This weekend, Britain’s fastest Junior triathletes will be gathering to compete for a spot on the World Junior Championships team.
The selection race is being held in Mallory Park and the results of the Sprint distance event will largely inform who gets to race in Hamburg in July.
In the wake of the results of the European Junior Cup in Caorle, which doubled as the European qualification event for Hamburg, Britain should have three male and three female slots available in Hamburg.
To be selected for the British team, the athletes must satisfy the following criteria.
Automatic selection can be earned by any athlete that is a reigning World Junior Championship medallist. Britain did not win any individual medals at last year’s World Junior Championships. Any reigning medallists from the 2022 European Junior Championship will also automatically be selected; again, Britain did not win any individual Junior medals at the event.
The 1st place finisher in Mallory Park this weekend will then automatically be selected.
The 2nd place finisher will also be selected on the condition that they have hit certain swimming standards. On the men’s side, the runner-up must have swam a 400m time trial in 4:20.0 in the past 18 months. For the female runner-up, they have to have swam 4:40.0 over 400m.
Thereafter British Triathlon will rely on discretionary selection to fill the team. Under this point they will select athletes that they believe can finish in the top-15 at Hamburg.
Up to two-thirds of the team, then, could potentially be selected this weekend. If nothing else, the race winners should be certain to earn their ticket to Hamburg.
Note, there will be a separate selection race for the European Junior Championships. That will take place in June.
With the World Junior Championships on the line, it will come as no surprise that a stacked field will be racing.
Bethany Cook leads the way in the women’s field. Cook recently finished 8th at an Americas Cup in St. Peters in which she rubbed shoulders with the likes of Katie Zaferes and Gwen Jorgensen. Having finished 9th at the World Junior Championships in Montreal last year, Cook will likely be the pre-race favourite.
However, she will face considerable challenges from a number of women.
Eve Whitaker showed her ability earlier in the year as she won the British Junior performance assessments. At the tests, Whitaker was the fastest runner in the Junior women’s field. She also impressed across the swim and bike and will likely be alongside Cook throughout the race this weekend.
Millie Breese will be racing after her strong showing in Caorle in which she earned one of Britain’s slots for Hamburg. She looked particularly strong in the heats in which she was a part of a small breakaway that rode away from the field. With that in mind, she could attempt a similar tactic this weekend.
Breese and Whitaker are both a year younger than Cook and so will have another bite at the apple next season.
Isabella Hayes will be starting after returning from an injury setback earlier in the year. Prior to her injury she had run 16:48 for 5000m and swam 17:52 in the 1500m (50m). Her form was therefore building nicely into the season and she certainly would have been a contender. The real question mark over Hayes will be the kind of form she has been able to find since.
If she has returned to her levels at the start of the year, she will definitely contend for the win. However, if she has any lingering rustiness, the race might be one too soon.
Given how well many of her fellow Loughborough athletes have been performing this year, though, it would be fair to assume she will be at a similarly high level.
A host of other women will compete for the Hamburg slots. Among them are Antonia Jubb, Isla Hedley, Olivia Logan and Lily Scott. The likes of Scott and Hedley may be best served by attacking on the bike, while it is possible to see Logan making a move on the run.
Such is the depth of the field, any one of them could earn a medal.
Likewise, the men’s field contains plenty of talent.
Lawrence Martindale will be perhaps the most interesting athlete to follow after his win at the performance assessments in April. That day he used his superior swimming and cycling to manufacture a big lead with Tom Hattee. Martindale then out-ran Hattee to seal the win.
With a similar field lining up this weekend, Martindale could try to make use of the same approach. There are a couple of threats in the field with better raw run times than Martindale so an aggressive race could be his best option.
At the European Junior Cup in Caorle, Martindale finished 9th. His race followed the pattern laid out above: his swimming and cycling were excellent but in the end he did not quite have the speed on the run to go with the top finishers. That will come over time but right now it would make sense for him to play to his strengths.
UPDATE: Martindale will not be racing after suffering a concussion and torn ACL in a crash in the Mixed Team Relay in Caorle.
Hattee finds himself in a similar boat. His swim and bike are a little stronger than his running so it will be in his interest to push for a lead. Crucially, Hattee already has experience of racing at the World Junior Championships having appeared in Montreal last year. A year on, that might just prove a key factor in helping Hattee keep his head at the trial.
Liam Edwards should be in the mix throughout the race. After taking 3rd place at the performance assessments in April, it is clear that he has the all-round talent to push for the win. The vital aspect for him will be tactical. In April he was caught out by Martindale’s and Hattee’s surge and could not respond. If he can position himself correctly throughout the race, Edwards has a great chance to make the team.
Solomon Okrafo-Smart and Daniel Van Aardt are two of the fastest runners in the field. Okrafo-Smart logged a 14:29 5km earlier in the month so of anyone will likely have the best shot in a running race.
Having also raced in Caorle, Okrafo-Smart will come into Mallory Park with plenty of race sharpness.
Meanwhile, Johnny James will be another to keep an eye on.
As with the women’s race, a number of other men could vie for the win. Only the select few, though, will get their chance to represent Britain in Hamburg.
You can view the start list here.
