Ready, Set, Swim — Ottawa hosts final qualifying event for 2019 Super League Triathlon

This weekend Ottawa will host some of the world’s top endurance athletes as they swim, bike and run in a quest to secure one of three remaining spots in the international Super League Championship League Races to be held in the Channel Islands in September. This dynamic, fast-paced triathlon will take place this weekend at Lansdowne Park and the Rideau Canal

In advance of this weekend's event, Super League Triathlon athletes are taking their "first-dip" in the Rideau Canal this morning! The athletes are joined by Super League COO Michael Brown, Development Coach Greg Keale, and Mayor Jim Watson at Clegg Street Dock by the Flora Footbridge to kick off the final qualifying event for the 2019 International Super League Championship League Races this weekend.

In this event, top endurance athletes from around the world will embark on a quest of swimming, biking, and running in order to try and obtain one of the three spots remaining in these epic final races after the last qualifier events held in Bali, Indonesia and Poznan, Poland. The event will be packed to the brim with dynamic, fast-paced excitement as the athletes partake in races for professional athletes and races where young athletes on the Olympic pathway, as well as adults in various age groups will race on the same course as the professionals.

Since being founded in 2017, Super League Triathlon has delivered game-changing race formats, that mix both long and short course athletes in a series of fast-paced, unpredictable, events where the top male and female triathletes around the globe battle it out to find out who’s the best. Equally split between male and female athletes, competitors can get into the race by being automatically qualified from past SLT seasons, being a wildcard selection, or being a ‘Golden Ticket’ success at the SLT Qualifiers-like the one on Wednesday.

The Championship League will be taking place in four different locations from September to February, the only two locations having been announced at this point being Jersey on the 28-29 of September, and Malta on the 19-20 of October. Two other races will be taking place on the 9-10 of November, and 22-23 of February in locations to be announced.

Ready, set, swim…the canal! The event marks the first-ever competitive swim in this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Be sure to check out the race and cheer on the atheletes as they swim, bike and run through Landsdowne Park and around the Rideau Canal.