The outcome of the European Championships in Madrid has resulted in several notable shifts in both the WTCS rankings and the Olympic qualification rankings.
Based on an overly strict interpretation of the World Triathlon ranking criteria, the event probably should not have counted towards either ranking as it was a duathlon. However, as the change was forced at the last minute, the points remain on offer.
Crucially, the race was only worth 75% of what it otherwise would have been as a triathlon.
Last year, the winner of the European Championships received 650 points towards their WTCS and Olympic Qualification rankings. The winners of Madrid, though, received 487.5 points (75%).
On the WTCS front, that has seen David Castro Fajardo rocket 47 places up the rankings into 21st. Madrid represents only his second scoring race of the season. With his other scoring event (Abu Dhabi) only providing 115.5 points, Madrid is a very welcome boost to his Series total.
The women’s race winner, Jeanne Lehair, has climbed 2 places into 7th in the WTCS rankings. Lehair’s Madrid points were worth 60 points more than her 12th place at WTCS Yokohama. Her 5th place finish at WTCS Cagliari, though, still does the bulk of the lifting in her total. Indeed, at 732 points, her 5th place was almost worth as much as a win at a Sprint distance WTCS race.
A number of other athletes made some big gains in the Series rankings.
Cathia Schär jumped 36 places into 30th after winning the bronze medal. Pertra Kurikova also rose 25 places into 37th.
Arnaud Mengal, the 4th place finisher in the men’s race, rose 47 places to match Castro’s improvement. Mengal is now 42nd in the Series rankings. Jonathan Brownlee’s silver medal saw him soar 52 places up the rankings into 32nd.
When it comes to the new entrants, Tanja Neubert’s 4th place in Madrid was her first scoring race of the Series; her performance inserted her into 41st in the WTCS rankings. Meanwhile, Emil Holm’s 5th place sees him enter the rankings in 49th.
At the higher end of the list, Kate Waugh and Miriam Casillas made their way into the top-15 of the overall WTCS. Waugh rose 3 places to 13th while Casillas moved up 6 places to 15th. Claire Michel also slid into the top-20 after her 3 place gain put her in 20th.
By the end of the season, Madrid might just be invaluable to several athletes’ final WTCS totals.
In addition, on the Olympic front, there have been several changes to the rankings.
Csongor Lehmann has climbed from 11th to 8th on the men’s side. Adrien Briffod’s bronze medal has also seen him jump 4 places to 20th.
Castro’s win has pushed him up 9 places into 23rd. Most significantly, that now puts Spain in a position to qualify three men to the Paris Olympics. Likewise Brownlee has climbed 9 places into 25th. If Britain can now get a third man into the top-30, they too will be able to send three men to Paris.
On the flip side, Johannes Vogel has slipped to 31st which means Germany is now at risk of losing their third men’s slot.
Perhaps the biggest winner was Emil Holm. His 22 place gain in the Olympic rankings now sees him provisionally qualify for the Games via the rankings and not through a New Flag roll down.
On the women’s side, Lisa Tertsch’s silver medal bumps her up 4 places in the Olympic rankings. Notably, that puts her ahead of her compatriot Laura Lindemann (Tertsch is now 10th while Lindemann is 13th) and makes Tertsch the highest ranked German woman.
Lehair gained 6 places and now sits in 16th. At this point in time, she has put one foot onto the start line at Paris. Schär also rose 10 places into 35th in the women’s rankings.
Another significant shift was that Maria Tomé rose 11 places into 64th. The consequence of that change is that she is in a position to qualify an Olympic slot individually and would not have to rely on Portugal sending a relay.
Finally Tilda Månsson’s 15th place in Madrid earned her some handy points. She has risen 13 places into 86th in the Olympic rankings which puts her within striking distance of qualifying for the Games. Furthermore she is closing in on Ivana Kuriackova in the World Rankings; that is especially relevant as Kuriackova currently occupies Europe’s New Flag slot. As Sweden’s best female triathlete, Månsson would be in a position to claim a New Flag place in Paris.
When it comes to the end of the season and the end of the Olympic qualification period, then, Madrid may yet prove to be an important moment for several people.
You can view the latest post-Madrid rankings here.
