Europe Triathlon

A lot has been said about the Olympic Legacy and what it can do for sport and there is no doubt that the 2012 Olympic Games in London have propelled Triathlon to another level, in terms of exposure, participants and interest.

Across Europe, countries are having to deal with a surge in interest following the exploits of Alistair Brownlee and that incredible climax to the Women’s race in London.

Viacheslav Malishev, President of Triathlon National Federation of Georgia, was just one of the many spectators suitably impressed by triathlon and he hopes to improve the prospects of the sport in his country.

Malishev was elected to the position of President in December 2012, a position he currently shares with Modern Pentathlon. Triathlon in Georgia is very much in its infancy but Malishev is passionate about developing the sport.

He said: “At the moment we have no athletes, but we are organising our first competition in April.

“There is a passion for Triathlon on Georgia and I believe, for example, in Batumi, that we have good potential for a fantastic race course.”

Batumi is a seaside City on the Black Sea coast, and with favourable weather all year round it, Malishev is hopefully it can become the home of triathlon racing in Georgia.

“We are organising our first ever race in Georgia next month (April), in Tblisi,” said Malishev. “This will be a youth competition, for ages 10-14, and will be a duathlon, just swimming and running, to see how many potential athletes we have.

“We will organise another competition in May or June to see the progress from the first race. My goal is to form a core group of athletes who can develop as a Triathlon squad going into 2014.”

Malishev was speaking at the 2013 ETU Presidents’ Conference in Warsaw, the first time Georgia has been represented.

The Modern Pentathlon and Triathlon National Federation of Georgia was established in 1996 but up until recently has acted as a non-triathlon Federation.

However, with Malishev’s election, a new Executive Board is now in place solely for Triathlon and they are responsible for developing the sport with the long term goal of having a standalone Triathlon Federation which is self-sufficient, sustainable, and offers triathletes in Georgia a clear pathway to performing at the highest level possible.

“Short-term we are simply looking to pull all our disciplines together – swimming, running and biking and drive people towards Triathlon,” said Malishev. “This year we will set up three or four youth races and in 2014 I want us to host a National Championship.”

GEORGIA TRIATHLON FEDERATION:

President: Viacheslav Malishev

For more information, contact Viacheslav at penta5km@gmail.com