Moscow — A former U.S. Marine held by Russia on espionage charges appealed directly to President Trump on Thursday to help get him out of jail as his detention was ruled lawful by a Moscow court. The court denied Michigan resident Paul Whelan’s appeal against a May ruling that granted an extension of his arrest until Aug. 29. The court ruled the extension lawful, meaning Whelan will likely remain behind bars at least until the end of August.
Whelan, who also holds British, Irish and Canadian citizenship, called his arrest an “absurd political kidnap” at the Thursday hearing. He urged the governments of the U.K., Ireland and the U.S. to help him. “I’m asking government leaders, authorities — Ottawa, Dublin, London and Washington — to help and express public support,” Whelan was quoted as saying by the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.
Addressing Mr. Trump, Whelan read from a statement: “Mr. President, we cannot keep America great unless we aggressively protect American citizens wherever they are in the world.” Whelan was arrested in a hotel room in Moscow at the end of December and charged with espionage. He faces up to 20 years in prison in Russia. Whelan’s Russian lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov told CBS News’ Elizabeth Palmer outside the court in February when Whelan was arraigned that his client was found at his hotel with a flash drive containing Russian “state secrets.” Zherebenkov has maintained that his client was handed the flash drive and didn’t know that it contained any classified information.The lawyer has not explained in detail how Whelan came to be in possession of the information on the drive, but said his client wasn’t aware that the Russian government considered the material sensitive. Zherebenkov added that the prosecution did not “have strong evidence to back up the charges” against Whelan.U.S. intelligence and State Department sources have told CBS News they’re confident Whelan is not a spy.At the hearing in May during which his detention was extended, Whelan complained to reporters of alleged abuse in custody. “I have been threatened. There are abuses and harassment that I am constantly subject to. There is a case for isolation. I have not had a shower in two weeks, I can’t use a barber I have to cut my own hair. I can’t have medical treatment, I can’t have dental treatment… They are trying to run me down so that I will talk to them,” he said. Two weeks ago, U.S. Embassy spokesperson Andrea Kalan said prison officials were not allowing human rights advocates to check on Whelan in the Lefortovo prison where he is held.
“Paul Whelan says investigators have threatened him. Yet officials at Lefortovo block human rights defenders from communicating with him about these threats. What are investigators hiding?” Kalan tweeted on June 5. Whelan worked for a Michigan-based auto parts company from 2017, becoming its global security director. He spent 14 years in the U.S. Marine Corps before being discharged in 2008 for misconduct, according to the U.S. military.
Air Canada says it’s reviewing how a passenger was abandoned on a cold, dark plane hours after it arrived in Toronto. The passenger called it a “nightmare” scenario and said she’s been suffering from anxiety and night terrors ever since.
In a post shared on Air Canada’s Facebook page by a friend, a passenger named Tiffani Adams said she had a row to herself on a flight from Quebec City to Toronto on June 9. She fell asleep halfway through the 90-minute trip. She says she woke up still strapped to her seat around midnight — hours after the plane landed at Pearson Airport — and says she was in “complete darkness” and “freezing cold.””I think I’m having a bad dream [because] like seriously how is this happening!!?!” Adams wrote.
“I’m full on panicking [because] I want off this nightmare ASAP.”She says she couldn’t charge her phone or use the plane’s radio to call for help because there was no power on the plane. She found a flashlight in the cockpit and tried sending distress signals out the windows.After managing to unlock a door, she says she looked for a rope to try climbing down “a 40-50 foot drop.” A luggage cart handler noticed her legs “dangling” out of the plane and helped her jump down safely.Adams says Air Canada representatives offered her “a limo and hotel,” apologized and said there would be an investigation. “I haven’t got much sleep since the reoccurring night terrors and waking up anxious and afraid I’m alone locked up someplace dark,” she wrote.Air Canada responded on Facebook to the post by Adams’ friend, writing, “We’re surprised to hear that and we’re very concerned… We’ll take a look into it.””We are still reviewing this matter so we have no additional details to share, but we have followed up with the customer and remain in contact with her,” the airline said in a statement.
When reached for comment, a Toronto Pearson International Airport spokesperson said, “We are aware of this passenger’s story and we can certainly empathize with the concern she must have felt.”
