Nine of Bermuda's leading triathletes along with the Island's International Triathlon Union (ITU) senior delegate, Patty Petty, are in Surfers Paradise near Brisbane, Australia this weekend for the the Triathlon World Championships.

Racing in various groups begins today in a weekend event which will feature 5,000 triathletes from around the globe including over 1,000 athletes from Australia and over 400 from Great Britain.

Bermuda's youngest team member is Ryan Gunn, the only local athlete in the 'elite' events, who will also be one of the youngest in that division.

Gunn will be looking to gain experience in his first Worlds and he will be encouraged by his recent performance at the recent Canadian Junior Triathlon Championships in which he finished seventh in an impressive time of one hour, two minutes and 13 seconds.

Competing in the Olympic distance age group categories which includes a 1,500 metre swim, 40 kilometre bike and 10K run will be Kent Richardson (50-54 age group), Evan Naude ( 30-34), Travis Cooper (35-39), Peter Hallett (25-29) and Russell Burgess (30-34) with Susan Edney (45-49), Neil de ste Croix (40-44) and Dave Morrison ( 55-59) taking part in the Sprint distances championships ( 750m swim, 20K bike and 5K run).

According to local triathlon association spokesman Dave Morrison, Naude, Bermuda's 2008 Olympic and Sprint Distance national champion should on paper be Bermuda's fastest finisher but will be hard pressed to finish in the top 20 in what will be a competitive age group.

"His form this season has been excellent and if he is in a good position off the bike his very strong run should give him a real opportunity to better his 25th place finish in his only previous World Championships in Hawaii in 2005," said Morrison.

"Richardson has had another impressive season in 2009 and will be hoping for a strong finish in these championships and is aiming for at least a top 10 finish as he is at the lower end of his age category.

"Hallatt will be competing in his first Worlds and will be looking to build on his 2:10:40 time in the Washington Triathlon in July, 2009. A strong swimmer, he will be one of the first out of the water in his age group but he is in perhaps the strongest age group and will need an exceptional bike and run if he is to break into the top 20."

Morrison said that in the Sprint event De ste Croix would face tough competition in a large field in his age group but could go top 10 if he has a strong swim, his weakest discipline, as he should have fast bike and run splits.

Edney, in her first season in triathlon, impressed at the Washington Triathlon in June, winning her age group but a leg injury has meant that she has been unable to run for eight weeks and as such may find the going tough on the final phase.

Morrison, himself, finished third in his age group in Washington but will need a strong race to break into the top half of the field with top Australian and British competitors in his group.

He noted said the tight but very fast bike course had been the talking point among the athletes all week and with so many athletes participating, bike handling skills would be key on a crowded course.

In the elite male and female races the competition for podium places is exceptionally strong with Alistair Brownlee and Emma Moffatt, after a number of wins in the World Series, starting as slight favourites.

Racing takes place today and tomorrow. The progress of Bermuda's triathletes can be tracked in real time on www.triathlon.org.