The women’s race in Yeongdo looks likely to come down to a clash between two World Cup winners.
Annika Koch will arrive in South Korea on the back of an exceptional run of form. A 4th place at WTCS Hamburg in July represented a major step up for the World U23 silver medallist. Only two weeks later, she went one better as she landed 3rd place at WTCS Sunderland.
The combination of her Hamburg and Sunderland results have vaulted her to 13th in the WTCS standings, making her the top ranked German woman.
Last season, she also won the World Cup in Huatulco and claimed a silver medal at the Tongyeong World Cup. Koch is therefore on a roll and has a history of success in World Cups.
In Yeongdo, the winner of the 2023 World Cup in Huatulco will likely provide Koch’s stiffest opposition.
Anahi Alvarez Corral was in blazing form on her way to the win in Huatulco back in June. She blew the field away with a devastating performance on the run. As great as Koch’s running has been lately, it seems that Alvarez has another gear.
At this stage in her career, Alvarez has not quite shown the speed in the swim to compete at the WTCS level. Over World Cup Sprint distance races, though, she can be lethal.
In a straight shoot-out over 5km, Alvarez probably has the upper hand. However, Koch is a canny racer and has the ability to force a breakaway earlier in the race.
One useful ally for Koch could be Cecilia Perez. Perez beat Alvarez at the Americas Cup in Ixtapa, although Alvarez then beat her in Huatulco. The example of Ixtapa, though, showed that Perez has the racing nous to overcome her compatriot’s running speed.
More recently, Perez finished 3rd at the Central American and Caribbean Games and so will arrive in Yeongdo in decent form.
On the note of recent form, it will be hard to look beyond Niina Kishimoto.
The Japanese athlete won her most recent race in South Korea, the Asia Cup in Sejong. To go with that, she also won the Asia Cup in Osaka and finished 4th at the Asia Cup in Lianyungang.
At the Tiszaujvaros World Cup, she failed to make the final and so ended up in 36th place. Kishimoto, though, has six World Cup top-10 finishes to her name. With recent success in the region and a history of good performances at World Cups, she could produce a big result.
Ekaterina Shabalina has had a slightly mixed season. A win at the European Cup in Wels came after she earned a silver medal at the African Cup in Sharm El Sheikh. Around those results, though, she was lapped out of WTCS Cagliari and finished 44th at the World Cup in Tiszaujvaros.
At her best, Shabalina is one of the top runners in the field and has the ability to fight for the win. This year, however, she has struggled with inconsistency. As a result, it is hard to gauge which version of her will appear on the start line in Yeongdo. As much as she could win the race, she could equally finish outside the top-20.
Charlotte Derbyshire could be another threat to the podium.
The Australian finished 3rd at the Oceania Championships in Port Douglas earlier in the year. Since then, she has logged finishes of 26th and 30th at the World Cups in Huatulco and Tiszaujvaros. On her day, though, she could be a contender.
Among the other athletes likely to feature at the front of the race are Erica Hawley, the winner of the Americas Cup in Montreal, and Ivana Kuriackova, who won the Asia Cup in Samarkand in June.
Both Hawley and Kuriackova will fight for a medal, however the speed of Koch and Alvarez may prove too much for them to overcome.
TriStats Predictions
- Annika Koch
- Anahi Alvarez Corral
- Niina Kishimoto
- Ekaterina Shabalina
- Erica Hawley
