ROKA Triathletes Earn ITU World Champion Titles
Flora Duffy and Mario Mola Reach Top of Podium in Thrilling Competitions
DALLAS, Texas, September 27, 2016 – ROKA Sports, Inc. a Dallas-based performance multisport brand, today congratulated two of its professional triathletes, Flora Duffy and Mario Mola, on their historic victories at the International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Triathlon Series (WTS) Grand Final in Cozumel, Mexico.
Comprised of eight rounds of competition around the globe and culminating in the Grand Final, the WTS is the International Triathlon Union’s annual series of triathlon events used to crown a world champion each year. Competing head-to-head in these races, athletes amass point totals, and the highest total for the series determines the overall ITU World Champion.
Duffy took home the Grand Final race with a dramatic solo effort on the bike and run. She also added wins at ITU Stockholm, and the Montreal World Cup. She had a consistently excellent year, finishing second at ITU World Triathlon Leeds and third at ITU World Triathlon Cape Town.
Duffy commented, “It has been an amazing journey this season.”
Mola’s first world title was the result of a season filled with dramatic victories and incredible closing speed on the run. He took the win at four ITU World Triathlon events: Abu Dhabi, Gold Coast, Yokohama, and Hamburg. He also won the 2016 Mooloolaba ITU Triathlon World Cup and was second at ITU World Triathlon Edmonton.
Mola said, “It’s been an all-around great year, and I’m very happy to end the series with the overall title. A lot of work has been done in preparation for this goal, but also I had a lot of fun preparing for it with my training partners. I can’t wait for another season to start!”
Leading after the 1.5km swim in the Grand Final event, Duffy was able to extend her lead on the 40km bike segment, and finish with a time of 1:57:59. In both the final event and overall standings, she edged out ROKA’s Gwen Jorgensen, an Olympic Gold Medalist and the ITU WTS World Champion of 2014 and 2015. Duffy’s 4691 total points surpassed the 4435 earned by Jorgensen, who finished second in the world.
After second-place finishes in the 2014 and 2015 ITU WTS to countryman and ROKA athlete Javier Gomez, Mario Mola won his first world title in dramatic fashion. Mola’s time of 1:47:36 led to a winning point total of 4819, four points ahead of Jonny Brownlee who was suffering from heat exhaustion in the final meters of the race.
Both 2016 champions commented on ROKA’s renowned performance wetsuits. Duffy said, “My favorite piece of ROKA gear is my Maverick X wetsuit. I seriously feel invincible when I put that suit on. So comfortable, and so fast in the water. We had many wetsuit swims this year, and I always came out of the water [in the] top three wearing the suit.” Mola added, “ROKA's Maverick wetsuit is my winning choice. The feeling with it is unbeatable.”
Rob Canales, Co-Founder and CEO of ROKA said, “It’s an amazing thrill to watch members of the ROKA family achieve world titles. Seeing Flora and Mario working so hard during the year inspires us, and we all respect the responsibility of making the most of their equipment.”
Canales added, “Having ROKA athletes win both the Elite Men’s and Elite Women’s categories is wild — even more because two other members of our family, Gwen Jorgensen and Javier Gómez Noya, took home the titles last year. Our team is so proud to be represented by this incredible group of athletes and the extreme limits they push each other to.”