JONNY BROWNLEE JOINS THE CAST FOR CHALLENGE-DAYTONA
Jonny Brownlee joins the all-star cast, that includes his brother Alistair, for the 2020 Championships at Challenge-Daytona and a chance to pursue the landmark $1,000,000 million purse, as the Professional Triathlon Organisation publish the next four wildcard spots.
The star-studded cast for Challenge-Daytona just got stronger as three Olympic medallists and a Canadian on the comeback trail, take the four wild card spots.
$1,000,0000 – Challenge Daytona World Championship Prize Fund
CATEGORIES
Broadly speaking, there are three main categories of athletes who will be considered for a wildcard selection:
1) Previous Historical Performance
2) World Class ITU Short Course Athletes
3) Up and Coming Athletes
PTO announce first 4 wildcard spots for 2020 Championship – WHO’S IN at Challenge Daytona
WHO’S IN
Another 4 wildcard spots have gone to a mix of World Class Athlete categories as follows:Jonny Brownlee, brother of Alistair, has been ITU World Champion in 2012, a three-time Mixed Relay World Champion and a two-time ITU Sprint Distance Triathlon World Champion. The 30-year-old Brit has enjoyed success at Olympic level too, picking up a bronze medal in 2012 before going one better with a silver in 2016.
He has indicated that Tokyo in 2021 will be his final Olympics, so the PTO 2020 Championship could be a tantalising glimpse into his future after that. Can he display the same smooth transition to middle-distance racing as his brother in recent years? December 6 should begin to answer that question.
Henri Schoemanhas spent years battling the Brownlee Brothers. He captured a bronze medal in the 2016 Olympics, where Alistair and Jonny won Gold and Silver, respectively. His impressive victory later that year at the ITU Grand Final, was over-shadowed by the iconic image of Alistair pushing a collapsing Jonny over the finish line.
The South African star vanished both Brownlees at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, taking the Gold. Schoeman has now begun to move-up to some middle-distance racing and finds the space once again occupied by the British brothers. Expect Schoeman putting the likes of Lionel Sanders and Sebastian Kienle under early pressure thanks to that prowess in the water, but will his legs be able to handle the onslaught from the uber-riders.
Lisa Norden is another athlete who has stood on an Olympic podium, following her silver medal-winning effort at London 2012. The PTO 2020 Championship will give Olympic silver medalist Lisa Norden one final chance to settle the score with fellow wildcard selection Nicola Spirig, who took the Gold from Norden in a heart-breaking photo finish.
The Swedish athlete has also won a World Championship Gold and represented her country in the UCI Cycling World Championships. Norden moved permanent into middle-distance racing, and her recent form has been excellent, with victory at the PTO-supported Pushing Limits race and a dominant success at IRONMAN 70.3 Gdynia in Poland.
Angela Naeth is a Canadian triathlete who has raced professionally since 2009. She is known for her power on the bike and has multiple 70.3 titles to her name as well as two full Ironman distance titles.
The Canadian has displayed tremendous courage, resilience and willpower in her fight against the impact of Lyme Disease but with solid performances at 70.3 Miami and 70.3 Bahrain, she is on the comeback trial. She possesses a stellar CV in middle- and long-distance events, with over 36 podium places in her career, so the PTO 2020 Championship will hold no fears.
PTO enlivens Daytona with 4 more Wildcard Spots
They join the other wildcard choices of Vincent Luis, Georgia Taylor-Brown, Kristian Blummenfelt, Nicola Spirig, Flora Duffy, Gustav Iden, Jess Learmonth and Tim Don who have all been selected to join the 80 automatic qualifiers on the start line for the PTO 2020 Championship.
The top 80 men and women in PTO World Rankings who automatically qualify can be found here:
