Emma Snowsill
Encyclopedia
Emma Laura Snowsill OAM
(born 15 June 1981) is an Australian professional triathlete and multiple gold medalist in the World Championships and the Commonwealth Games. She won the gold medal in triathlon at the 2008 Olympics.
Snowsill won the 2000 International Triathlon Union
(ITU) World Championship in the 16–20 years age category plus the gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Youth Olympic Festival Triathlon at age 19. She was awarded a scholarship with the Australian Institute of Sport
(AIS) and was voted 16–19 years female Triathlete of the Year 2000. She is studying for a degree in health science (currently deferred).
In 2003, Snowsill became ITU World Champion
for the first time in Queenstown, New Zealand
.
She was the 2004 ITU World Cup
Champion and ranked first in the world but was not selected for the Australian team for the 2004 Athens Olympics.
In 2005, Snowsill took her second world crown in Gamagori, Japan, in 35 °C (95 °F) temperatures and 90% relative humidity
.
She has won the "Grand Slam" of Chicago, City of Los Angeles, London
and New York Triathlons plus multiple ITU World Cup events. She was also the winner of the 2005 and 2006 Lifetime Fitness Triathlons in Minneapolis, and won the Noosa International Triathlon winner three times.
She is the current Australian Olympic distance champion; she won the gold medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
in Melbourne
.
She won another gold medal at the 2006 World ITU Championships in Lausanne
, where she finished 45 seconds in front of Portuguese triathlete Vanessa Fernandes
. This made her the first female triathlete to win three world titles. The following year in Hamburg
, Fernandes gained revenge for the defeat by winning her first world title, beating Snowsill by over a minute.
In 2008, she kicked off to a great start, winning the Mooloolaba World Cup season opener, beating her olympic rival Vanessa Fernandes. Over the year there has been much speculation as to which one of the two athletes would win in Beijing. Snowsill skipped the World Champs out in order to devote all of energy to the Beijing Olympics. She stayed with the leaders in the swim and cycle legs and broke clear in the run. Snowsill won the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 1:58:27, 1 minute 7 seconds ahead of Fernandes. Fellow Australian Emma Moffatt
won the bronze medal.
On 26 January 2009, Snowsill was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia
.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(born 15 June 1981) is an Australian professional triathlete and multiple gold medalist in the World Championships and the Commonwealth Games. She won the gold medal in triathlon at the 2008 Olympics.
Professional career
International Triathlon Union
The International Triathlon Union or ITU is the international governing body for the multi-sport disciplines of triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and other nonstandard variations...
(ITU) World Championship in the 16–20 years age category plus the gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Youth Olympic Festival Triathlon at age 19. She was awarded a scholarship with the Australian Institute of Sport
Australian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport is a sports training institution in Australia with world class facilities and support services. The Institute's headquarters is situated in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The 66.0 hectare site campus is in the northern suburb of Bruce, but some of the...
(AIS) and was voted 16–19 years female Triathlete of the Year 2000. She is studying for a degree in health science (currently deferred).
In 2003, Snowsill became ITU World Champion
ITU Triathlon World Championships
The ITU Triathlon World Championships have been held annually since 1989, the same year as the formation of the International Triathlon Union – the world governing body of triathlon...
for the first time in Queenstown, New Zealand
Queenstown, New Zealand
Queenstown is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island. It is built around an inlet called Queenstown Bay on Lake Wakatipu, a long thin Z-shaped lake formed by glacial processes, and has spectacular views of nearby mountains....
.
She was the 2004 ITU World Cup
ITU Triathlon World Cup
The ITU Triathlon World Cup is an annual series of triathlon races staged around the world. The series is organised by the International Triathlon Union , the world governing body of the sport. BG Group was the title sponsor of the series from 2000 to 2008...
Champion and ranked first in the world but was not selected for the Australian team for the 2004 Athens Olympics.
In 2005, Snowsill took her second world crown in Gamagori, Japan, in 35 °C (95 °F) temperatures and 90% relative humidity
Relative humidity
Relative humidity is a term used to describe the amount of water vapor in a mixture of air and water vapor. It is defined as the partial pressure of water vapor in the air-water mixture, given as a percentage of the saturated vapor pressure under those conditions...
.
She has won the "Grand Slam" of Chicago, City of Los Angeles, London
London Triathlon
The London Triathlon is the largest Triathlon in the world....
and New York Triathlons plus multiple ITU World Cup events. She was also the winner of the 2005 and 2006 Lifetime Fitness Triathlons in Minneapolis, and won the Noosa International Triathlon winner three times.
She is the current Australian Olympic distance champion; she won the gold medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
.
She won another gold medal at the 2006 World ITU Championships in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, where she finished 45 seconds in front of Portuguese triathlete Vanessa Fernandes
Vanessa Fernandes
Vanessa de Sousa Fernandes is a Portuguese athlete from Perosinho, Vila Nova de Gaia and a former triathlon European and World champion...
. This made her the first female triathlete to win three world titles. The following year in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Fernandes gained revenge for the defeat by winning her first world title, beating Snowsill by over a minute.
Emma Moffatt
Emma Moffatt is an Australian professional triathlete. She won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and won the gold at the ITU Triathlon World Championships in 2009 and 2010. She was born in Moree, New South Wales....
won the bronze medal.
On 26 January 2009, Snowsill was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
.