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|  Groff, Reed are top U.S. finishers at Edmonton World Cup June 26, 2007
Just one week after a bike crash at the Des Moines World Cup
left her with a broken elbow, American Sarah Groff was not
going to be deterred in her quest to qualify for the 2008
Olympics. She traveled north to Alberta, Canada to compete in
the final race of the North American leg of the 2007 BG
Triathlon World Cup series. Groff and teammate Sara McLarty were first out of the water
after the 1500-meter swim and led the women out onto the 40-
kilometer bike course. They stayed in the lead group that
included five other women including reigning Junior World
Champion Kirsten Sweetland of Canada and Australian Annabel
Luxford, the 2005 overall World Cup series champion. The American duo couldn't keep up with the run pace and hopes
for a medal for any other woman in the field soon vanished.
Despite a broken elbow, Groff came through with a strong run
and finished in 5th place, a new career-best. McLarty, a
former all- American swimmer from the University of Florida,
finished just behind Groff in 6th place, the best performance
in her World Cup career. All six American women finished in
the top 20. In a spectacular sprint for gold, Sweetland came down the final
stretch with friend and training partner Emma Moffatt of
Australia. In the final turn for the finish line, Sweetland
was forced wide, enabling Moffatt to take the inside lane and
gain the slight edge she needed to out-sprint the Canadian for
her first career World Cup victory. Her only two World Cup
medals have come here in Edmonton so the only disappointment
was knowing this was the last time the city will play host.
Luxford took the bronze, her second World Cup medal in two
weeks and the 15th of her career. Moffatt jumps to number
eight in the world while Sweetland moves up to number three and
Luxford maintains her spot as the world number two. 2007 Edmonton BG Triathlon World Cup - Final Women's
Results
In the men's field, Matt Reed was the top American finishing in
seventh place with a time of 1:45:54. Along with picking up
valuable Olympic qualifying points, Reed vaults to number 12 in
the world, making him highest ranked American male. Veteran Joe Umphenour came across the line in 12th place, his
best World Cup result so far in 2007. Former Navy Lt. j.g.
Timothy O'Donnell finished in 14th spot for a career-best in
his World Cup career. World number two Bevan Docherty finished second last week in
Des Moines, Iowa and was on a mission when he arrived in
Edmonton. The Olympic silver medalist came out of the water in
14th place, just 17 seconds behind the leader. After the 40-kilometer bike, he fell back to the chase pack,
behind the lead group that included fellow Kiwi Kris Gemmell.
But Docherty set a torrid run pace and blistered the 10-
kilometer course for the fastest run time of the day. After
closing the gap and overtaking the lead pack, Docherty cruised
to the finish line to claim his fourth career World Cup title
and his first of 2007. He remains at number two in the world,
now just four points behind Javier Gomez of Spain. Russian prodigy Alexander Brukhankov took the silver for his
second medal of the year and now climbs to number four in the
world rankings. Sven Riederer of Switzerland won the bronze in
a thrilling sprint finish over Gemmell. 2007 Edmonton BG Triathlon World Cup - Final Men's
Results
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