Slated to take place one day after the Chengdu World Cup, the Brasilia World Cup is part of a bumper month of racing in October.
Like Chengdu, Brasilia will offer an Olympic distance race. The double booking has caused a split in attendance and, interestingly, several countries have split their athletes across the two races.
On the initial start lists, two former world champions are scheduled to race in Brasilia. Moreover, there is a chance that the current world champion (Pontevedra pending) could race too. Throw in a big long distance name stepping down to the faster stuff and it promises to be a fascinating event.
Who’s there?
Former world champion Katie Zaferes is slated to sign off her season with an appearance in Brazil. Having made her return to the sport after a maternity absence, Zaferes has rocketed back up the rankings this season. Brasilia will offer an ideal opportunity for her to add some much-needed points towards both her world ranking and Olympic qualification ranking. She is due to be joined by Kirsten Kasper.
Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal, the silver medallist from WTCS Yokohama, will head up an impressive Mexican team. Lizeth Rueda Santos, a WTCS regular, will also be starting. The team has quite a developmental look with several young athlete due to race. Mercedes Romero Orozco, Marcela Alvarez Solis, Luisa Daniela Baca Vargas, Vanesa De La Torre and Cecilia Sayuri Ramirez Alavez will each look to capitalise on the opportunity before them.
One of the biggest names on the start list is Beth Potter. It is entirely possible that the Brit will arrive in Brazil (should she race) as the world champion, which would certainly add some star power to the event. In addition, the 2018 world champion Vicky Holland will be racing. Holland is on the comeback from a maternity absence, in a similar fashion to Zaferes.
Even without Potter, then, two former world champions will be due to race.
Miriam Casillas Garcia heads up a strong Spanish team. World Cup medallist Noelia Juan will also be racing, while Marta Pintanel Raymundo and Anna Godoy Contreras make for a formidable line-up.
Emy Legault and Dominika Jamnicky will start for Canada while Diana Castillo and Valentina Alvarez Valencia will represent Colombia.
Romina Biagioli and Moira Miranda will look to record big performances for Argentina.
Several athletes are alone from their countries on the start list. WTCS medallist Lisa Tertsch is the biggest name in this group. Alice Betto, Valerie Barthelemy, Erica Hawley, Raquel Solis Guerrero and Melanie Santos find themselves in similar shoes.
On the men’s side, one of the largest teams is that of Spain. The European champion David Castro Fajardo will lead the way. Castro will no doubt be a major factor having won the Huatulco World Cup this year and the Viña del Mar World Cup last November.
Roberto Sanchez Mantecon, Antonio Serrat Seoane and Sergio Baxter Cabrera then make up an exceptional Spanish quartet.
Diego Moya, a World Cup silver medallist from Viña del Mar, will look to make an impact for the Chilean team. He will be supported by Gaspar Riveros and Mateo Mendoza Burgos.
The winner of the World Cup in Weihai, Crisanto Grajales, will likewise be at the forefront of the Mexican squad. He will be joined by Rodrigo Gonzalez, Jorge Alarcon Familiar and Erik Yamir Ramos Croda.
Colombia and Austria will each be sending three men to Brasilia. For the former, Ramon Armando Matuture, Juan Jose Andrade Figueroa and Gabriel Teran Carvajal are scheduled to participate. For the latter, Tjebbe Kaindl, Martin Demuth and Leon Pauger will look to make the most of the Olympic distance course.
Lasse Lührs, a WTCS medallist, is one of the leading names of the athletes listed as the only man from their country. Kenji Nener, Alessio Crociani, Joao Pereira, Callum McClusky, Matthew Wright and Tyler Smith are also among the notable names in that group.
Main talking points
Big Brazilian contingent
As hosts, Brazil will aim to impress. To that end, they will be sending a huge team packed with talent.
Manoel Messias is the standout name on their roster. Messias has won two WTCS medals this season and has established himself as one of the best runners in the sport. As a previous World Cup winner, he will enter the race with plenty of pressure on his shoulders.
Furthermore, Miguel Hidalgo will arrive with elevated expectations. A World Cup medallist himself, Hidalgo produced a major statement at the Paris Test Event. In a mature performance, he gave the clearest indication yet that he is coming to terms with the Olympic distance. Hidalgo is very well-rounded athlete and, like Messias, will be in the hunt for the win.
Kaue Willy, Antonio Bravo Neto, Felipe Bianchi, Matheus Diniz and Yago Alves then complete the men’s team.
Vittoria Lopes is possibly the biggest threat to the podium on the women’s side. She has regularly been one of the fastest swimmers in the WTCS and could manufacture a breakaway in Brasilia. Djenyfer Arnold is another superb swimmer and has all the faculties required to get onto the podium.
Luisa Baptista might not be quite as sharp in the water as her two compatriots. On the other hand, she is a remarkably quick runner and probably the fastest on the Brazilian team.
Giovanna Lacerda, Luma Guillen and Gabrielle Lemes form the rest of the women’s team and a series of big performances can be expected.
Americas champions
Tapia of Mexico will arrive in Brasilia as the Americas champion over the Olympic distance. Meanwhile, Wright of Barbados is coming off a win at the Americas Sprint Championships. Both therefore will have points to prove what with the World Cup essentially taking place in their back yard.
Tapia’s win in Veracruz was the first of her international career. While she is a WTCS medallist, a World Cup win has eluded her. With speed to burn on the run and a history of performing well in similar conditions, she will be a tough candidate to beat.
Wright has enjoyed success at the Continental Cup level in 2023. His primary challenge will be to convert his championship success over the Sprint distance to the Olympic distance. His mature victory in Santa Marta indicated that he has the capacity to log a big performance and, if things come together for him, he could be a real handful for the rest of the field.
Welcome back Mr West
Only one American man is due to start in Brasilia. The slot will be taken by none other than middle distance triathlon star, Jason West.
West used to race in short course triathlon however he traded it in for the longer format a couple of years ago. This year, he won medals at the PTO Asian Open and PTO US Open and has made a name for himself as one of the fastest runners in the middle distance realm.
His last World Cup came in 2019, where he finished 13th in Lima. Prior to that, he had recorded a best World Cup finish of 6th; he achieved that in 2018 in both Lausanne and Sarasota.
When the starter’s gun goes off in Brasilia, then, it will be worth keeping an eye on West and seeing how the middle distance star fares four years on from his last appearance.
You can view the full start lists here.
