More than 35-hundred amateur athletes are expected to compete in the USA Triathlon National Championships this weekend at Levi Carter Park. There will be Olympic and sprint-distance bike-swim-run races Saturday and Sunday
An estimated 10,000 spectators are expected to attend. The event is back in Omaha for a second year.
Spokesman Brian Damico says "what they will see is ahtletes from beginner to very experienced racing." He says on Saturday there will be a 1,500-meter swim, a 40-kilometer bike and 10-kilometer run. Those athletes had to qualify to compete in the races.
On Sunday Damico says sprint-distance athletes will complete in a 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike ride and 5-kilometer run. Those races are open to all athletes.
The swim races will be in Carter Lake. The running events will remain in Levi Carter Park, so runners won't have to go to TD Ameritrade Park.
The athletes competing in the bike portions of the event will ride up Pershing Drive along the riverfront into Washington County. That will result in various street closures which will impact people traveling to Eppley Airfield.
Streets that will be closed Saturday and Sunday from 5 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. include:
Carter Lake Boulevard from Ames Avenue to Abbott Drive.
Abbott Drive North to Arthur C. Storz Expressway.
Arthur C. Storz Expressway to North 16th Street.
North 16th Street to Pershing Drive.
Pershing Drive to North River Drive.
Carter Lake Shore Drive to North 11th Street.
North 11th Street to Locust Street.
Airport officials say travelers using Eppley Airfield will only be able to access the terminal and parking lots from the south using Abbott Drive. Air travelers are urged to plan to allow extra time for possible delays by the road closures.
Spectators going to Levi Carter Park should enter the park from the west using 16th Street and Carter Boulevard. Free shuttles will be available from the Hilton Hotel and Embassy Suites-Old Market.
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