Two world champion triathletes are on the Island this week as guests of the Bermuda Triathlon Association and will be imparting their knowledge to other athletes and one of the stars also scheduled to take part in an event on the Island.

Perhaps the most recognised face in the triathlon world at this moment is Australian Chris McCormack. The 34-year-old is known affectionately to the triathlon community as Macca.

He began competing on international-distance courses in 1996, winning both the 1997 Triathlon World Championships and the 1997 ITU World Cup Series; to date, no-one else has won both titles in a single year.

After shifting focus to longer distance racing he displayed exceptional aptitude for the distance winning many races. McCormack won Ironman Australia in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Twice he has finished the Quelle Challenge Roth, a prestigious Iron-Distance triathlon in Germany, in under eight hours, a feat only five other athletes have completed. Ironman Triathlon involves a 2.4-mile ocean swim followed by a 112-mile bike ride and ending with a 26.2-mile marathon run.

In 2007 McCormack won the prestigious Ford Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, after coming second, within two minutes of the winner, in 2006.

McCormack, who arrives on Island today, is no stranger to Bermuda having competed in World Cup Triathlons here in the early 1990s. He is here to present prizes and speak at the Bermuda Triathlon Association prize-giving dinner this Saturday at the Elbow Beach Hotel and to hold triathlon clinics.

Also on the island is Melanie McQuaid, who is here courtesy of Winners Edge Bike Shop and Gulf Stream Construction. McQuaid, who hails from Victoria, British Columbia, competes in Xterra triathlons which involve an ocean swim (1500m) a mountain bike (30km) and cross country run (10km). In the past five years she has won the Xterra Triathlon World Championships three times and been second twice. McQuaid has also won the Xterra Triathlon Pro Championships Series and won five Canadian Xterra National Championships.

Prior to taking up XTerra Triathlons McQuaid was a member of the Canadian National Road Racing and Mountain Bike teams and competed as a professional mountain biker for a number of years.

McQuaid will be competing in Bermuda in the first XTerra race in Bermuda, the Winners Edge / Gulf Stream Construction Xterra Duathlon on March 2 at Ferry Reach Park. She will also be holding a mountain bike clinic on Saturday March 1 and giving a talk with Deanna McMullen, a physiotherapist and Bermuda's National Triathlon Champion. She will be signing autographs at Winners Edge Bike Shop on March 1 between 11.30 a.m. and 1.30 p.m.

For further details on these events go to www.bta.bm