Edmonton Triathlon Academy CEO Sheila O'Kelly "had to embark on a global journey" to bring the 2014 Int'l Triathlon Union's world championship to Edmonton, Canada, according to Chris Oleary of the EDMONTON JOURNAL. From Auckland, New Zealand to Edmonton, "with all of the appropriate letters crossed and dotted," O’Kelly and some academy representatives, along with city officials, "zigged over to Madrid, Spain, where they made a presentation to ITU officials" on Friday and Saturday. With the ITU’s approval, they "zagged back home faster than you can say 'jet lag' in Spanish." The official date is not nailed down yet, but O'Kelly "expects the race to in early September." The event is budgeted to cost C$5M ($4.99M), with the city contributing C$2M and the rest coming from corporate sponsors and the other two levels of government. Work "to upgrade Hawrelak Park’s lake to ITU standards will cost the city" C$1.23M. The city said in a release that the event’s "estimated economic impact" is C$16M. A worldwide TV audience of 21 million, spanning 160 countries, "is expected" (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 1/28).
