After WTCS Yokohama, we noted that the quest for supremacy among the Swiss men’s team was heating up. Simon Westermann had just earned his best ever WTCS finish (of 20th) while Adrien Briffod had taken 6th place with a fantastic race. With high-calibre performers like Sylvain Fridelance and Max Studer waiting in the wings, any one of them could end the year as Switzerland’s leading male triathlete.
Of course, with the Olympics on the horizon, their contest acquires a new sense of urgency. As things stand, only two of the quartet will qualify for Tokyo. With some big performances, there is a chance that three men can earn slots for the Paris Games.
However four will not go into three. No matter what happens, then, someone has to miss out.
With that in mind, today we will delve into the Swiss Olympic selection policy.
How will the athletes be picked?
The first selection group covers athletes that have two WTCS top-8 finishes to their name during the period from 1st November 2022 to the end of the Second Period of Qualification (27th May 2024).
Alternatively, to be a part of the first priority, an athlete will need one WTCS top-8 finish in the same time-frame plus a medal at either the European Championships or the 2023 European Games.
In addition, if an athlete is in the top-30 of the Olympic qualification rankings and is in group 1, they will have priority over other group 1 athletes. This first group thus pertains to those with “clear medal potential”.
The second priority covers those with medium medal potential. Under this section, an athlete will require two WTCS top-16 finishes or a WTCS top-16 finish plus a top-6 at either the European Championships or the European Games. The same time-frame is applied as that in the first group.
If Switzerland qualifies a relay in Paris, the members of group 1 will be added to the relay team. If there are two group 1 members per gender, only one might be added to the relay although in all likelihood both would be taken. Members of group 2, however, will have their relay selection determined on a case-by-case basis.
If there is only one group 1 athlete and Switzerland qualify a relay, the second athlete will be picked discretionarily with the interests of the relay in mind.
Should more than three athletes per gender achieve the criteria, then the Swiss Federation will judge form, among other factors, to determine who should take the final places.
Who does the policy favour?
As this article started with the men, we shall proceed with them.
Briffod leads the way from 24th in the Olympic qualification rankings. He has also logged a 6th place finish at WTCS Yokohama. From a group 1 perspective, then, he is halfway to the Games. With a 13th place at WTCS Abu Dhabi in November and a 10th place in Abu Dhabi in March, he has already hit the group 2 criteria. With one more big race, Briffod should be on the plane to Paris.
Fridelance is next in the Olympic rankings (in 30th) but he has not yet hit the group 1 or group 2 results. In the qualifying window, he finished 18th at both WTCS Abu Dhabi (2022) and WTCS Yokohama (2023) and so just missed out on the group 2 targets. He is very close however he will have to look over his shoulder.
That is because Studer finished 9th at WTCS Abu Dhabi in March and narrowly missed out on group 1. That did give him a group 2 result, though. Now he sits 41st in the Olympic rankings; going forward he will need more results like or better than Abu Dhabi to get into group 1 and potentially the top-30.
Finally there is Westermann. He has a best WTCS finish of 20th which puts him outside of group 2. However he is young and improving. If he can continue to rise through the ranks, he could nab a slot.
On the women’s side, Julie Derron is 27th in the Olympic rankings. In 2022 (but prior to November) she recorded finishes of 9th at WTCS Leeds and 6th at the European Championships in Munich. She has therefore hit the group 2 criteria previously. She simply needs to repeat her performances. In doing so, she would probably earn her place on the team as the leading Swiss woman.
Then there is Cathia Schär. Right now, she is 45th in the Olympic rankings. She has a finish of 16th from WTCS Bermuda in November (which therefore counts towards group 2) so is halfway to consideration. If she can add another result of that level, she should be the one to join Derron.
Henceforth, based on form over the past twelve months, Derron and Schär are the front-runners.
Way too early team predictions
Although Nora Gmür and Alissa Konig have outside chances, they have not recently hit the performances they would need at the WTCS level to be confident of selection. A lot can change over the next year, but right now they are on the back foot.
Meanwhile, Briffod is in the box seat on the men’s side. At this moment, he seems like a safe pick for the first men’s slot. Given that Studer has been closer to getting the phase 1 criteria than Fridelance, we are leaning towards him to be the second man to make it. Fridelance will be close, but Studer has the better WTCS results recently.
However, in light of Studer’s history with injury and absences from the WTCS, he might not be able to string enough races together to get into the top-30 of the Olympic rankings. That would see only two men qualify and Fridelance would miss out.
Westermann has a good chance but as the younger man, Los Angeles in 2028 might be his time. It is a hard call to make a year out but at this point our money would be on the team being Derron, Schär, Briffod and Studer.
You can view the full selection policy here.
