Vancouver, Canada ( October 4, 2012) - The International Triathlon Union (ITU) is pleased to announce the 2013 ITU Winter Triathlon World Championships have been awarded to Cogne, Italy and will be held on February 22-24, 2013. The championships will be the first of seven ITU Multisport World Championships in 2013 in seven different countries across varied distances and disciplines.
"We are thrilled to have so many multisports on the calendar for 2013," said ITU President and IOC Member Marisol Casado. "While triathlon is the cornerstone of our organization, we are committed to the development of all multisports. The growth of these disciplines is a great asset in the advancement of our sport across the world."
In addition to winter triathlon, which involves running and mountain biking on snow, and cross country skiing, the multisport calendar includes three duathlon events, long distance triathlon, cross triathlon, and aquathlon.
The ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships will be the second multisport world championship to take centre stage of the 2013 season on June 2 in Belfort, France. The race will be decided over a grueling 4km swim, 110km bike and 30km run, approximately three times the Olympic triathlon distance.
Cross triathlon, which consists of swimming, mountain biking, and cross-country running, will have its World Championships on July 13 in Den Haag (The Hague), Netherlands. The Dutch city was the location of this year's successful Cross Triathlon European Championships.
Up next will be the three duathlon competitions, starting with the elite world championships as part of the World Games on July 26-27 in Cali, Colombia. Only the elites will race the 10km run, 40km bike, 5km run race in Cali, which marks duathlon's debut in the World Games. Click here for the qualification criteria
From August 10-11, the Canadian capital of Ottawa will host the ITU Duathlon World Championships for Mixed Relay, Junior, Under23, Age-Group, and Paratriathlon categories.
The duathlon portion of the calendar will conclude with the return of the Long Distance Duathlon World Championships to Zofingen, Switzerland for the third consecutive year in a continuation of ITU's partnership with Powerman. The grueling 10km run, 150km bike, 30km run will take place on September 8 and marks the 25th anniversary of the Powerman Zofingen.
The 2013 ITU World Championships for Aquathlon--a 2.5km run, 1km swim, 2.5km run--will coincide with the ITU World Triathlon Series Grand Final on September 11 in Hyde Park, the London 2012 Olympic venue.
2013 ITU Multisport World Championships
Winter Triathlon World Championships - February 22-24, Cogne, Italy
Long Distance Triathlon World Championships - June 2, Belfort, France
Cross Triathlon World Championships - July 13, Den Haag, Netherlands
Elite Duathlon World Championships (World Games) - July 26-27, Cali, Colombia
Duathlon World Championships - August 10-11, Ottawa, Canada
Long Distance Duathlon World Championships - September 8, Zofingen, Switzerland
Aquathlon World Championships - September 11, London, United Kingdom