These prestigious annual awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of sportsmen and sportswomen around the world and other great names recognised included tennis players Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic, and the Kiwi rugby team the All Blacks.
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The Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year is Jan Frodeno! #LWSA16 #janfrodeno #ironman #laureus #laureus #berlin
A photo posted by Laureus Sport (@laureussport) on Apr 18, 2016 at 2:16pm PDT
Larger than life for a brief moment on the sport worlds biggest stage. What an amazing journey our sport has sent me on and what an amazing time to be in the game of triathlon. Grateful to share this truly happy, nerve wrecking, grateful and breath taking night with my best friend and wife @emmafrodeno . Off for a run to celebrate a way only an endurance freak might appreciate… @laureussport #LWSA16 #WorldActionSportsmanOfTheYear
A photo posted by Jan Frodeno (@janfrodeno) on Apr 19, 2016 at 12:20am PDT
In 2015 Jan Frodeno became the first Olympic champion to win the Ironman World Championship with a dominating triumph in Hawaii. In July Jan Frodeno has announced he will go for the long distance world record at Challenge Roth.
The Laureus World Sports Awards, were held in Berlin on April 18, 2016. This was the event’s first return to Europe since London in 2012, after taking place in leading sports cities around the world in recent years, including Rio de Janeiro and Shanghai.
Among the sporting greats who have been named as winners of Laureus Awards since 2000 are Usain Bolt, Novak Djokovic, Michael Schumacher, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Alex Ferguson, Lewis Hamilton, Rafael Nadal, Pelé, Steve Redgrave, Ronaldo, Kelly Slater, Shaun White, Yelena Isenbayeva and Zinedine Zidane.
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You can find a list of the Laureus World Sports Awards 2016 winners here
The International Triathlon Union (ITU) have announced that the elite races at the 2016 Kitzbuehel ITU Triathlon World Cup have been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. However, the junior races will continue as planned, and will be organised with the time-trial format that was scheduled to debut at the elite races.
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“Despite our best efforts to identify a solution, in the end we were unsuccessful. Therefore, we believe that it is in the best interest of all to cancel this year’s World Cup race as soon as possible to allow for Federations and athletes to change their race and travel plans. We do apologize for any inconvenience this causes, and hope to return as a host of ITU races in the future,” said Event Director Herwig Grabner.
“We are disappointed we will not be able to contest the World Cup race in Kitzbuehel this year, a city that has a storied history of hosting successful of ITU events. However, we remain committed to debuting new formats and will therefore introduce the time-trial format in the junior race so that we can explore how this format could be incorporated in future events,” said ITU President and IOC Member Marisol Casado.
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To date, the Kitzbuehel World Cup will not be replaced on the 2016 schedule.
Reporting by Mola Lenghi, Jose Diaz Jr., Russell Midori, Alyssa Estrada
Since the start of the year, at least 10 American tourists have died while vacationing in the Dominican Republic, and questions are also being raised about several more deaths in 2018. Some of the deaths reportedly occurred after the visitors complained of feeling ill after eating a meal or drinking out of the hotel minibar. The U.S. embassy in Santo Domingo said there is no proof at this point the deaths are linked.CBS News spoke on June 18 with César Duvernay, a spokesperson for the Dominican Republic’s foreign ministry, who said the cases are isolated out of more than 6 million tourists, and that this doesn’t mean the country is unsafe. He noted that the government has a special body focused on tourism safety, with protocols in place that have not changed.
Several of the deaths were reported to be a heart attack, which health officials say is the most common cause of death for Americans on vacation. CBS News can confirm that attorneys for the families of Nathaniel Edward Holmes and Cynthia Ann Day, who died on May 30, have ordered independent autopsies “to get to the bottom of what’s happening.” The Washington Post reported last week that the family of Cynthia Schaup-Werner, who died on May 25, is awaiting an independent investigation in the U.S, as well. Here is what we know so far about the recent deaths of Americans vacationing in the Dominican Republic. Jerry CurranAge 78. From Bedford, Ohio.Died on Jan. 26, 2019 at the Dreams Resort in Punta Cana.Curran died three days after arriving in the Dominican Republic with his wife. His daughter told WKYC-TV, “He went to the Dominican Republic healthy and he just never came back.” His daughter said Curran fell ill after dinner and drinks the night of his arrival and that his cause of death includes pulmonary edema, or fluid in the lungs, which is listed the cause of death for at least three other Americans in the Dominican Republic this year.Tracy Jerome Jester Jr.
