Month: February 2024

Elite triathlon took place in Asia for the first time in 2024 at the weekend with the Asia Cup in Putrajaya. The Sprint distance event attracted a glut of talented athletes, giving some the opportunity to stretch their legs for the first time this season and others the chance to accrue points towards their world rankings. Women’s race Heading into the race, Julie Derron was the favourite. The Swiss athlete had logged a trio of top-8 finishes in the WTCS last summer after making her return from injury. In Putrajaya,…

A week after the first Americas Cup race of the year took place in La Guaira, several athletes were back to tackle the second stop of the Americas circuit. In La Habana, Cuba, the field took on the Olympic distance once again. Fortunately, the conditions were not quite as fierce as those seen seven days earlier in Venezuela. Women’s race The field remained almost entirely together during the 1500m swim. Ivana Kuriackova led the way in a time of 19:50 but did not earn much of a lead. Leslie Amat…

Running parallel to the World Cup action in Napier were the Oceania Junior Championships. Just as Australia enjoyed a double victory in the World Cup events (through Sophie Linn and Callum McClusky), they left Napier with both Junior golds too. Aspen Anderson was a class apart in the women’s event. The Commonwealth Youth Games champion made it into a five athlete breakaway alongside Alexandra Field, Grace Henry, Hayley Cromwell and Isla Watson. Watson was the fastest swimmer of the quintet (10:49), although the quickest swimmer of the field was actually…

Each man standing upon the start line at the Napier World Cup more or less found himself in the same position. To a man, they were reaching for something in the distance, so close they can almost taste it, with that something being Olympic glory in the summer. Of the field, Hayden Wilde has the most obvious path to gold in Paris and at the Napier World Cup today, his book began. He won his home World Cup in New Zealand last season, but when Wilde arrived in Napier in…

In an Olympic year, everyone finds something extra in pursuit of their place at the big show in the summer. At the first World Cup of the 2024 season, that truth was plain to see as Sophie Linn stormed to victory and sent a clear message to the Australian selectors. Choppy conditions awaited the field in the 750m sea swim and not all the athletes were able to come to terms with the waves. Two that had no problems, though, were Sophie Alden and Olivia Mathias. Fresh from a training…

New Zealand is famously a country without natural predators on land. Notwithstanding the few birds of prey that are indigenous to the region, the majority of the threats to native fauna have been imported. In many ways, the New Zealand triathlon scene is similar. Being a smaller country in the grand scheme of things, the New Zealand team has to carefully nature the few birds of prey that come its way. Last season, Nicole Van Der Kaay took the win at the New Plymouth World Cup and gave a clear…

With the first World Cup of 2024 comes the chance to make a statement. Perhaps more than any other athlete in the men’s field, Hayden Wilde will be the one to take advantage of the opportunity. Last season, Wilde won the first World Cup of the year. As with Napier this weekend, the event also took place in his home country (in New Plymouth). With home crowds expected to gee him on, another Wilde win seems a likely outcome. Wearing number 1, Wilde is the only WTCS gold medallist from…