Pozzatti Attempting To Repeat Miyazaki Gold Aginst Tough Field

Benjamin Eastman

Later this week, Miyazaki, Japan, will play host to the third Asian World Cup stop in three weekends. Looking to defend his gold medal from the event from 2022 will be Gianluca Pozzatti. The Italian athlete won in Miyazaki in memorable fashion last year, albeit over the Sprint distance. This time the event will run over the Olympic distance. Pozzatti, though, will arrive in Japan in decent form. He finished 19th at the WTCS Final in Pontevedra and then followed it up with a 12th place at the World Cup…

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Kir and Krupyakov Power to Victories at Yenisehir Junior Cup

Benjamin Eastman

Alongside the final European Cup of the season, Yenisehir, Turkey, played host to the final European Junior Cup of 2023. Although the fields were fairly small in the Junior event – with seventeen women and thirty men starting – there was nonetheless plenty of talent on display. Multiple European Junior Cup winners took to the start line as did the men’s Asian Junior champion, Alexandr Ten of Kazakhstan. When the starters horn went off for the final time of the season, the racing did not disappoint. Women’s race Selinay Tuğçe…

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Dey and Rust Denied By Angelini and Morton in Yenisehir

Benjamin Eastman

After the drama of the European Cup in Alanya, many of the same athletes remained in Turkey a week later to take on the European Cup in Yenisehir. In piping hot conditions, the racing took place over the Sprint distance. In both the men’s and women’s events, the race came down to a late fight for gold and the both silver medallists can count themselves extremely unlucky to have been denied the wins. Men’s race At the final European Cup race of 2023, the men’s race was a battle from…

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Who Had The Best Splits At The Tongyeong World Cup 2023

Benjamin Eastman

Swim Yuko Takahashi went after it at the Tongyeong World Cup from the moment the race began. She set the pace throughout the women’s race and clocked the quickest swim in 9:03. Next out of the water was Zsanett Kuttor-Bragmayer in 9:05 while Claire Michel followed in 9:06. Having been prominent at the start of the swim, Margot Garabedian managed a time of 9:08 which was matched by Sophia Howell. A group consisting of Hollie Elliott, Cecilia Santamaria Surroca and Sara Vilic then completed the top-8 splits in 9:09. In…

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Hellwig Too Hot To Handle In Tongyeong World Cup Win

Benjamin Eastman

There are times when an athlete finds a run of form in which everything they touch turns to gold. Right now, Tim Hellwig is in that kind of form. A case could be made that he would have won the Tongyeong World Cup in almost any scenario (short of something like a mechanical or meteor strike jeopardising his race). In actuality, he continued his brilliant run with a complete performance in which he did not put a foot wrong. The wetsuit swim stretched the field as Jamie Riddle was the…

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Jorgensen Wins Third Consecutive World Cup In Tongyeong

Benjamin Eastman

The cold air of Tongyeong offered the clearest sign yet that the triathlon season is coming to its close for 2023. As the athletes lined the pontoon in their wetsuits, the temperatute stood at 10 degrees (Celsius), leaving several to shiver a little. For some, getting going in the conditions proved a challenge. However, at the front of the race Yuko Takahashi crackled into life instantly. The Japanese athlete got off to a fast start and took an early lead. Margot Garabedian of Cambodia set the pace at the front…

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Russia Remains Non-Compliant In Anti-Doping Says WADA

Benjamin Eastman

Back in April, World Triathlon lifted its ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes. The athletes were prohibited from racing as part of the wider ban on Russia and Belarus following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Prior to that, Russian athletes were also subject to a ban as a result of the country’s doping offences. Acting in step with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), World Triathlon declared that they supported “the development of a pathway for independent neutral individual Athletes and Officials with Russian and Belarusian passports to participate…

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The Third Woman: Qualifying Three Women To Paris 2024

Benjamin Eastman

Yesterday we looked into the countries that are in with a chance of qualifying three men for the Paris Olympic Games in 2024. Today, it is the turn of the women. To qualify three women, a country will need to have three athletes inside the top-30 of the Olympic qualification rankings by the end of the qualifying window in May 2024. Looking at the current rankings, a select group of countries have essentially sealed their third slots. Britain have three women in the top-7 of the rankings. Germany have three…

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Comparing the World Cups in Chengdu and Brasilia

Benjamin Eastman

Last weekend saw the rare occurrence of world-level triathlon events taking place concurrently. On the Saturday, Chengdu hosted a World Cup race. The following day, athletes took on another World Cup event in Brasilia. The double header meant that there were smaller fields than usual although both events had broadly similar numbers. More importantly, the back-to-back World Cups offered a chance to compare how World Cups can unfold in different ways. Of course, different courses will affect races in different ways. On that note, Brasilia was a hillier course than…

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The Third Man: The Race To Send Three Men To Paris 2024

Benjamin Eastman

If a country puts three men inside the top-30 of the Olympic qualification rankings at the end of the qualifying window, they will earn a third men’s slot for the Paris Olympic Games next summer. Qualifying three men (or women) to the Olympics is a major statement of depth and is usually reserved to the select powerhouses of the sport. At this point in time, the men’s race to qualify three men is entering a tense phase. A group of countries are all primed to put a third man in…

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Michel Aiming To Stop Jorgensen World Cup Run In Tongyeong

Benjamin Eastman

Form is a funny thing. More often than not, an athlete has it right up until they don’t. Even the best run of form comes to an end at some point so when it arrives it has to be exploited. At the Tongyeong World Cup, two women in particular lead the expectations in the race for the gold medal. Both are in great form and have reasons that make their current run of results particularly sweet. Claire Michel seems to have shaken off the run of injuries that previously bogged…

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Hellwig Faces McElroy Test At Tongyeong World Cup

Benjamin Eastman

Tim Hellwig is on a roll. Across the landscape of international triathlon, he is someone that can lay claim to being in the best form around. A win at last weekend’s Chengdu World Cup came after he earned the silver medal at the WTCS Final in Pontevedra. Prior to that, he earned top-8 finishes at WTCS Hamburg and the Paris Test Event while also finishing 4th at WTCS Montreal. At almost every opportunity this year, Hellwig has stepped up and the WTCS race winner (from Hamburg in 2021) will arrive…

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Elite Triathletes Stay Sharp With Off-Road Outings

Benjamin Eastman

Taking the chance to mix up their standard routine, two international triathletes separately took on off-road cycling challenges. Anne Holm and Gwen Jorgensen raced in Denmark and the United States, respectively, as they took on gravel racing and cyclocross. Holm won a silver medal at the Danish gravel nationals. Most impressively, it was her first time ever racing on gravel. The course itself covered 140km and represented a tough day out even for those well-versed in the discipline. On the triathlon front, Holm is not scheduled to race again internationally…

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Evaluating Jason West’s 2024 Olympic Games Hopes

Benjamin Eastman

One of the main talking points ahead of the World Cup races in Rome and Brasilia was the presence of Jason West. The American athlete previously raced in short course triathlon however he traded it in for the longer distances a couple of years ago. Earlier this season, he won medals at the PTO Asian Open and PTO US Open and has made a name for himself as one of the fastest runners in the middle distance realm. In light of his PTO success, the question was open to be asked…

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Who Had The Top Splits At The Brasilia World Cup 2023

Benjamin Eastman

Swim Vittoria Lopes was on top form in the swim at the Brasilia World Cup and built a handy lead into T1. Over the long single lap of 1500m, she pulled away from the field and completed the course in 19:18. Having been a regular face at the front of the field in the swim in the WTCS, it was no surprise to see her take command of the race. What was a little more unusual was her decision to race so aggressively. Rather than keep a couple of athletes…

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