Category: Comment

Oceania was one of two regions to have multiple WTCS race winners in 2023. With two men stepping onto the top of the podium, the continent was actually the only one after Europe to be home to a race winner. Given the rarity of a non-European race winner this season, either of the two gold medallists could make a claim to being the continent’s top triathlete. One of them, though, operated on an exceptional level this season and was only narrowly denied the world title. Hayden Wilde (NZL) Hayden Wilde…

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Only one athlete won five WTCS medals in 2023 and in doing so she claimed the world title. As such, the situation here is fairly clear. Much as it is easy to know what to do when the Macarena plays on the dancefloor, the choice of the European Female Triathlete of the Year was similarly bereft of difficulty. Beth Potter (GBR) Abu Dhabi. Montreal. Paris. Pontevedra. Four WTCS wins in 2023 put Beth Potter on a different plane to anyone else in the world of triathlon and established her as…

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The European men are tricky. Not only are there too many successful stories from 2023 to sift through, but the nature of the different stories means that any determination of the top athlete is incredibly subjective, potentially even more than usual. Such has been their collective form, several European men make strong claims to have had a better year than the literal world champion. You could close your eyes and pick at random from any of the men listed and still easily defend their status as the top European man.…

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The same combination of an Asian Games gold and being the continent’s leading WTCS performer that made Kenji Nener the Asian Male Triathlete of the Year was enough to determine the recipient of the female mantle. One achievement that the women’s winner added was a World Cup medal, ensuring that she ticked several boxes in 2023. Yuko Takahashi (JPN) Yuko Takahashi arrived in Hangzhou as the defending Asian Games champion. After a superb swim, she all but shut the door on anyone taking her title before anyone else had made…

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After a simply dominant performance at the Asian Games, there was only one man that could really be named the Asian Male Triathlete of the Year. Given the same athlete was the continent’s top performer in the WTCS and the only individual from the region to log a top-10 finish in the Series, his case was close to inarguable. Kenji Nener (JPN) At the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Kenji Nener was on a different level. He dropped one of the best bike rides of season to build a 3…

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With four individuals visiting a WTCS podium in 2023, the Americas women were behind only the European women and the European men when it came to the number of individual medallists this year. Much as the top male performer in the region was the athlete that won two WTCS medals, leading the charge on the women’s side was the only multi-medallist. Taylor Spivey (USA) At the start of the season, the American’s women’s team was among the deepest in the sport and the race to make the Olympic squad represented…

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The men of the Americas delivered some incredible performances in 2023. Three different individuals won the gold medals at the Pan American Games and the Americas Championships over the Olympic and Sprint distances while there were four different World Cup winners from the region. Only one man, however, made it onto a WTCS podium this year. Then he did it again. The Americas Male Triathlete of the Year was thus the athlete that enjoyed the greatest success at the highest level of the sport this year. Manoel Messias (BRA) Manoel…

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A double African title was enough to create a convincing case for this year’s African Female Triathlete of the Year. As was the case with the winner of the African men’s mantle, the athlete in question enjoyed a comeback of sorts and ended her season with a best World Cup finish since 2017. Vicky Van Der Merwe (RSA) Vicky Van Der Merwe was in blazing form as she claimed the African titles over the Olympic and Sprint distance. In doing so, she beat her continental rivals head-to-head at least once.…

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The 2023 season saw a blast from the past in the ranks of the African men. After a prolonged spell fighting injury problems, a former Olympic medallist came back and put together a collection of impressive displays. In doing so, he reasserted himself as the top performer on the continent and had the strongest claim to being the African Male Triathlete of the Year. Henri Schoeman (RSA) There was a fear that injuries had gotten the better of Schoeman. The highs of 2016, in which he medalled at the Olympic…

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