With only a week to go until the Paris Olympic Test Event, several updates have been made to the start lists.
The newest European champion, Ricardo Batista, has been added to the men’s start list and will be racing for Portugal. Batista claimed both the Senior and U23 titles over the Super Sprint in Balikesir with an imperious performance. Judging by his recent form, he could certainly enliven the race in Paris. While Batista has been added, two stalwarts of the Portuguese team are no longer due to start as both Joao Silva and Joao Pereira are out.
On the note of substitutions, Noah Servais has replaced Marten Van Riel for Belgium. Servais has actually slipped behind his compatriot Arnaud Mengal in the Olympic qualification rankings. Whereas Servais is now ranked 68th, Mengal has climbed to 57th. At least one of them will need to find a way into the top-30 if Belgium are to secure a third male slot at the Paris Olympic Games.
Genis Grau has also been switched into the Test Event, replacing Alberto Gonzalez Garcia for Spain. Both men have won World Cup medals this year. Grau earned his in Huatulco while Gonzalez did so in Tiszaujvaros.
Another World Cup medallist from 2023 has been substituted out. Anahi Alvarez Corral won in Huatulco but has been replaced on the start list by Cecilia Perez. Irving Perez has likewise been substituted out of the Test Event with Aram Michell Peñaflor Moysen coming in.
Makoto Odakura has also been substituted in for Ren Sato.
Beyond the substitution process, several athletes have been added from the wait list.
Richard Murray will now be starting and the Test Event has come at a near-perfect time for him. After a 5th place at WTCS Sunderland, he won a medal in Balikesir despite battling with lingering sickness from Sunderland. With his place on the start line at the Test Event, he has a great opportunity to accrue plenty of points towards Olympic qualification.
Casper Stornes has also been added to the start list. In an unexpected turn, his compatriot, Gustav Iden, has not been added.
A former WTCS race winner, Stornes has enjoyed a recent run of success as part of the Norwegian Mixed Team Relay. A gold medal in the relay at the European Games preceded a bronze medal at the relay event in Sunderland. Stornes also raced as the relay finished 7th in Hamburg.
The presence of Stornes on the start list could therefore indicate that the Norwegian Federation plan to push him, as well as Iden, towards the top-30 in the Olympic rankings to nab a third Olympic slot. In doing so, they could make the most of Stornes’ relay value.
Meanwhile, Iden may instead prioritise the autumn World Cup swing. After the recent death of his mother has had plenty to navigate on a personal level and so not much can be read into his absence from the Paris Event.
In the men’s field, Alois Knabl, Brock Hoel, Diego Moya, Emil Holm, Nicolo Strada, Felix Duchampt and Darr Smith have also been added to the start list.
Alice Betto is also in. How the Italian athlete fares will be of particular interest. She memorably won a medal at the previous Olympic Test Event in Tokyo in 2019.
Tanja Stroschneider, Brea Roderick, Paulina Klimas and Maria Tomé are further additions to the start list. Three Japanesse athletes have also made it – Yuka Sato, Minori Ikeno, Hiraku Fukuoka – while Shanae Williams is now in line to be the only female representation from Africa at the Test Event.
As athletes are added to the start list, several have dropped out.
Oscar Dart and Sylvain Fridelance are no longer slated to take part in the men’s race. Moreover, Sophie Linn, Luisa Baptista and Cathia Schär are no longer pencilled in on the women’s start list.
Finally, the status of Georgia Taylor-Brown remains up in the air. Given her recent calf injury, it is unlikely that she will actually race in Paris. With the racing due to take place next week, the likelihood is that she will be removed from the start list, thereby making another slot available for an athlete on the wait list.
Alternatively, Taylor-Brown could spring a surprise and actually race. The situation should become clearer in the coming days.
