Sunderland City Council this morning announced it is teaming up with British Triathlon, to bring a major sporting event to the Wearside coast this summer.
It has been revealed that the city’s seafront of Roker and Seaburn will host the British Triathlon Grand Final in August 2022, while the city has also been earmarked to host a leg of the World Triathlon Championship Series next year.
This forms part of a wider project actioned by British Triathlon in collaboration with the Council around swim, bike, run in the city to promote a healthier lifestyle for residents.
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A short presentation took place at the Roker Hotel this morning, where council members and associates from British Triathlon informed the local area of the exciting events planned going forward.
A short video presentation was played announcing the swim, bike, run initiative before figures all had their say on the exciting opportunities that the Triathlons will bring to Wearside.
Chief Executive for Sunderland City Council, Patrick Melia, was very excited to be bringing the coveted events to Sunderland.
He said: "It's a great time for Sunderland, there's a lot of positive things happening in the city.
"Later this year on the weekend of the 20 and 21 August we're going to celebrate the elite athletes in terms of the British Triathlon of all ages, and in terms of para-athletes as well in Sunderland.
"It's going to be a great event where we have the best athletes from the UK in Sunderland demonstrating what we've just seen on the video - and that's just going to be really powerful for our people to see.
"Next year, on the same weekend we'll have an event that's part of the World Series - a Triathlon event. So it's fantastic that those two events are coming to Sunderland."
However, Patrick also explained how the events bring a key opportunity to improve activity in Sunderland, promoting healthier lifestyles.
He continued: "And it's part of a longer term relationship that we have been forging with British Triathlon - to really bring Triathlon to the city and to help us to inspire our young people, and people of all ages and all abilities to get involved."
British Triathlon Director of Development, Helen Marney, added: "Our partnership with Sunderland and Sunderland City Council in particular is about having that lifetime approach to physical activity and using the sport of Triathlon and what that means in terms of just swimming, biking, and running.
"It's dead simple, everybody can get out there in August and following that the year after that yourselves, to really build communities from within and to increase participation."
She added: "Of course the event is a significant key milestone in that, but it is about that broader offer - all year round for the next two years and beyond and how we offer swim, bike, run opportunities for people.
"This isn't about British Triathlon coming in with coaches, parachuting in activities, parachuting in programmes.
"Yes we do have that on offer, but this will be about the communities of Sunderland and the communities of Sunderland building that, deciding how they want swim, bike, run to embed in their lives and how they work, and how they live - and ideally we'll be investing in those people to become our force of the future."
The 2022 Grand Final in Sunderland will not only support the development of the swim bike and run agenda within the city itself, but will also offer crucial competition-based opportunities for the following generation of World Class standard athletes.
Scheduled for the 22 August, the event itself will see a 750m swim in the North Sea, followed by a 20km bike and finishing with a 5km run.
An expected 160 triathletes will begin on the Roker and Seaburn beaches, before moving onto a four lap bike course following the scenic coastal road.
A picturesque promenade run will see the event come to a close, with plenty of room to be allocated for spectators and fans alike.
The event will also hope to offer a new perspective of Sunderland for visiting parties, with plenty to do on the stunning seafront and surrounding areas.
To find out more about the event, visit British Triathlon, here.
