JAKE Birtwhistle has taken a major step towards Olympic selection after being chosen to run in a Rio de Janeiro triathlon test event in August.
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The 20-year-old from Launceston was one of six male triathletes announced by Triathlon Australia to compete in Rio in August with a top finish virtually assuring him of selection for the Olympic Games.
The Rio test event will be held over the same course that will be used for the Olympic Games in 2016 and is centred on the Copacabana district.
Many countries will be using the event as their selection race for the following year and it will be the only opportunity for triathletes to compete on the course.
A top 10 finish will earn Birtwhistle an automatic nomination to the Australian Olympic Committee.
Birtwhistle has had a stunning season, winning the unique double of Australian and Oceania championships in elite and under-23 categories over sprint and standard triathlon distances in Devonport and Wollongong.
He went on to finish second in the ITU Mooloolaba World Cup and then had top order finishes of ninth and 11th in the World Triathlon Series in Yokohama and London.
Next on his program will be a European Cup race in Holten followed by another World Triathlon Series event in Hamburg before the Rio test event.
Joining Birtwhistle in the Australian team for Rio are dual Olympian Courrtney Atkinson, Ryan Baillie, Aaron Royle, Dan Wilson and Ryan Fisher.
The Australian women’s team is made up of Olympians Erin Densham, Emma Moffatt, Ashleigh Gentle, Emma Jackson, Charlotte McShane and Gillian Backhouse.
Triathlon Australia’s national performance director Bernard Savage said Birtwhistle and Fisher had put their hands up with some eye-catching performances to warrant their selection in the team.
‘‘They have set their season goals for this event and the world championships in Chicago in September,’’ he said.