The Kids Are Alright
One thing that stood out at the Americas Cup in St. Peters was the Junior talent on show. Mathis Beaulieu finished 9th after his stunning win in Sarasota last month. Likewise the American Junior Carter Stuhlmacher managed to claim 11th place.
Beaulieu was particularly impressive as he logged the joint-third fastest run split. Meanwhile Stuhlmacher did not quite go as bonkers in the water as at the North American Junior Championships but was nonetheless fast.
With three more Juniors born in 2004 inside the men’s top-20, St. Peters was a veritable hotspot of promising young athletes.
All of the Juniors were eventually caught out by the breakaway of the front group of seven and experience realistically proved a significant point of separation.
There’s a lot of promising young talent in North America, though, and they are matching up well to athletes a decade their senior.
A Breakout Year Ahead For Paquet?
Back in 2016, Charles Paquet was the silver medallist at World Junior Championships in Cozumel. Since then he has gradually developed on the world stage, hitting a high of a 7th place at WTCS Hamburg in 2021.
At the world level he has not yet found his way back into the top-10 following his brilliant day in Hamburg. However in St. Peters he earned a second Americas Cup win (after Montreal in 2019) and showed signs that this season could prompt another step forward.
Paquet was third out of the water and then recorded the fastest run of the day, highlighting how rounded he has become as an athlete.
This summer he will be turning 26 and could be ready to step into a new level. He is not due to race at WTCS Yokohama in May; instead he will take on the European Cup in Caorle. Racing in Italy, though, may offer perfect preparation for the subsequent WTCS race in Cagliari. With a home WTCS race in Montreal coming afterwards, a window of opportunity is emerging for him to return to the top-10.
After getting his season off to the perfect start, Paquet will be a name to keep an eye on in next few WTCS events.
Will Darr Smith Get His WTCS Shot?
Darr Smith won the bronze medal in St. Peters but in contrast to Paquet the question of his WTCS prospects is more an if than a when.
Smith’s only WTCS appearance came in Hamburg in 2021. That day he finished 42nd. Since then, he has risen to 70th in the individual Olympic rankings (standing as the 5th US man) and earned an 8th place at Viña del Mar World Cup.
On point to note is that Smith has managed to edge ahead of Chase Mcqueen in the Olympic rankings even though Mcqueen has been able to start multiple WTCS races.
The real question for Smith, then, is whether he will be get to the opportunity to race in the Series this year. Right now he is on the bubble of being able to enter races by right so may need a US substitution to nudge him back onto start lists. If the Americans are lookin to the future at all, they will likely get him racing as soon as possible. After Seth Rider, Smith is the second highest ranked American born after 1993.
With the likes of Matthew Mcelroy and Morgan Pearson ranked ahead of him, Smith will have a challenge to break into the US Olympic team next year. If he can get onto WTCS start lists, though, he will still be in with a shot.
In the bigger picture, Mcelroy and Pearson might not be around in 2028. In order to plan the line of Olympic succession, Smith will need to get his chance on the WTCS stage sooner rather than later.
The Bermuda Relay
For those unfamiliar, Flora Duffy is quite good at triathlon. To date, though, the four time world champion has not really experienced the Mixed Team Relay. However, times may be changing.
Erica Hawley is the second ranked woman from Bermuda and she will get her shot to display her talents at WTCS Yokohama. With two women (Duffy and Hawley), the relay simply needs two men.
Tyler Butterfield stepped into the relay at the Commonwealth Games last summer having not raced in short course since the 2018 Commonwealth Games. A more sustainable solution is required.
As it happens, two Bermudan men raced in St. Peters.
Tyler Smith finished 6th after making the breakaway on the bike. He has been a member of the ASICS World Triathlon Team and has two WTCS appearances to his name. In 2021 he finished 36th at WTCS Leeds while he suffered a DNF in Bermuda last year.
Nicholas Pilgrim also raced in St. Peters. He is in his first year out of the Junior ranks and finished 31st.
Given Pilgrim is so young, it would be a bit much to expect him to race on the WTCS or even World Cup level this year. However, he may be the key piece to a potential Bermuda Mixed Team Relay.
Flora Duffy will not be around forever so if Bermuda are to make the most of her in a team setting, this year is the time to do so. With Smith and Pilgrim, Bermuda could have the men to join Duffy and Hawley at relay events.
Maybe Bermuda does not actually qualify a relay for Paris; they have no points as it stands anyway. Still, on the long shot that they did, that might just be a fitting way to send off their greatest ever triathlete.
