Tri-Dubai was the first major professional triathlon team composed of ten athletes both male and female who competed at long distance (Ironman) in the sport. These athletes have made a significant mark on the Ironman circuit over the years[citation needed], netting many wins around the globe. The athletes have also competed and placed well on the Ironman 70.3 tour and in many Long course Triathlon races. In 2006, the team placed 1-2-3 at the infamous Ironman Hawaii and then 1-2-4-4 at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships.
A triathlon is a multisport race with three continuous and sequential endurance races. The word is of Greek origin, from τρεῖς or treis (three) and ἆθλος or athlos (competition).
An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22-mile (42.20 km) run, raced in that order and without a break. It is widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world.
The team was significant at the time because there had never been a more stacked group of superstars under one umbrella. They dominated the headlines of the sport and did so by focusing on winning performances and matching prize money with charitable donations, oftentimes local organizations to the race venues. The team was co-founded and owned by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Crowne Prince of Dubai] and American entrepreneur, Franko Vatterott. The purpose was originally to advertise Dubai as a business partner and leisure destination to the relatively affluent and high-achieving demographic of triathletes worldwide. The team paved the way for the marketing model to be followed by many teams that have arisen in professional triathlon. Vatterott continued his ventures into the sport by starting a professional sports agency, The Human Interest Group, and went on to manage several of his former athletes on the Tri Dubai team. One of them was Craig Alexander, who went on to win 5 Ironman World titles at both the 70.3 and Ironman Hawaii. The Human Interest Group is one of the leading sports management firms in professional triathlon today. The athlete portfolio can be found at professionaltriathlon.com
The team was disbanded after 2 seasons after His Highness was sworn in as the Ruler of Dubai and the Prime Minister of the UAE.
Triathletes
2006 season:
Craig Alexander - Australia Three time Ironman World Champion, Two time Ironman 70.3 World Champion
Craig Alexander is an Australian triathlete who is the 2008, 2009 & 2011 Ironman Triathlon World Champion. He was the course record holder for the Ironman World Championship. He is also the winner of the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in 2006 and 2011.
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. The population of 25 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
Lisa Bentley is a Canadian triathlete. She has been competing on the Ironman race series since late in the 1990s. In 1988, Bentley was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Despite this, she has won 11 Ironman competitions. In 2006, Bentley placed third at the Ironman World Championship, her best showing and finished second at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, Florida three weeks later.
Peter Reid is a Canadian elite level triathlete. He has gained fame mainly by winning ten Ironman triathlons, including winning the Ironman World Championship three times. During his career as a triathlete Reid lived and trained in Victoria, British Columbia. In June 2006, Reid announced that he was retiring from triathlon. He is now a float plane pilot on Canada's west coast. Reid was inducted into Canada Sports Hall of Fame in 2011, the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.
Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Canada's southern border with the United States, stretching some 8,891 kilometres (5,525 mi), is the world's longest bi-national land border. Its capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra. Consequently, its population is highly urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, with 70% of citizens residing within 100 kilometres (62 mi) of the southern border. Canada's climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.
Chris McCormack, also known as Macca, is an Australian triathlete. McCormack is a two-time winner of the Ironman World Championship, winning the titles in 2007 and 2010. He is also the winner of the 1997 International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Cup Series, the 1997 Triathlon World Championships, and the 2012 Long Distance World Championships.
Timothy Philip "Tim" Don is a triathlete from the United Kingdom.
Andrew Robert Potts is a triathlete from the United States. He competed in triathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics and is the 2007 Ironman 70.3 World Champion. Prior to triathlon, Potts was a swimmer where he won the bronze medal in the men's 400m individual medley at the 1995 Summer Universiade and earned a spot on the USA Swimming national team where he would place fourth at the 1996 Olympic Trials in the 400 IM.
Daniel Monzoro Fontana is an Argentine-born Italian professional triathlete. Fontana started out as a swimmer in Argentina, until he began his triathlon career in 1994, while racing for his homeland. He first competed at two Pan-American Games, and at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, as part of the Argentina team, where he placed twenty-eighth in the men's triathlon, with a time of 1:57:14. In 2006, Fontana relocated to Italy, and became a naturalized citizen to take his athletic abilities to a higher level.
Tyler Barbour Butterfield is an athlete from Bermuda. He competes in road bicycle racing and triathlon events. He became Bermuda's first ever professional triathlete in 2002. He was voted Bermuda's male athlete of the year in 2006 and 2013. Butterfield was the youngest male competitor at the second Olympic triathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He placed thirty-fifth with a total time of 1:58:26.99.
Christine Ann Wellington is an English former professional triathlete and four-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion. She holds, or held, all three world and championship records relating to ironman-distance triathlon races: firstly, the overall world record, secondly, the Ironman World Championship course record, and thirdly, the official world record for all Ironman-branded triathlon races over the full Ironman distance.
Sara Gross is a former professional triathlete, who was born in Canada but competed for Great Britain. She grew up in Kitchener, Ontario and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In 2005, she won the ITU European Long Distance Triathlon in Säter, Sweden. In 2014, she won two Ironman Triathlon events; Ironman Brazil and Ironman Mont-Tremblant. Gross retired from professional triathlon in 2016 and now focuses on her media career.
Chris Lieto is a professional triathlete and the winner of the 2006 Ironman Japan, 2005 Ironman Canada, and 2002 Ironman Wisconsin triathlons.
Jan Frodeno is a German triathlete. He is the gold medal winner in men's triathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, 2-time winner of the Ironman World Championship in 2015 and 2016, and 2-time winner of the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in 2015 and 2018. He is the world record holder for the long distance, set in Roth, Germany in 2016 with 7:35:39 hours.
Dirk Bockel is a professional triathlete originally from Schwaikheim, Germany. He holds Luxembourgish nationality and raced for Luxembourg in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
The 2009 Ford Ironman World Championship was held on October 10, 2009 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. It was the 33rd such Ironman Triathlon World Championship, which has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978. The champions were Craig Alexander and Chrissie Wellington. The championship was organised by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC).
Milos Kostic from Regina, Saskatchewan is the current world record holder of the Ironman World Championship in the Men's 65-69 age group with a time of 11 hours 29 minutes 45 seconds set in 2006. He has won his age group there in Kona every time he has raced there, in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012. He won his age group at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in 2011 and 2012. In 2011 he set the world record of the Ironman World Championship in the Men's 70-74 age group with a time of 11 hours 14 minutes.
The 2011 Ironman World Championship was held on October 8, 2011 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii and won by Craig Alexander of Australia and Chrissie Wellington of England. It was the 35th such Ironman Triathlon World Championships, which has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978, with an additional race in 1982. The championship is organised by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC).
Patrick Lange is a professional duathlete and triathlete from Germany. He is the 2017 Ironman World Champion and the 2018 Ironman World Champion both times breaking the course record. Lange is also the 2010-2013 German champion in duathlon and the 2012 and 2013 German champion in team triathlon with EJOT Team TV Buschhütten.
Britta Martin is a German born, New Zealand based professional triathlete and multiple winner of Ironman distance races all over the world.
Heather Wurtele is a Canadian professional triathlete who races long-distance, non-drafting triathlon events. She has placed second at the 2015 Ironman 70.3 World Championship and third at the 2014 Ironman 70.3 World Championship.
Anna Cleaver is a professional triathlete from New Zealand.
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