women’s division.

Danelle Kabush takes XTERRA Mountain Championship in Avon, Colorado

July 14, 2012 (Beaver Creek Resort - Avon, CO) Since she started racing XTERRA in 2004 Danelle Kabush has won XTERRA’s in Canada, had two kids, finished 2nd at the XTERRA World Championships twice (top five four times) but until today had never made it to the top step of the podium at a major XTERRA in the U.S.

“It’s very satisfying,” said Kabush, who earned a doctorate degree in sports psychology.  “It’s always a tough course going uphill all day but it’s so scenic and beautiful I really enjoyed myself.  I had a really fun battle with Sara out there on the bike, congrats to her and everyone else who raced.  The volunteers were awesome, and so was the crowd with so many cheers all along the course.  It’s fun to be back here after three years away.”

Conrad Stoltz wins the XTERRA Mountain Championship at Beaver Creek Resort in Avon, Colorado

July 14, 2012 (Beaver Creek Resort - Avon, CO) - Conrad Stoltz, 38, of Stellenbosch, South Africa and Danelle Kabush, 36, of Calgary, Canada won the XTERRA Mountain Championship at Beaver Creek Resort in Avon, Colorado this morning.

For Stoltz, not altitude, not a bear, not even Josiah Middaugh - a mountain master on his home course - could disrupt his perfect 2012 season.  Stoltz started the year with a win at the XTERRA South Africa Championship, then swept through the XTERRA regional championships in Nevada, Alabama, Virginia, & now Colorado to bring his unprecedented XTERRA all-time championship wins total to 47.

Stoltz & Paterson take top podium positions at ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships in Alabama

(Shelby County, Alabama (May 20, 2012) - Conrad Stoltz of South Africa made it two-for-two at the ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships by successfully defending his title on Saturday.
Stoltz won the inaugural event last year in Spain, and won it again this year at Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham, Ala. The event was held in America this year as a partner event with the XTERRA Southeast Championship triathlon.

Stoltz, 39, completed the course in 2 hours, 12 minutes, 11 seconds. It consisted of a 1.5-kilometer swim, a 30-kilometer mountain bike and a 10-kilometer trail run.

The pro triathlete Xterra couple that trains together...wins together

Rotorua, New Zealand (April 14, 2012) - International couple, Ben Allen (Australia) and his partner, Jacqui Slack (Great Britain), celebrated wins at the 10th annual XTERRA New Zealand Championship today.

It was perfect race conditions that greeted more than 2,000 participants as they descended on the Blue Lake, a crowd which included some of New Zealand’s best multisport athletes, all looking to take out the title, only to have their challenges thwarted by the overseas visitors.

It is Allen’s fourth win in a row on the XTERRA World Tour, having recently taken out wins at XTERRA Championships in Guam, Philippines and Saipan last month.

However, it was no easy win with New Zealand triathlon representative, Graham O’Grady (Kinloch), leading out of the 1km swim leg by 30 seconds with Allen, a former Australian Surf Life Saving Champion, hot on his heels.

O’Grady, a road specialist, found the going tough early on the ride and the off-road experts hit the front with Scott Thorne (Hamilton) and Allen tussling for position on the technical trails through the very scenic Redwood Forest.

Video of the Day: The most thrilling XTERRA finsih of the year

This is as close as it gets. Renate Bucher and Leslie Paterson sprint to the finish at the 2012 XTERRA West Championships in Las Vegas, with Bucher taking the win by  3/10th's of a second.

You can read the race story with full race results HERE.

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Stoltz and Bucher win the XTERRA West Championship

April 14, 2012 (Lake Las Vegas, Nevada) - Emotion and excitement ruled the day at the XTERRA West Championship in Lake Las Vegas, Nevada as XTERRA icon Conrad ‘the Caveman’ Stoltz rode a wave of adrenaline to victory in honor of his father Gert who passed away on Monday, while Renata Bucher somehow out-stretched the defending XTERRA World Champ Lesley Paterson at the tape in the closest women’s finish in the sports history.

"I thought about my Dad a lot, and Liezel, and our faith that has carried us through this,” said Stoltz, who pointed to the heavens as he crossed the finish line.  “This one is for my Dad. Tomorrow, we’ll go home for his funeral.”

Allen and Bucher take XTERRA Saipan Championships

Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas (March 24, 2012)
Ben Allen and Renata Bucher made it a clean sweep of the western Pacific by capturing their third XTERRA titles in as many weeks on a blue-sky, cool breeze day at the XTERRA Saipan Championship in the Northern Marianas.

Allen was pushed hard by Olivier Marceau, a three-time Olympian for Switzerland who has won in Saipan four times.  Marceau steadily erased the minute-20 gap Allen had coming out of the water by the top of the climb on the bike, then forged into the lead at the notorious cave section just passed the halfway point on the run.

