Two big names in the world of triathlon recently announced that they will be making changes to their coaching set-up in 2023.
Leonie Periault shared that she will be parting ways with coach Stephanie Gros after six years together.
In her most recent race finish, Periault came 5th at the WTCS Final in Abu Dhabi. Her best WTCS finishes are her silver medals from Edmonton 2021 and Yokohama 2022. Periault highlighted such high points in her farewell post to Gros and the coaching change marks the end of a highly fruitful partnership.
At the Tokyo Olympics, Periault had a great individual race and finished 5th. She was also an Olympic bronze medallist as part of the French Mixed Team Relay. With a home Olympic Games in France on the horizon in 2024, Periault will have high expectations and her future coach will have the prospect of working with a potential individual Olympic medallist.
Periault has yet to confirm her new coaching partner going forward.
Meanwhile, Summer Rappaport announced that she will be departing from the Triathlon Squad, the training group based in Portugal.
Rappaport is a six-time WTCS medallist with her best result being her win in Edmonton in 2016. With eight World Cup wins to her name, Rappaport has been an accomplished racer on the short distance scene for years now. Her recent stories on Instagram have shown her training with Ian O’Brien, who notably is also the coach of Taylor Knibb, although she is yet to publicly confirm where her final landing spot will be.
With the return of Gwen Jorgensen to elite triathlon and Katie Zaferes on the road back after childbirth, the competition for the American women’s team in Paris will be intense. Throw in Taylor Knibb, Taylor Spivey and Kirsten Kasper and it is clear that anyone that wants to make the Games will need to be at their best.
As a side note, both Rappaport and Periault stood on the podium together at the Karlovy Vary World Cup in 2022; Periault won the race while Rappaport took bronze.
