2023 – Page 47 – TriStats

The Early Season Adventures of Ivana Kuriackova

15/03/202315/03/2023 Benjamin Eastman

One of the perks of a life as an international triathlete is the travel. At times it can also be a disadvantage, but it certainly facilitates an exotic lifestyle. Ivana Kuriackova has embodied that lifestyle over the past six weeks. In that time, she has raced four Continental Cups in three countries. Her travels started in Venezuela at the La Guaira Americas Cup. In her first race of the season, Kuriackova ended up in 5th. Next was a trip to Cuba. At the La Habana Americas Cup she put herself…

Gustav Iden Shoe Protest at Abu Dhabi Dismissed

14/03/202314/03/2023 Benjamin Eastman

One of the more surprising stories to come out of WTCS Abu Dhabi earlier this month was that Gustav Iden faced a shoe protest after the race. His shoes were suspected of being in violation of World Triathlon’s new rules. As a result, they were sent to World Athletics for testing. At the start of this year, World Triathlon updated their rulebook to address the rise of so-called “super shoes”. In doing so, they aligned their policy with that of World Athletics. The primary aspects that were affected included the…

Tharreau and Hadhoum Impress at French Junior Tests

14/03/202314/03/2023 Benjamin Eastman

Some of the best Junior and Youth talent France has to offer in triathlon gathered in Cannes at the weekend for pre-season testing. As a reminder, the athletes completed a swim of 800m (50m), a run of 5000m on the track and a time trial bike of 3.6km. Their times from each stage are then added together and ranked to give the final results for the tests. France is currently home to the reigning male world champion, the Mixed Team Relay world champions and the male Junior world champion. As…

Bob Haller Tackles Cross Country and Swimming Double

14/03/202314/03/2023 Benjamin Eastman

Bob Haller has been sharpening his fitness as the season gets underway. In a similar manner to Artūrs Liepa recently, Haller took on elite competition in both cross country and swimming. On 5th March, he raced in the Luxembourg Cross Country Championships. Over the 10.41km course, Haller finished 3rd in a time of 34:00. His time was only 23 seconds behind the winner and represented an opportunity to shake up the legs early in the season. A few days later, on 10th March, Haller raced in the pool as he took…

Richard Murray Races in Cape Town Cycling Tour

14/03/202314/03/2023 Benjamin Eastman

With Table Mountain towering above, there are worse places to start a cycling race. The Cape Town Cycling Tour describes itself as the most beautiful bike race in the world and the route lived up to its billing at the weekend. The Cycling Tour itself is a part of the UCI Golden Tour which consists of seven races and the Cape Town instalment is one of only two outside of Europe. Taking place around the the Cape Peninsula, the Tour covers 109km of coastal roads. At the weekend, though, triathlon fans…

Grace Norman the Pick of Stellar Para Performances in Sarasota

13/03/202313/03/2023 Benjamin Eastman

PTS Women As a reminder, the PTS categories run from PTS2 to PTS5 and refer to the amputee athletes. PTS2 describes the athletes with the most severe physical impairment while PTS5 contains athletes with milder impairments. All athletes in the PTS groups may race using prosthetics or other supportive devices, subject to World Triathlon approval. You can view the various Para-Triathlon categories here. Grace Norman led the way in the PTS5 category. The defending world champion produced a consummate performance, logging the fastest split in every discipline. Perhaps most impressive was…

Periault and Lehair Brave the Mud at French XC Champs

13/03/202313/03/2023 Benjamin Eastman

At the weekend, two WTCS athletes took on the French Cross Country Championships in Carhaix. Leonie Periault and Jeanne Lehair both raced the 8.91km course in conditions radically different to what they would be used to in triathlon. A week of rain had left much of the circuit in boggy conditions and caked in thick mud in parts. Compared to the near-pristine surface of the Yas Marina Circuit at WTCS Abu Dhabi, it was quite the turnaround. The conditions, though, did little to slow either athlete. Periault was the first…