“On that technical downhill section in the ravine I’ve never seen anyone run so fast.  Olivier was flying and I was just trying to stay with him, pushing myself beyond my ability just to try and keep up,” said Allen.

Allen and Bucker win 2nd annual XTERRA Philippines Championships

LILOAN, Cebu (March 18, 2012) - Ben Allen and Renata Bucher captured the second-annual XTERRA Philippines Championship in front of thousands on a picture-perfect day at the high-end Amara subdivision of Liloan in the Cebu Province on Sunday.

It is every performers dream to play on the biggest stage in front of an adoring, sold-out crowd.  On Sunday in Cebu that dream came true for Allen, Bucher and several hundred other XTERRA athletes representing more than a dozen countries as XTERRA’s version of the Tour de France unfolded in the scenic tropical paradise of the Philippines.

“It was absolutely amazing out there having thousands of people on the cliffs watching the swim and then lining both sides of the entire bike and run course, cheering the whole day,” said Allen, who posted a 2:30:05 winning time that was more than two-minutes ahead of triathlon legend Olivier Marceau.  “Today was one of the highlights of my career and I’m just over-the-moon, couldn’t be happier.”

Ben Allen and Renata Bucher Win at hot and humid XTERRA Guam

March 10, 2012 - Ben Allen and Renata Bucher captured the inaugural XTERRA Guam Championship on Saturday, March 10 on a beautiful day in the United States island territory of Guam, the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands.  It is the second XTERRA Championship for Allen, who also won XTERRA Brazil last year, and the 22nd title spanning 12 countries in the illustrious career of Renata Bucher.

As the sun rose over Port Authority Beach, the race began with a deep water start and two laps of 750-meters.  First out of the water were local boys Soujyu Usui (team swimmer) followed by Josh Alba.  Only a few seconds back was Australian pro Ben Allen in 19:45 with Colorado’s Branden Rakita (USA) 20:57 and Olivier Marceau (SUI) 22:40.  The first woman out of the swim was U.K.’s Jacqui Slack 23:09 in 8th overall and 4th pro swimmer.  Saipan’s Mieko Carey was second woman out of the water.  Of note, 10th placed swimmer overall was local 7th grader, 13 year-old Justin Fell.  Remember that name…he’s determined to make it big.

Conrad Stoltz and Carla Van Huyssteenn win ninth-annual Totalsports XTERRA South Africa

February 26, 2012 - Conrad "the Caveman" Stoltz and Carla Van Huyssteen captured the ninth-annual Totalsports XTERRA South Africa Championship presented by REHIDRAT® SPORT on a 'stunning day' at the Grabouw Country Club in the Western Province.

The victory is Stoltz fifth at XTERRA South Africa but first since 2007, and the first for fellow South African Van Huyssteen, who finished third at this race a year ago.  Of note, the last time Stoltz opened the season with a win in his home country he finished the season with his third of four XTERRA World Championships.

Both Stoltz (pictured courtesy Oakpics.com) and Van Huyssteen were the first racers to hit the bike course and neither faltered thereafter in a race that combined a 1.5km swim, with a 25km mountain bike and 10km trail run.

King and Arritola take top spots at 2011 XTERRA Trail Run Championship

Kualoa Ranch - Ka'a'awa, HI (December 4, 2011) - The anticipated rain never hit Kualoa Ranch, but the reign of Max King continued at the 2011 XTERRA Trail Run World Championship.

King, 31, won the XTERRA Trail Run World title for the fourth consecutive year, this time topping a record field at Kualoa Ranch, Oahu, Hawaii, on Sunday, December 4.
More than 2,000 runners from around world participated in the event, and in keeping with the tradition, none of them came close to King.

King, an Olympic marathon hopeful from Bend, Oregon, completed the 21.9-kilometer course (13.6 miles) in 1 hour, 21 minutes, 27 seconds. He received $2,000 and a roundtrip airfare from Hawaiian Airlines for the victory.

XTERRA Trail Run World Championship set for this weekend in Hawaii

Max King, 31, is no stranger to the XTERRA Trail Run World Championship.  He is the three-time and only men's champion since the inaugural event in 2008.

“There is a lot that keeps me coming back,” said King, who is a bio-chemical engineer when he's not winning races. “There is a good prize purse and Hawaiian Airlines miles to the winner, of course it’s hard to pass up when it's in Hawaii, and I now have a streak going that will be hard to break. I love the challenging course, and it gives me a couple days away from the freezing temperatures of Oregon.”

While the event will host its largest field ever with 2,000 runners expected on Sunday, none appear to be in the same class as King.  In fact, for most in attendance the actual race site itself at Kualoa Ranch will be the star of the show.