In the wake of the final World Cup of 2023, the Olympic qualification rankings will be frozen in place until the first World Cup of 2024 takes place in Napier, New Zealand, in February. However, one pathway into the Olympic Games remains very much alive and kicking. One of the more exciting aspects of the qualification process is the New Flag system. One New Flag slot is available per gender for each of the five continental associations (Europe, Asia, Americas, Africa and Oceania). To earn a New Flag place at…
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Which Athletes Won Their First World Cup Medals In 2023
Fourteen World Cups over eight months: the 2023 World Triathlon calendar has offered precious little respite for the athletes chasing points around the globe. Throughout the array of racing, there have been a multitude of bright spots, of athletes that have had the joy of winning their first ever World Cup medals. Some of the athletes were in the early chapters of their careers. Some were towards the end. What united them was the sense of achievement, the validation of the years of hard work and sacrifice. Any world level…
Read MoreWho Had The Top Splits at the Vina Del Mar World Cup 2023
Swim Alessio Crociani was the fastest man in the water at the Vina del Mar World Cup and used an impressive surge over the second half of the swim to emerge clear of the field. He clocked 8:41 for the 750m. Home favourite Diego Moya was the next man out of the water in 8:45 while Daniel Dixon was the last man to remain within 10 seconds of Crociani as he completed the swim in 8:51. Panagiotis Bitados then followed in 8:53. Chase McQueen, Gianluca Pozzatti and Seth Rider were…
Read MoreBreaking Down The WTCS Medal Winners Of 2023
There are plenty of ways to slice up the WTCS. The points tally is the most obvious way of doing so, although even that can be fiddled with to create new ways of viewing the standings. One of the most basic ways of assessing the season is by looking at the medals won. On the one hand it offers an alternative metric for consistency as well as for who the most dominant athlete could have been. On the other, it also provides a means of assessing the depth of the…
Read MoreBreaking Down The Top Splits At The Miyazaki World Cup 2023
Swim The men’s race at the Miyazaki World Cup was perfectly balanced throughout. In each of the disciplines, the strongest exponents were able to make the most of the course and strike a blow against their rivals. But for a Ricardo Batista penalty at the finish line, the podium could have contained the fastest runner, cyclist and swimmer. To start with the latter, Dylan McCullough shared the top swim split with Márk Dévay in 16:58. McCullough and Dévay’s speed laid the foundation for the initial breakaway group and dropped several…
Read MoreWho Had The Best Splits At The Tongyeong World Cup 2023
Swim Yuko Takahashi went after it at the Tongyeong World Cup from the moment the race began. She set the pace throughout the women’s race and clocked the quickest swim in 9:03. Next out of the water was Zsanett Kuttor-Bragmayer in 9:05 while Claire Michel followed in 9:06. Having been prominent at the start of the swim, Margot Garabedian managed a time of 9:08 which was matched by Sophia Howell. A group consisting of Hollie Elliott, Cecilia Santamaria Surroca and Sara Vilic then completed the top-8 splits in 9:09. In…
Read MoreThe Third Woman: Qualifying Three Women To Paris 2024
Yesterday we looked into the countries that are in with a chance of qualifying three men for the Paris Olympic Games in 2024. Today, it is the turn of the women. To qualify three women, a country will need to have three athletes inside the top-30 of the Olympic qualification rankings by the end of the qualifying window in May 2024. Looking at the current rankings, a select group of countries have essentially sealed their third slots. Britain have three women in the top-7 of the rankings. Germany have three…
Read MoreComparing the World Cups in Chengdu and Brasilia
Last weekend saw the rare occurrence of world-level triathlon events taking place concurrently. On the Saturday, Chengdu hosted a World Cup race. The following day, athletes took on another World Cup event in Brasilia. The double header meant that there were smaller fields than usual although both events had broadly similar numbers. More importantly, the back-to-back World Cups offered a chance to compare how World Cups can unfold in different ways. Of course, different courses will affect races in different ways. On that note, Brasilia was a hillier course than…
Read MoreThe Third Man: The Race To Send Three Men To Paris 2024
If a country puts three men inside the top-30 of the Olympic qualification rankings at the end of the qualifying window, they will earn a third men’s slot for the Paris Olympic Games next summer. Qualifying three men (or women) to the Olympics is a major statement of depth and is usually reserved to the select powerhouses of the sport. At this point in time, the men’s race to qualify three men is entering a tense phase. A group of countries are all primed to put a third man in…
Read MoreWho Had The Top Splits At The Brasilia World Cup 2023
Swim Vittoria Lopes was on top form in the swim at the Brasilia World Cup and built a handy lead into T1. Over the long single lap of 1500m, she pulled away from the field and completed the course in 19:18. Having been a regular face at the front of the field in the swim in the WTCS, it was no surprise to see her take command of the race. What was a little more unusual was her decision to race so aggressively. Rather than keep a couple of athletes…
Read MoreThe Splits Breakdown of the Chengdu World Cup 2023
Swim The women’s race at the Chengdu World Cup was all about Bianca Seregni. The Italian athlete led from the opening exchanges and built a substantial lead over the 1500m swim. She emerged in a time of 19:24 to put clear daylight between her and her rivals. The next best swimmer was Yifan Yang. A recent bronze medallist at the Asian Games, Yang clocked 19:47 in the water. Her teammate, Xinyu Lin, then followed in 19:56. Eva Goodisson was the final woman under 20 minutes as she produced a time…
Read MoreA Novel Way Of Reconceptualising Scoring In The WTCS
Earlier in the week, Ironman unveiled their new series structure for 2024. Drawing from the PTO and the WTCS, they have sought to add greater integration to their product by creating a common thread through the events on offer. Now, while the prospect of watching a long distance triathlon sounds like an excellent opportunity for a nap, the new Ironman system may have a hidden component that could prove very interesting. Indeed, it could even be borrowed by the WTCS. This feature is the rule that points will be determined…
Read MoreBreaking Down The Fastest Splits At The Rome World Cup 2023
Swim The men’s race gave the home Italian fans something to cheer early on as Nicolò Strada led the swim in a time of 8:56. Right on heels were Simon Westermann, Csongor Lehmann and Zalán Hóbor in 8:57. Hóbor’s performance was rather impressive considering that he is still a Junior athlete. Although he would fall away from contention later on the race, he acquitted himself well in the early stages of his World Cup debut. Vasco Vilaca, the race winner in Rome, was the next man out in 8:59. Matching…
Read MoreWhat If The 2023 Men’s WTCS Had Been Scored Like 2022
Yesterday we investigated what the women’s 2023 WTCS would have looked like had the 2022 scoring structure been used. Today it is the turn of the men. Unlike 2022, races of different distances were worth different points. A win over the Olympic distance was still worth 1000 points. However, wins over the Sprint and Super Sprint eliminator formats respectively gave 750 and 875 points. Meanwhile, the WTCS Final offered 1250 points to the winner, just as it did in 2022. With the change in scoring, the emphasis in the Series…
Read MoreWhat If The 2023 Women’s WTCS Had Been Scored Like 2022
At the start of the 2023 WTCS season, World Triathlon announced the new scoring structure for the Series. In a shift from 2022, races of different distances would be worth different points. In a continuation from the season prior, events over the Olympic distance would be worth 1000 points for a win. The WTCS Final would also be worth an additional 25%, with 1250 points being awarded for a victory. However, the Sprint and Super Sprint eliminator races would be of lesser values. In 2022, they had held the same…
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