Year: 2023

First Look at the Tiszaujvaros World Cup 2023 Start Lists

Benjamin Eastman

The Tiszaujvaros World Cup is an institution of the elite triathlon calendar and next month it makes its long-awaited return to the circuit. For the past two years, the event has been held as a European Cup. This year, though, it will be a full World Cup with a strong start list. Tiszaujvaros is a real hotbed of triathlon in Hungary. With a European Junior Cup running concurrently, it is almost impossible to escape the sport during TriWeek. It also happens to be one of the final refuges of the…

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World Triathlon Tweaks 2023 World Cup Calendar

Benjamin Eastman

Triathlon is coming to the Eternal City. For the first time, Rome will be hosting an international triathlon. The news arrives as a result of Arzachena dropping out as a World Cup host on 7th October. In its place, Rome will be stepping up to assume the mantle of hosts. After three iterations of the Arzachena event (between 2020 and 2022), it is currently unclear if the town will host a World Cup again in the coming years. The course had proven particularly challenging with a tough climb on the…

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Interview: Csongor Lehmann and Mixing it With the Big Boys

Benjamin Eastman

Do nice guys finish last? That is the question that springs to mind when it comes to Csongor Lehmann. Every answer he gives is unfailingly polite. It’s one of the first things that stands out about him in conversation. Even when asked about the last minute shift to a duathlon at the recent European Championships, he was equanimous. “I was not happy with the decision,” he said, “but we couldn’t really do anything about it. We just had to accept it and make the best of the situation.” Having become…

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A Proposal to Solve Triathlon’s Water Quality Conundrum

Benjamin Eastman

How different is a triathlon to a duathlon? Ostensibly, at least, the only thing that changes is the first discipline. Switch out the swim for another run and leave the last two disciplines intact; it’s close enough. The swimmers in the field are the ones penalised the most by such a change. Yet that does not mean that the faster runners are necessarily the ones to benefit. After all, adding an extra run creates a different challenge. At the European Championships in Madrid, the switch of the 1500m swim to…

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Madrid European Champs Cause Changes To Rankings

Benjamin Eastman

The outcome of the European Championships in Madrid has resulted in several notable shifts in both the WTCS rankings and the Olympic qualification rankings. Based on an overly strict interpretation of the World Triathlon ranking criteria, the event probably should not have counted towards either ranking as it was a duathlon. However, as the change was forced at the last minute, the points remain on offer. Crucially, the race was only worth 75% of what it otherwise would have been as a triathlon. Last year, the winner of the European…

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Hansmaennel and Laporte Take French Junior Titles

Benjamin Eastman

The crème de la crème of young French triathlon talent gathered in Gravelines at the weekend to compete for the French Junior Championships. After close-fought races, Manon Laporte and Thomas Hansmaennel came away with the titles. In the women’s race, Laporte and Ilona Hadhoum set the pace in the water. Both should already be on the plane to Hamburg for this year’s World Junior Championships in light of their performances at the European Junior Cup in Caorle. In Gravelines, Hadhoum emerged first in 9:19 with Laporte 1 second back. Charline…

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Who are the Important Stakeholders in Elite Triathlon?

Benjamin Eastman

It’s Monday morning and the dust has settled. Jeanne Lehair and David Castro Fajardo are European champions after brilliant efforts and the world of elite triathlon is ready to move on to the next thing. However, with the events of the European Championships now consigned to history, it is hard not feel the whole thing was a little farcical. Indeed, thinking about how the weekend in Madrid panned out, there is a big question to be asked. Who really matters in elite triathlon? Let’s start with the primary issue in…

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Lehair and Castro Make Most Of Madrid Changes To Take Gold

Benjamin Eastman

At the last minute, the European Championships in Madrid were switched to a duathlon and a 5km run replaced the standard 1500m swim. However the change did little to dampen the performances of the athletes. With the European title on the line, the field put their best feet forwards and the racing saw the coronation of two first-time continental champions. Women’s race Lisa Tertsch made the most of the first 5km run and set the pace in the early stages. Also with her were Jeanne Lehair and Miriam Casillas Garcia…

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Last Minute Change To Euro Champs: It Is Now A Duathlon

Benjamin Eastman

In the last 30 minutes, Europe Triathlon has reversed its stance from last night and confirmed that today’s elite European Championships will be held as a duathlon. After heavy rainfall in the days leading up to the event in Madrid, Saturday’s age-group and Para-triathlon events were switched to the duathlon format. On Saturday evening, Europe Triathlon communicated to the elite athletes that the event on the Sunday would remain a triathlon. However, further rainfall overnight has forced their hand. As a result of the rain, the conditions in the lake…

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How Do British Athletes Make International Start Lists?

Benjamin Eastman

In light of our article about the stringent French criteria to race internationally, we thought we would look at the policies of their historic rivals: Great Britain (just don’t mention Agincourt). Britain shares many of the features of the French selection system but with several crucial differences. To start with, let’s take a look at how athletes start at certain levels. (The full plate of selection policies can be found here.) In order to guide its selection for the WTCS, Britain uses both automatic and discretionary criteria. This itself is…

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Why Don’t France Send Many Athletes To International Races?

Benjamin Eastman

France is a powerhouse in the triathlon world. At every level of the sport, they are flush with talent. From the WTCS all the way to Junior racing, at any given event, there is a good chance that the French team could put forward a medallist. Yet the French colours are often fleetingly seen at the various levels of the sport. For a country with as much depth as France, why do they rarely send a full quota of athletes to events from the WTCS to World Cups to European…

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Alberte Kjær Pedersen Is Ready To Take The Next Step

Benjamin Eastman

It’s no easy thing, knowing when you are on the right path. Life is littered with roads not taken and thoughts of what could have been. In a sense, Alberte Kjær Pedersen has neatly sidestepped that conundrum by tackling two paths at once. Alongside competing as an elite triathlete and establishing herself as a fixture in the WTCS, she is close to finishing her degree in dentistry. Medical backgrounds are hard to come by at the top of the sport – Miriam Casillas stands out as one notable exception that…

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How to Qualify for the 2024 Swiss Olympic Triathlon Team

Benjamin Eastman

After WTCS Yokohama, we noted that the quest for supremacy among the Swiss men’s team was heating up. Simon Westermann had just earned his best ever WTCS finish (of 20th) while Adrien Briffod had taken 6th place with a fantastic race. With high-calibre performers like Sylvain Fridelance and Max Studer waiting in the wings, any one of them could end the year as Switzerland’s leading male triathlete. Of course, with the Olympics on the horizon, their contest acquires a new sense of urgency. As things stand, only two of the…

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French Junior Champs To Take Place At Gravelines

Benjamin Eastman

This weekend the French Junior titles will be on the line as some of the best young triathletes in the country gather to compete in Gravelines. A win at a National Junior Championships is always a solid indicator for any athlete. The athletes will therefore be itching to make their mark. Amid a strong field, the women’s race promises to be quite the battle. Ilona Hadhoum, to date the fastest female Junior on record in France, will lead the way. However she will have to contend with Manon Laporte who…

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One Year To Go: The State of Play of Olympic Qualification

Benjamin Eastman

The day is drawing closer. After the First Period of Olympic qualification ended on 27th May 2023, we are now in the Second (and final) Period. When that ends on 28th May 2024, there will be no further avenues through which to make it to Paris. With less than a year to go, how are the Olympic berths shaping up? Earlier in the year, we looked at what the start lists would look like for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris given the state of the rankings. You can read…

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