As many triathletes get back into training ahead of the 2023 season, some elected to race on New Year’s Eve.
In Denmark, the Holm siblings took part in the Sparta’s New Year’s Race / Nytårsløb. Racing over the 5km distance, both Emil Holm and Anne Holm put up some solid times. Emil Holm led the way with a 14:24. After recently winning the African Cup in Dakhla, Holm is clearly continuing to grow and improve in the sport.
His best ever World Cup finish came in 2022 with his 8th place in Arzachena while his best WTCS result remains his 10th place in Hamburg in 2021.
Meanwhile, Anne Holm recorded a 17:06. Three years younger than her brother, Anne ended 2022 with an 8th place at the Miyazaki World Cup.
Down under, Kenji Nener raced over 8km in the West Australian Marathon Club New Year’s Eve Run. (His time is not currently available).
In Germany, a couple of athletes took part in the 10km at the Silvesterlauf Saarbrucken. Among them were Tanja Neubert and Johannes Vogel. Neubert produced a time of 37:03 while Johannes Vogel ran 32:20.
Neubert finished 5th at the World U23 Championships in Abu Dhabi in November. Vogel made his WTCS debut in the 2022 season. He finished 34th in Hamburg (in September 2021). His best result of 2022 was probably his 6th place at the Pontevedra World Cup. On that occasion, he produced a 30:28 run split so his performance in Saarbrucken on New Year’s Eve would indicate that he is in heavy training.
Similarly, Neubert ran a 34:31 run split in Abu Dhabi which would indicate that she, too, is well into her winter training block.
We cannot always read a lot into the times of a race in winter training, however Emil Holm’s in particular looks very promising.
In a different kind of New Year’s Run, a large contingent of British triathletes took part in the Real Otley Run. Consisting of 17km and 7 pubs, the Real Otley Run required a different kind of performance to that of the 5km or 10km races on the road. With Leeds no longer hosting a World Triathlon event in 2023, it might also be the prime event for triathletes going forwards.
Among the Brits in Leeds were Sophie Coldwell, Georgia Taylor-Brown, Sian Rainsley, Olivia Mathias, Jessica Fullagar, Tom Bishop, Kate Waugh and Hamish Reilly.
