Category: Athletes

Interview: Helen Jenkins on Comebacks and Commentary

Benjamin Eastman

For most viewers of the WTCS Final in Abu Dhabi, trying to keep up with what was happening and the permutations of every move was no mean feat. To commentate on the races in real-time, and doing so in the Abu Dhabi heat, was an entirely different proposition. That challenge was taken up by three-time Olympian, Helen Jenkins. In 2021, Jenkins became a more consistent part of the World Triathlon commentary team after sporadic commentary experiences towards the end of her career. Abu Dhabi, though, presented one her of her…

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What is the ASICS World Triathlon Team?

Benjamin Eastman

Following the conclusion of World Cup racing for 2022 at Viña del Mar, we thought it would be a good idea to shine a light on a little-known aspect about the race. Viña del Mar was the third of three World Cup races in 2022 designated for the ASICS World Triathlon Team. The Team was created with a view to providing a developmental pathway for athletes in parts of the world without the infrastructure or an established route into elite triathlon. Indeed, it is one of World Triathlon’s leading initiatives in growing…

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Fact or Cap: The Loophole in Athlete Marketing

Benjamin Eastman

Have you ever noticed over the years that World Triathlon Championship Series medallists step up onto the podium within minutes of finishing their race? There is certainly no time to change into any other attire and so the athletes step up in their race suit. Some have barely caught their breath. That itself is similar to road cycling, where it is customary in the Tour de France, for example, for athletes to take to the podium in the same kit as that in which they have just raced. Other sports,…

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Interview: Miguel Hidalgo on Going Fast and Being Patient

Benjamin Eastman

On the surface, it would be easy to think Miguel Hidalgo is in a hurry. As the only man born in the 21st century to be currently ranked in the top-40 of the WTCS, he is one of the future stars of the sport. Indeed, he has been on the rise for some time now. At WTCS Montreal in 2021, Hidalgo was almost the first man born this century to achieve a top-10 finish at a WTCS race. On that day, he took 11th. In 2022 he improved upon that…

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The Off-Season Challenge Presented by the Abu Dhabi Final

Benjamin Eastman

By taking place at the end of November, the 2022 World Triathlon Championship Series Final in Abu Dhabi was one of the latest elite triathlons that have ever been held in the year. In 2021 the WTCS Final was held in late August in Edmonton, while in 2020 the only WTCS race of the pandemic-hit season was in Hamburg in early September. The 2019 Final was Lausanne in late August and both the 2017 and 2018 Finals in Rotterdam and Gold Coast, respectively, took place in September. Looking ahead to…

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Interview: Jeanne Lehair on Lions, Dogs and Big Changes

Benjamin Eastman

When the athletes took to the start line at WTCS Bermuda, the moment was even more special than usual for Jeanne Lehair. Unlike the rest of the 2022 season, she did not race in the ITU tri-suit. Instead, for the first time, she wore the colours of Luxembourg. Lehair said, “I had been waiting for this moment for months now so I was really happy to finally race with the lion on my suit!” For a year, she had waited after making the change from racing for France to Luxembourg.…

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Watch Beth Potter’s Talk at the Royal Society

Benjamin Eastman

On Monday 14th November, three-time WTCS medallist Beth Potter gave a talk at the Royal Society as part of the conference “Innovation in sport: accelerating breakthroughs in engineering, optimisation and performance“. As background, the Royal Society is the independent scientific academy of the UK. Potter starts her talk by covering her switch from athletics to triathlon in January 2017. She then discusses the overarching goal of racing, namely to be able to win all type of races. To this end, she includes analysis of different events with different race profiles,…

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Interview: Sánchez Mantecón and His WTCS Breakthrough

Benjamin Eastman

Among the several outstanding performances at WTCS Bermuda last week, one of the best came from Roberto Sánchez Mantecón of Spain. In a breakout performance, he took the bronze medal. “It is special to make a podium, and also to share it with another Spaniard,” said Sánchez Mantecón on his first ever World Triathlon Championship Series medal. “Our country badly needed such a result after the great time we had before Covid.” After a solid swim, Sánchez Mantecón ended up in the main pack, around 40 seconds down on the…

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