Kuriackova and Donnelly Win Americas Cup in Pucón

13/03/202316/03/2023 Benjamin Eastman

There was an ethereal beauty to the black sands of Pucón as the athletes lined up to start. Low hanging clouds shrouded the peaks of the mountains but the weather from earlier in the week, perhaps best described as English, did not return. A cosmopolitan group of athletes lined up to race in Pucón, Chile. Several had raced in the same country only a week earlier at the Americas Cup in Villarrica. This time round, the athletes would be taking on the Sprint distance. Women’s Race The short run from…

North American Junior Titles Won Decisively in Sarasota

12/03/202312/03/2023 Benjamin Eastman

Two weeks after the Oceania Junior champions were crowned in Taupo, the North American Junior titles were won in decisive fashion in Sarasota. Jimena Renata De La Peña Schott took the win in the Junior women’s race. Born in 2006, De La Peña has already made a small splash at the Senior level. In November, she finished 12th at the Viña del Mar World Cup. Her run stood out in Chile, in spite of her age, and it did so again in Sarasota. She was towards the front of the swim…

Zaferes Continues Comeback With Sarasota Silver

12/03/202312/03/2023 Benjamin Eastman

Katie Zaferes continued her return to the world of elite triathlon at the Americas Cup race in Sarasota. Coming only one week after her return at WTCS Abu Dhabi, she would be taking on the Sprint distance once more. In addition to Zaferes, a number of talented youngsters in both the men’s and women’s races toed the start line in Sarasota. For many athletes, it represented the first race of their seasons. Women’s Race A double punch of Sarah-Lee Hevey and Diana Castillo put the field under immense pressure in…

Sophie Coldwell Keeping Her Feet on the Ground and Pontoons

11/03/202311/03/2023 Benjamin Eastman

In what might be one of the more successful detours in triathlon history, Sophie Coldwell logged her best ever WTCS finish on her way to a silver medal in Abu Dhabi. “I only raced it because I was on the way back from Australia and it was on the way,” explained Coldwell. The decision to stop in Abu Dhabi was taken only about six weeks before the event. Along with members of the Loughborough training group, including Abu Dhabi winner Alex Yee, Coldwell had been on a warm weather training…

French Junior Testing to Take Place in Cannes This Weekend

10/03/202314/03/2023 Benjamin Eastman

The next generation of French triathletes will be put through their paces this weekend as the French federation holds this year’s Junior and Youth testing. These tests form a critical component of selection for international competition. They will to a large degree determine the teams at the World Junior Championships in Hamburg in July, the European Junior Championships in Balikesir in August and the European Youth Championships in Banyoles in September. The selection tests cover male and female athletes born between 2004 and 2007. There are three separate criteria to…

Beth Potter Reflects on Her First WTCS Victory

10/03/202310/03/2023 Benjamin Eastman

With three WTCS medals last season, Beth Potter had a great 2022. Throw in her bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games and she possibly had as good a year as she could have hoped. However, the highs of the past year precipitated a mirroring low over the winter. Sickness proved a problem. Contracting COVID at the WTCS Final in Abu Dhabi undermined her race and perhaps cost her third place in the 2022 Series. Then a bout of flu in January put her out of action too. Amidst the turbulence…

A French Free For All on the Cards at Yokohama and Cagliari

09/03/202309/03/2023 Benjamin Eastman

The French team started the WTCS season well in Abu Dhabi. In the men’s race, the three French athletes Vincent Luis, Dorian Coninx and Leo Bergere finished 4th, 5th and 6th, respectively. Two of the French women, Cassandre Beaugrand and Emma Lombardi, also finished in the top-8 in the women’s race. As a result, much of the team could leave Abu Dhabi satisfied with their results. The bigger test, though, is yet to come. For France, the focal point of the season will be the Paris Olympic Test Event in…

The WTCS Rankings After Round One of Racing

09/03/202309/03/2023 Benjamin Eastman

With the first WTCS race of the season ticked off, the early rankings have taken shape. As expected, Sprint races will be worth 75% of the points that an Olympic distance race is worth this season. There was a little confusion even amongst some athletes prior to the start of the season about how many points the different distances would be worth. This indicates there may have been a slight breakdown somewhere along the way between World Triathlon, National Federations and the athletes. Of greater consequence, it means Beth Potter…

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