Jolien Vermeylen On Winning Medals and Being Chaotic

Benjamin Eastman

“I’m fairly chaotic,” says Jolien Vermeylen, laughing as she does. It’s a word that comes up often in conversation with her and, in fairness, she makes a compelling case. Yet it also seems to be only one side of the coin. From the first steps of Vermeylen’s career to the elite level at which she now finds herself, the chaos has been seemingly ever-present. Lying beneath it, though, is a quiet determination. At the end of 2022, she tackled the autumn swing of WTCS races in Cagliari, Bermuda and Abu…

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Americas Olympic Distance Crown Up For Grabs In Veracruz

Benjamin Eastman

Veracruz, Mexico, will play host to the Americas Championships over the Olympic distance this weekend. The elite women’s race will take place on Saturday while the elite men will compete on Sunday. In both, a separate U23 classification will be extracted from the results. Fresh off his win at the Weihai World Cup, Crisanto Grajales will fly the flag for the home team. In China, he showed marvellous composure on the run to overcome his rivals and take the gold. If he can manage a similar performance this weekend, he…

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Will Taylor Knibb Win A WTCS Title In Her Career?

Benjamin Eastman

Taylor Knibb is one of the best triathletes in the world. At this point in time, that feels like a fairly safe assertion to make. She is an Olympic medallist (on the Mixed Team Relay) from Tokyo 2021. She has won seven WTCS medals, of which two have been gold. Throw in her World Ironman 70.3 Championship titles and litany of wins in various long distance events and it is clear that Knibb a force to be reckoned with. As a Junior, Knibb’s talent was already evident. Alongside winning the…

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After Injury Julie Derron Is Back and Better Than Ever

Benjamin Eastman

When she arrived in Paris for what might have been the most intense race of the year, the pressure was off for Julie Derron. She faced the strongest start list of the year at the Olympic Test Event, a race that held plenty of significance for the Olympic aspirations of many. Moreover she would be making her first start over the Olympic distance in 2023. Yet Derron was equanimous. To start with, she had the chance of Olympic qualification without the race being totally deterministic. “For us Swiss, it wasn’t…

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Tertsch Looking To Defend Valencia World Cup Gold

Benjamin Eastman

After winning the Valencia World Cup in 2022, Lisa Tertsch is back to defend her gold medal. Although last year’s event was held over the Sprint distance, the Olympic distance format this time should hold no troubles for the German. Tertsch has enjoyed a great run of success at World Cups over the past few years and has a glut of medals to her name. Earlier this year she claimed a silver medal at the European Championships and a hat-trick of wins in the Bundesliga. Most recently, she finished 9th…

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Katie Zaferes Replaces Taylor Knibb on Pontevedra Start List

Benjamin Eastman

The former world champion, Katie Zaferes, will complete her return to the top level of triathlon by racing at the WTCS Final in Pontevedra. Having not been originally included on the women’s start list, Zaferes has now been added in place of Taylor Knibb who has dropped out of the race. Knibb claimed 5th place at the Paris Olympic Test Event which earned her a spot on the American Olympic team next year. With Olympic qualification nailed, there was no reason for Knibb to race the Final. On the WTCS…

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Battle of the Runners on the Menu at Valencia World Cup

Benjamin Eastman

On a flat, fast circuit, Valencia is a course for the runners to relish. In the men’s race at this weekend’s World Cup, there are a multitude of athletes primed to make the most of the conditions. Among the favourites for the win will be David Castro Fajardo. The European champion finished 5th at the event last year and will be looking to go even better this year. Castro already has a World Cup win to his name this season having triumphed in Huatulco. In Valencia, the swim should hold…

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Casas and Briand Strike Gold at Edmonton Americas Cup

Benjamin Eastman

Edmonton spent several years as a fixture of the World Triathlon Championships Series however it has not returned since hosting the WTCS Final in 2021. This year, an Americas Cup filled its place on the calendar. A host of Canadian talent and international contenders arrived to take on a fast Sprint distance course. Due to a late change, the race was adjusted into a duathlon. When the dust settled, the home team came away with three medals. Women’s race After a cagey swim and bike, Natalia Casas blew the field…

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Rasva and Nádas Take European Junior Cup Wins In Dublin

Benjamin Eastman

The end of the European season is in sight. At one of the final European Junior Cups of the year, a wealth of talent descended upon Dublin. Among the standout names were Gregor Rasva, Jack Crome and Liis Kapten, each of whom had already claimed gold at European Junior Cups in 2023. In both Sprint distance events, breakaways proved decisive and both winners claimed their golds after striking clear with one other athlete. Men’s race Gregor Rasva and Jack Crome ripped through the field in the swim. Crome led the…

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The Splits Breakdown of the Weihai World Cup 2023

Benjamin Eastman

Swim The women’s race at the Weihai World Cup was all about Bianca Seregni and her dominance began in the water. Over the 1500m swim, she clocked a time of 19:20. The next fastest athlete was Bailee Brown of Hong Kong in 19:43. Seregni thus had a comprehensive lead as she made her way through transition and onto the bike. Wen Wei followed in a time of 19:44 while Anna Godoy Contreras and Yifan Yang each recorded splits of 19:46. The bronze medallist Ilaria Zane stopped the clock at 19:48…

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Bianca Seregni Reigns Supreme At Weihai World Cup

Benjamin Eastman

As she crossed the finish line, Bianca Seregni’s smile could have powered the city. Almost two hours of racing at the brutal Weihai World Cup had yielded a first ever World Cup win for the young Italian in truly emphatic fashion. From the beach start, the athletes enjoyed a long run into the sea as the tide had gone out. Seregni and Ivana Kuriackova made the most of the additional run to move ahead of the field and eventually plunged into the water. Before long, Seregni had left the field…

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Grajales Turns Back The Clock To Win Weihai World Cup

Benjamin Eastman

When Crisanto Grajales stepped onto the start line in Weihai, he did so as one of the few men in the field with a World Cup gold medal to his name. However, almost six years had passed since he had claimed his last win at the world level. Given it had been so long since his last triumph, betting on the Mexican athlete seemed like a long shot. That being said, he had triumphed at the Americas Cup in Ixtapa earlier in the year. Still, even with his renowned running…

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The Case For Creating A Union For Elite Triathletes

Benjamin Eastman

Has the time has come for the elite triathletes of the world to form a union? To protect their interests in the sport, it would be wise for the athletes to band together in a trade union and use their collective strength to their advantage. A brief attempt was made with the Professional Triathletes Union, which primarily consisted of long distance triathletes and was the precursor to the PTO. The proposal here is for a fully-fledged union to look out purely for the interests of athletes. There are four primary…

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Simulate the Outcome of the Men’s WTCS 2023 Here

Benjamin Eastman

Yesterday we unveiled the simulator for the women’s 2023 WTCS Final. Today, it is the turn of the men. Using the below tool, you can model every possible configuration for how the current top-10 of the WTCS can change in the last round of the Series. Once you select the finishing positions of the top-10 ranked athletes, the code below will then automatically update and show what the top-10 overall would look like based on the choices you make. As with the women, results will only be shown for athletes…

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Why Athletes Will Not Be The Ones To Profit From Triathlon

Benjamin Eastman

The art of misdirection is a fundamental tool for any magician. It also just so happens to be vital for any good pick-pocket. All things being equal, a short distance triathlete can make money in the WTCS, in Super League Triathlon or even by stepping up to the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO). There is a veritable smorgasbord of racing. With racing comes prize money, the lifeblood for the careers of most triathletes, and on that front there are reasons to be optimistic. Has your attention been suitably misdirected yet? