Voters Back Men’s 2023 WTCS Podium Over 2021 Olympic Podium

Benjamin Eastman

The men’s field ahead of the 2024 season is brimming with talent. Any of about a dozen men could conceivably win a WTCS race and vie for a spot on the podium at the Paris Olympic Games. Such is the depth at the top of the sport, there has been a near-complete shift in the podium from the 2021 Olympics to the 2023 WTCS. Hayden Wilde was the only man to make both podiums and is the only constant in the top-4. Kristian Blummenfelt, Alex Yee and Marten Van Riel…

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Women’s 2023 WTCS Podium Favoured Over Tokyo Podium

Benjamin Eastman

Last week, we asked which of the women’s 2021 Olympic podium and the women’s 2023 overall WTCS podium you think will fare better in 2024. A trio of world champions made up the 2021 podium: Flora Duffy (2016, 2017, 2021, 2022), Georgia Taylor-Brown (2020) and Katie Zaferes (2019). Meanwhile, the 2023 podium contained a first-time world champion in Beth Potter. Moreover, it contained two athletes that had made the overall Series podium for the first time: Cassandre Beaugrand and Emma Lombardi. Only 36% (rounded to the nearest integer) favoured the…

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Triathletes Run Into 2024 With New Year’s Eve Races

Benjamin Eastman

Some choose to party their way into the New Year. Some choose to set off fireworks. Some choose to test their running fitness with a final race of the year. To celebrate the end of the year, multiple elite triathletes took on the third option as they competed in a variety of running races on the final day of 2023. In Auch, a contingent of French triathletes took on the 8.4km course at the Corrida d’Auch. Damian Andrada came out on top in a time of 25:25, beating out Thomas…

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The Extraordinarily Difficult TriStats Quiz Of 2023

Benjamin Eastman

The last race of 2023 has already receded into the distance. It was a long year in which plenty happened, with shocks, scandals, dramatic races and more. Here, you can test your knowledge to see how much of it you actually remember. With twenty questions to complete, only the truly knowledgeable will get all the questions right; then again, maybe the questions are actually super easy and failing to get full marks will be a bit awkward… Those seeking further challenges can attempt the 2022 quiz here or the 2023…

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Five Things We’d Like To See In The WTCS In 2024

Benjamin Eastman

Aggressive swimming When considering what we would like to see in the WTCS in 2024, it is perhaps best to start with the most recent instalment of the Series. At WTCS Pontevedra, the two men’s favourites to win the world title, Alex Yee and Hayden Wilde, lost time in the swim and found themselves on the back foot as they headed into T1. This changed the dynamic of the race and laid the foundations for a dramatic upset. Looking ahead to next year, it is clear that a swim-centric strategy…

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Podium Face-Off: Which Of The 2021 Or 2023 Men Would Win?

Benjamin Eastman

Yesterday, we posed the question asking which of the women’s Tokyo podium and 2023 WTCS podium will come out on top in 2024. Over the past two years, the entire women’s podium has changed, pitting the best of the last Olympic cycle against the rising forces of the current quad. In this article, we will turn our attention to the men and raise the same question. Looking ahead to the Paris Olympics in 2024, who would you back to collectively come out on top: the defending medallists from the Tokyo…

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Podium Face-Off: The 2021 Women vs The 2023 Women

Benjamin Eastman

For a variety of reasons, the women’s WTCS podium contained none of the individual medallists from the Tokyo Olympics. Only two years have passed yet there has been a change at the top. In the defence of the Tokyo medallists, injuries to Flora Duffy and Georgia Taylor-Brown left them without a chance to claim a podium spot. Katie Zaferes’ maternity break has likewise seen her put a greater emphasis on 2024 rather than 2023. Nonetheless, Taylor-Brown’s win in Cagliari and Zaferes’ 5th place in Montreal hinted at what could be…

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The Fastest Women’s WTCS Run Splits Of All Time After 2023

Benjamin Eastman

Triathlon is getting ever quicker. In 2023, four women ran under 33 minutes at an Olympic distance WTCS race and the level required to medal, let alone win, is constantly evolving. Here, we take a look at how the top splits of 2023 stack up against the fastest run splits of all time in the WTCS. Olympic distance Gwen Jorgensen remains the only woman to have run under 32 minutes in a WTCS race. Her split of 31:41 from WTCS Stockholm in 2013 remains the gold standard and, as yet,…

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The Fastest Men’s WTCS Run Splits Of All Time After 2023

Benjamin Eastman

The 2023 season witnessed the fastest men’s Olympic distance run split in WTCS history. As if that was not enough, the second fastest run split ever was also recorded. After Alex Yee joined the sub-29 minute club in 2022, there were two further splits under the barrier this year. In total, there were three new entries in the all time rankings. Read on to find out how the latest all time rankings look. Olympic distance After scaring the record in 2022, Alex Yee is now the fastest runner in WTCS…

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Who Made The Biggest Improvements From 2022 to 2023?

Benjamin Eastman

Sporting careers rarely follow a straightforward trajectory. For every sudden rise, there is a plateau. For every dip in form, there is a comeback. In every season there are stories of athletes hitting new heights or reattaining levels of years before. In this article, we will delve into the biggest improvements in WTCS finish from 2022 to 2023. For reference to the previous year, you can see the improvements from 2021 to 2022 here. Some of the results represent personal best finishes, the highest that athlete has ever crossed the…

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What Were The Strongest Triathlon Fields Of 2023?

Benjamin Eastman

Triathlons are notoriously difficult to compare. From different courses, profiles, and occasionally idiosyncratic measurements, there are plenty of factors that converge to make any comparison rather limited. Throw in the variance in participants and it very quickly looks like a futile pursuit. However, there is nonetheless a way to compare the relative strength of a field against another. Borrowing from the index system of the French federation, every race can be assigned a score based on the world rankings of those starting. Namely, the rankings of those in the top-8…

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Who Was The Junior Female Triathlete Of The Year 2023

Benjamin Eastman

Whereas a World Junior and European Junior title was enough to earn the mantle of the top Junior male triathlete of 2023, it is curiously not the case with the women. It may be a little inconsistent, and perhaps even a little controversial. After all, the athlete that won both titles could not have won a more important race at the Junior level. However, the top athlete here is actually one that did not take part in a single Junior race this season. Instead, the Junior Female Triathlete of 2023…

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Who Was The Junior Male Triathlete Of The Year 2023

Benjamin Eastman

Having assessed the top performances and the top athletes of each continent for 2023, we come to our final look back of the season. In this article, we are looking to the future as much as we are to the past, in a way, as we will attempt to determine which man was the best Junior triathlete of the year. The levels attained by Junior triathletes have been plain scary at times this season and the next generation looks to be seriously talented. Among the many contenders for the title…

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Who Was The Oceania Female Triathlete Of The Year 2023

Benjamin Eastman

In 2023, there was a dominant force on the women’s Oceania triathlon scene. During the Antipodean season, one athlete proved untouchable at every race they attended. Thereafter, they went on to be the region’s best performer at the WTCS level. For combining local dominance and world-level success, there was thus no real question over who would be dubbed the Oceania Female Triathlete of 2023. Nicole Van Der Kaay (NZL) Nicole Van Der Kaay was superlative in the early part of the season. She crushed the Oceania Cups in Wanaka and…

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Who Was The Oceania Male Triathlete Of The Year 2023

Benjamin Eastman

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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