Age 31. From Forsyth, Georgia. Died on March 17, 2019 while visiting the Dominican Republic. Jester’s death was reported by Atlanta station WSB-TV on July 12. His mother said her son drank a soda that he told her “didn’t taste right.” His sister, who was vacationing with Jester, called their mother on the night he died and said he was struggling to breathe. Jester’s mother feels her son’s death is connected to the other American tourist deaths this year, the station reported. Jester’s sister said her brother had lupus, but it is unclear if the illness is connected to his death. Jester’s death certificate said he died from “respiratory issues.” Robert Bell WallaceAge 67. From California.Died on April 14, 2019, at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana.Wallace died after drinking from the minibar in his hotel room at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana, his family said. Wallace’s cause of death has yet to be determined, but his niece told Fox News her uncle had been in good health before his arrival and he became unwell shortly after drinking a glass of scotch from the minibar in his room and died in a hospital three days later.
Miranda Schaup-Werner Age 41. From Pennsylvania.Died on May 25, 2019, at the Luxury Bahia Principe Bouganville Hotel.The U.S. State Department confirmed Miranda Schaup’s death June 4; she died May 25. She was staying at the Luxury Bahia Principe Bouganville Hotel to celebrate her ninth wedding anniversary with her husband. Her family said she collapsed and died after she had a drink at the hotel. Preliminary autopsy results released by Dominican authorities said she had fluid in her lungs and respiratory failure. The FBI is conducting toxicology tests. Less than a week later, two more Americans died at another hotel on the same Bahia Principe resort.Nathaniel Edward Holmes and Cynthia Ann DayAge 63 and 49. From Prince George’s County, Maryland.Died on May 30, 2019, at the Grand Bahia Principe La Romana.
The couple were found dead in their hotel room on May 30. There were no visible signs of violence. However, several bottles of medicine were found, such as Galanpertin, Oxycodone, and Loxofen. Holmes and Day had been staying at the Grand Bahia Principe La Romana since May 25. A statement from the Dominican Republic National Police said that an autopsy concluded that the couple had respiratory failure and pulmonary edema, a condition caused by excess fluid in the lungs.Autopsy results showed some similarities between their cases and Schaup-Werner’s. The resort insists the deaths of the three Americans were unrelated.Leyla Cox Age 53. From Staten Island, New York.Died on June 10, 2019, at Excellence Resorts in Punta Cana.Cox died the day after celebrating 53rd birthday. U.S. Embassy officials told her son her death has been ruled a heart attack, but her son said, “I do not believe it was natural causes.”Joseph Allen
Age 55. From New Jersey.Died on June 13, 2019, at Terra Linda Resort in Sousa.Allen’s family said he was on good health and traveled to the Dominican Republic frequently. His cause of death has not been released. Allen was there with friends who said he complained about being hot at the pool before going to shower and lie down; he was found dead the next day.Vittorio Caruso Age 56. From Long Island, New York. Died on June 17, 2019, at Boca Chico Resort in Santo Domingo. Caruso’s cause of death is not yet determined, but his sister-in-law told Fox News, “he was brought by ambulance to the hospital in respiratory distress after drinking something.” Caruso’s family told the New York Post that he was “very healthy” and that “he went to the doctor before he left, and he had no problems.”
