Courtesy: ITU

Japan's rising triathlon star, Akiko Sekine will line up at the ITU World Cup, Yamaguchi, this Sunday with a point to prove to the 100,000 spectators expected for the race.

The world ranked 33rd athlete had a string of successes in Canada this season to improve her ranking, only to crash out of the World Championships in Edmonton. This weekend, on home soil, Sekine will hope to overcome that disappointment.

Held on the Japanese island of Honshu, the race course has been designed within the precinct of the Japan Expo Yamaguchi 2001. With a man made lagoon to accommodate the 1500m swim, and a hill built specifically to increase the difficulty of the 40km bike and 10km run disciplines for the ITU World Cup, the race will draw over 100,000 sports fans from the prefecture, all in hope of a Japanese success.

Sekine will face the women's race favourites, including two Olympic heroes, Sheila Taormina (USA) and Carol Montgomery (CAN).

The tenacious Taormina won Olympic Gold at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996, before stepping up to the challenge of triathlon. Taormina has yet to capitalise on the lead she regularly takes onto the bike leg, however is determined to make it to the podium on Sunday.

Montgomery, however, has a record of ITU World Cup success, and is the only woman in the world who has represented her country for two sports at the Olympic Games - 10,000 metres track and field and triathlon in Sydney, 2000.

The lean form of Montgomery is an enormous advantage during the run. However this same characteristic becomes a challenge for the Vancouver triathlete susceptible to poor performance in cold climate races, as she experienced at the Toronto World Cup and the Edmonton World Championships last month. With the weather expected to tip around 33 degrees Celsius on Sunday, Montgomery is looking forward to the Yamaguchi race.

Also suited to hot weather is Rina Hill (NZL), who just missed a World Championship medal in Edmonton. Consistent in the conditions of Japan, Hill put her plans for retirement on hold after her fantastic race last month and will now race at least another season of triathlon.

Rina Hill's namesake, Chris Hill (AUS), World Championship silver medallist, is clear favourite in the men's race, and could take the number one world ranking position with a solid performance on Sunday. Andrew Johns (GBR) will not race in Yamaguchi, leaving his position open for Hill to pounce.

However Hill will need to overcome his training partners, Miles Stewart (AUS) and Shane Reed (NZL) for a victory. Stewart will revel in the technical twists and turns of the bike course and has an impressive career record of success in Japanese races. Having won his first world title over ten years ago, the steadfast athlete is very popular in Japan and will benefit from the spectators in Yamaguchi.

Reed, who has taken a break from racing so far this season, will go into the race as an unknown quantity on Sunday. With the experience of ITU World Cup podium finishes, and the hunger to race, Reed may be the dark horse.

"I feel really fresh," said Reed. "While the other guys have been travelling and racing all season, I have been taking it pretty easy. I am really excited to be here because it feels like such a long time since I have lined up!"

The ITU World Cup Yamaguchi has been selected by several National Federations as an introduction to their youth to World Cup racing. The Australian, Spanish, Canadian, Japanese and Mexican Federations have all included fresh team members.

Carole Peon, Yohann Vincent, Cedric Deanaz, Cedric Fleureton and Guillame Dechacanne will race their first World Cup for France. Hitomi Natori, Saki Yoshikawa, Makoto Nagatome, Hirokatsu Tayama, Hiroaki Asakawa and Tsukasa Hirano, for Japan, will build towards the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Emma Snowsill, Annabel Luxford, Levi Maxwell and Bryce Quirk will hope to become the next generation of Australian successes in triathlon.

"The Olympic Games have become the important priority for National Federations," said ITU Chief Technical Delegate, Michel Gignoux. "There are still three years until the Athens Olympic Games, but already you will see young athletes preparing themselves for this important event. The ITU World Cup racing is the method for their qualification for the Olympic Games and their best preparations for the race."