Whereas just under thirty-five women will be racing at the World Cup in Chengdu this weekend, the Brasilia World Cup has attracted a couple more athletes. Together, the two events could form a near-pefect start list.
Wearing number 1 in Brasilia will be Miriam Casillas Garcia. By most standards, the Spanish athlete has enjoyed a strong season. She has routinely placed inside the top-20 at WTCS races in 2023 and finished 5th at the European Championships in Madrid.
On the other hand, Casillas was fantastic throughout 2022, earning several top-8 WTCS finishes. While her 2023 has been good, it has not quite matched the highs of the year prior.
As a previous World Cup medallist, Casillas will look to use Brasilia as a chance to end her season on a high before rebooting ahead of 2024. Based on her form of the last couple of years, she will definitely be in the conversation for the win.
However, she will face a formidable opponent in Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal.
The Mexican athlete became the Americas champion in September. Her win in Veracruz represented her first international victory; like Casillas, she will now be hunting a maiden World Cup win.
Tapia also won a fabulous WTCS silver medal in Yokohama earlier in the season. Her run is her strength, as is the case with Casillas, and the two could have a major clash over the final 10km.
Having earned the Americas title, look for Tapia to assert herself over the second of two Americas World Cups in 2023.
Not to be forgotten is Emy Legault, the Americas Championship silver medallist over the Sprint distance (and bronze medallist over the Olympic distance). Legault is another good runner to throw into the mix and could push for a place on the podium.
The former world champion, Katie Zaferes, equally should not be overlooked. In her comeback to the sport, Zaferes has enjoyed a successful season, with her high points being a 5th place at WTCS Montreal and a 12th place at WTCS Cagliari. The Olympic medallist has been growing with each race in 2023 and has been nearing her levels of old.
Her attention will be turning to the final window to make the American Olympic team in 2024. Ahead of that, though, she will look to end a successful return to the sport with a medal in Brasilia.
The home team will have several threats for the podium.
Should the swim play a big role in shaping the race, the likes of Vittoria Lopes and Djenyfer Arnold could end up on the podium. At the other end of the scale, Luisa Baptista could use a big run to vault herself among the medals.
With a home audience to cheer them on, the Brazilian representatives could make a big impression.
Brasilia will also see World Cup medallists from 2023 start. Mercedes Romero Orozco and Erica Hawley each claimed their maiden medals in the summer while Petra Kurikova won the Pontevedra World Cup in 2022. Having made their respective breakthroughs, their challenge will be to repeat their success. All three will be confident of doing so in Brasilia.
With the likes of Melanie Santos, Verena Steinhauser and Valerie Barthelemy in the field, though, it will not be easy to make it onto the podium. Moreover, Romina Biagioli presents a notable danger after a season of success at the Americas Cup level.
Finally, keep an eye out for two exciting Junior athletes. Julia Munhoz of Brazil was the South American Junior champion in 2022 and will be making her World Cup debut.
Her 20223 successor as the South American Junior champion, Dominga Elena Jacome Espinoza of Chile, will also be starting. Jacome finished 6th at the World Junior Championships in Hamburg and logged two top-6 finishes in Americas Cup races earlier in the year.
Like Munhoz, she will be making her World Cup debut. After a very successful season so far, she might have something left up her sleeve.
TriStats Predictions
- Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal
- Miriam Casillas Garcia
- Katie Zaferes
- Verena Steinhauser
- Emy Legault