Khalid AdkinsAge 46. From Denver, Colorado. Died on June 25, 2019 while visiting the country with his daughter. Adkins cause of death has not been disclosed. His sister-in-law, Marla Strick, told the Colorado station KDVR-TV that he vomited in his departure plane’s bathroom and was hospitalized in Santo Domingo, where she was told “his kidneys were failing.” His daughter Mia Adkins wrote on her Facebook page that her father “got super sick,” during a visit to the country together. Tourist deaths in the Dominican Republic in 2018 Mark Hurlbut Sr.’s son says he was told by a Dominican Republic coroner that his father died from heart and respiratory problems last year in Punta Cana. Mark Hurlbut Jr. said his father and his dad’s wife felt sick the night before he died. “She woke up, and he didn’t,” Mark Jr. told CBS Phoenix affiliate KPHO-TV. “She told me that as she found him that he had something green coming from his mouth.”David Harrison died in July 2018 at the Hard Rock Hotel, the same hotel where Robert Bell Wallace died this year. According to the New York Post, Harrison died of pulmonary edema and respiratory failure, but his wife said he felt sick with an upset stomach days before his death and woke up with a full-body sweat on July 14 and couldn’t speak.Yvette Monique Sport, 51, of Glenside, Pennsylvania, died at Bahia Principe Resort in Punta Cana of a heart attack in June 2018. According to the New York Post, her sister said Sport had a drink at the minibar insider her room, went to bed, and never woke up.
Reports of tourists sickened in the Dominican RepublicA New York woman said she became ill and spewed blood, leaving her without any taste buds, after taking a sip of soda from the minibar at Grand Bahia Principe Resort in La Romana in October 2018. This is the same resort where three Americans died in May 2019.A Colorado couple claims they were sickened at same hotel where three Americans died in May. They have since filed a lawsuit against the owners of the Grand Bahia Principe Hotel La Romana after a doctor determined they suffered insecticide poisoning while vacationing at the hotel in June 2018.A group of Oklahoma teens from Deer Creek High School on a senior trip fell “violently ill” on June 8 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Punta Cana, the same hotel where Harrison and Wallace died.A Florida man who went to the Caribe Club Princess Beach Resort and Spa at Punta Cana in May claims he became “severely sick with stomach pain while swimming in the pool.”More than 50 Jimmy Buffett fans from Oklahoma became ill during an all-inclusive trip to Hotel Riu Palace Macao in April. Some people in the group tested positive for salmonella, while others did not. Symptoms included vomiting, diarrhea, chills and fever.
The man accused of setting into motion a murder-for-hire plot that resulted in the accidental shooting of baseball star David Ortiz claimed he had nothing to do with last month’s attack in the Dominican Republic. Víctor Hugo Gómez Vasquez made his case in a cellphone video he recorded before he was arrested Friday.Dominican authorities said Sunday Gómez Vasquez, 43, agreed to pay $30,000 for the killing of his cousin, Sixto David Fernández. However, the gunman instead shot Ortiz, who was sitting near Fernández at a bar in the capital city of Santo Domingo on June 9 and was wearing clothing similar to Fernández’s.
The former Red Sox star has been recovering in a Boston hospital. Officials had said the shooting stemmed from Gómez Vasquez wanting revenge against Fernandez over a drug arrest eight years ago, which Gómez Vasquez disputes.”Sixto David has already said he has no enemies,” Gómez Vasquez said in the cellphone video, according to CBS Boston. “I am not his enemy. I want to make clear I had nothing to do with this.”
Gómez Vasquez is believed to belong to a major Mexican drug cartel, CBS News correspondent Mola Lenghi reported. He is wanted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and had been on the run since March.A relative of Gómez Vasquez told CBS Boston he couldn’t afford a lawyer to fight the federal charges. “He hasn’t turned himself in because he had no money for a lawyer, just as he doesn’t have no money to send that hit for his cousin, Sixto David Fernandez,” Gómez Vasquez’s relative told CBS Boston on the condition of anonymity.The relative claimed that Gómez Vasquez was framed. “He’s an easy target because of his situation in the United States,” the relative told CBS Boston.Gómez Vasquez also recorded his arrest in a Santo Domingo Oeste apartment Friday to show he didn’t resist officers, CBS Boston reports. An alleged middleman, Alberto Rodriguez Mota, was captured Friday by the Dominican navy, according to police.Rodriguez Mota was seen on surveillance video at the bar before the attack. He allegedly took a dark picture of Fernández and shared it with others involved in the plot.Fourteen people have been detained in the investigation, prosecutors said Sunday.
The International Triathlon Union (ITU) have announced that the elite races at the 2016 Kitzbuehel ITU Triathlon World Cup have been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. However, the junior races will continue as planned, and will be organised with the time-trial format that was scheduled to debut at the elite races.
