The eyes of the triathlon world will be focused on our country, since, as traditionally, the sport year will begin with the 70.3 Ironman of Pucón, in the Araucanía region. On this occasion the competition will take place this Sunday 8th of January, since 07:30 AM local time.
It became a habit that the so-called “prettiest race of the world” counts with the participation of various national triathletes from different distances, taking advantage of the locality and the support of the Chilean spectators. This is the case of Vicente Trewhela, who has been in the district that borders lago Villarrica already for a few days, waiting to have a good performance in the first race of this year’s calendar.
“Since we are Chilean, we are home, so the support is huge. There is not a special preparation, but it is one of the most important races of the year,” said the 27 years old athlete. The Pucón event belongs to the Half Ironman category and the distance to run on each specialty are: 1.9km swimming, 90 km on bike and 21 km jogging. Additionally, it is part of the Ironman circuit organized by the The World Triathlon Corporation and that happens with conditions different to the competitions of this sport that have an olympic level.
The differences between both categories, explained Trewhela. “These are completely different distances, with a different race dynamic. Olympic triathlon is a short race, of two hour maximum, where drafting on a bike is not allowed (Going very close to the back of the competitor that is in the front to avoid air resistance). On the other hand, the Ironman are more individual races, so to speak, where drafting is allowed, we use other types of bicycles and the races last up to four hours. It is practically another sport.”
In any case, the current 238° of the world ranking and 51° of the continental, like other athletes, has gotten used to competing in both distances, one sport that is getting more popular, especially between young athletes.
THE BIG GOAL: QUALIFYING FOR SANTIAGO 2023
Inside of the goals that Vicente Trewhela has for this new year, in being able to qualify for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games. In this context, the triathlete said “my year starts now in Pucón, that is a race very important for me and Chile. I hope to concrete my world classification here in Pucón. After March we will have the two dates that are selective while getting closer to the Pan Americans, one in Villarica and the other one in Pucón. These will be our last opportunities to be able to qualify for Santiago 2023.”
On the same line, the Chilean added that “qualifying for the Pan Americans is a beautiful objective. If I were to do it, I would have been part of the two most important competitions of the year for our country regarding triathlon.”
Finally, Trewhela made a review of his 2022, a year that is highlighted on his career, projecting also what will be this new season that is about to begin. “I also started the year in Pucón, being the best classified Chilean with a fourth place, with which I qualified for the World cup. I think I had a really good year. I had a great season, I learned a lot, so I hope to improve this 2023, I always want to move forward,” finished the athlete that belongs to the triathlon branch from Universidad Católica.
SANTIAGO 2023 COMMUNICATIONS
E-mail: comunicaciones@santiago2023.org
Official instagram: @santiago2023oficial
Mascot’s instagram: @fiusantiago2023
Twitter: @santiago2023
Facebook: Santiago2023oficial
Youtube: @Santiago2023oficial
TikTok: @Santiago2023oficial