Advertisement
“Despite our best efforts to identify a solution, in the end we were unsuccessful. Therefore, we believe that it is in the best interest of all to cancel this year’s World Cup race as soon as possible to allow for Federations and athletes to change their race and travel plans. We do apologize for any inconvenience this causes, and hope to return as a host of ITU races in the future,” said Event Director Herwig Grabner.
“We are disappointed we will not be able to contest the World Cup race in Kitzbuehel this year, a city that has a storied history of hosting successful of ITU events. However, we remain committed to debuting new formats and will therefore introduce the time-trial format in the junior race so that we can explore how this format could be incorporated in future events,” said ITU President and IOC Member Marisol Casado.
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To date, the Kitzbuehel World Cup will not be replaced on the 2016 schedule.
A new global half distance championship triathlon event for professional and age group triathletes alike, organised by Challenge Family, is to take place in Samorin, Slovakia on June 3, 2017.
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Known as ‘The Championship’, the event will take place at the incredible x-bionic® sphere in Samorin, Slovakia. Jan Masek, CEO of x-bionic® sphere said: “ We are thrilled to host The Championship and are committed to providing triathletes from across the globe with a truly unforgettable experience at x-bionic® sphere.”
For professional athletes the event will carry a minimum €150,000 professional prize purse, and professional athletes will be able to qualify for The Championship via Challenge Family events worldwide.
Professional athletes who finish in the top five at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, or a top three finish in the 2016 World Triathlon Series end of season rankings, 2016 ITU Long Distance Championship, 2016 Ironman World Championship or 2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championship will also receive an invite. Challenge Samorin 2016 will carry double the qualifying slots for the event.
Professional athlete’s qualifying at non-Challenge Family events will be required to validate at a Challenge Family event within the qualifying period, which commences at Challenge Fuerteventura 2016 and concludes at Challenge Rimimi 2017.
Age group athletes will have the opportunity to qualify with a top five age group finish at any Challenge Family event worldwide during the qualification period. Top 3 teams in the male, female and mixed categories in relay events will also qualify at Challenge Family events.s
Three hundred loyalty slots are available to any age group athlete who participates in at least four Challenge Family events within the qualification period. Loyalty spots are awarded on a first-come-first-served basis for athletes who meet the minimum participation criteria. Loyalty slots are not dependent on an athlete’s race time or finish position.
“At Challenge Family we’re driven by the same thing that drives our athletes: the passion to push limits, to perform at our best and to enjoy what we do in style. The Championship embodies this and it is our goal to set the new standard in triathlon,” said Zibi Szlufcik, CEO of the Challenge Family.
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The Championship comprises of a 1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21.1km run and is to be an annual event.
Doctors associated with Harvard and Johns Hopkins called for an investigation into health care at border facilities in a letter to members of Congress Thursday. The letter comes in response to the deaths of six migrant children either in government custody or soon after their release.
At least three of the children died from the flu, according to autopsies. The doctors wrote in their letter that flu deaths “are fairly rare events for children living in the United States.” Domestically, the U.S. experiences a rate of about one flu death per 600,000 children, according to the doctors. Among migrants children in custody, the numbers are far higher, they wrote.”This rate of death from influenza appears to be substantially less than the rate in detention facilities, with at least three deaths in as many as 200,000 children detained — many for less than the length of the season,” they wrote.
The letter includes a list of topics and questions that the doctors suggest be posed to each facility holding migrant children, ranging from health screening to treatment and surveillance for infectious illnesses like the flu.”We suspect that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may not be following best practices with respect to screening, treatment, isolation, and prevention of influenza,” the doctors wrote.In a statement to CBS News, a spokesperson for HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which houses unaccompanied migrant children, said every child in the agency’s care receives a complete medical examination in the first 48 hours. In addition, the agency “requires all care providers to report incidents affecting a child’s health, well-being and safety.””As such, ORR provides routine and emergency medical and mental health care for all unaccompanied alien children (UAC) in its care, including an initial medical examination, appropriate follow-up care, and weekly individual and group counseling sessions with care provider clinicians,” the spokesperson said.The letter was sent to Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut, who chairs the subcommittee that oversees HHS, and Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-California, who chairs the subcommittee on Homeland Security.”This is alarming, but unfortunately not surprising, given the way the Departments of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security are responding to the crisis on the border,” DeLauro said in a statement to CBS News. “Even under the best circumstances, the flu is a dangerous threat to people. This Administration continues to exacerbate this crisis to an untenable degree. Much of the problem stems from the lack of coordination, the lack of basic standards of care and procedures to ensure children are screened for health issues, treated quickly and safely, and get the proper vaccinations.”Prior to September 2018, it had been a decade since any children had died in Border Patrol custody, according to government figures. Since then, five Guatemalan children and one child from El Salvador have died either in custody or soon after their release to hospitals.
Rep. Roybal-Allard said in an email to CBS News that the deaths of children in U.S. custody that she will “seek a thorough accounting of (the children’s) deaths.””As a mother and grandmother, I have been heartbroken by the deaths of migrant children in our government’s custody,” Roybal-Allard said.In a statement to CBS News, a CBP official said its facilities were not designed to hold children for long periods of time.”As DHS and CBP leadership have noted numerous times in testimony to Congress and in numerous media engagements that our short-term holding facilities were not designed to hold vulnerable populations,” the official said.Autopsies performed on three of the children, who died at ages 2, 6 and 16, revealed flu as the cause. The doctors called for independent forensic reviews of the deaths of two other children who were not subject to autopsies. In one of those cases, the September 2018 death of a 10-year-old girl from El Salvador was not publicly acknowledged by the government until a CBS News report in May revealed she succumbed to long-term heart problems in a Nebraska hospital.The most recent death was that of 16-year-old Carlos Hernandez Vásquez, just a week before what would have been his 17th birthday. The boy had been apprehended a week earlier in the Rio Grande Valley, near the southern U.S. border. When unaccompanied migrant children are taken into Border Patrol custody, the agency is mandated to notify HHS’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) via an online portal within 72 hours. Instead, Vasquez remained for six days at the crowded McAllen Processing Center.A month earlier, 2-year-old Wilmer Vasquez succumbed to complications from the flu in a hospital bed. The earliest verified case of a migrant child’s death from the flu shortly after being in government custody was on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2018. In that case, 8-year-old Felipe Alonzo died just six days after being apprehended with his father by Border Patrol.
A new global half distance championship triathlon event for professional and age group triathletes alike, organised by Challenge Family, is to take place in Samorin, Slovakia on June 3, 2017.
Advertisement
Known as ‘The Championship’, the event will take place at the incredible x-bionic® sphere in Samorin, Slovakia. Jan Masek, CEO of x-bionic® sphere said: “ We are thrilled to host The Championship and are committed to providing triathletes from across the globe with a truly unforgettable experience at x-bionic® sphere.”
For professional athletes the event will carry a minimum €150,000 professional prize purse, and professional athletes will be able to qualify for The Championship via Challenge Family events worldwide.
Professional athletes who finish in the top five at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, or a top three finish in the 2016 World Triathlon Series end of season rankings, 2016 ITU Long Distance Championship, 2016 Ironman World Championship or 2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championship will also receive an invite. Challenge Samorin 2016 will carry double the qualifying slots for the event.
Professional athlete’s qualifying at non-Challenge Family events will be required to validate at a Challenge Family event within the qualifying period, which commences at Challenge Fuerteventura 2016 and concludes at Challenge Rimimi 2017.
Age group athletes will have the opportunity to qualify with a top five age group finish at any Challenge Family event worldwide during the qualification period. Top 3 teams in the male, female and mixed categories in relay events will also qualify at Challenge Family events.s
Three hundred loyalty slots are available to any age group athlete who participates in at least four Challenge Family events within the qualification period. Loyalty spots are awarded on a first-come-first-served basis for athletes who meet the minimum participation criteria. Loyalty slots are not dependent on an athlete’s race time or finish position.
“At Challenge Family we’re driven by the same thing that drives our athletes: the passion to push limits, to perform at our best and to enjoy what we do in style. The Championship embodies this and it is our goal to set the new standard in triathlon,” said Zibi Szlufcik, CEO of the Challenge Family.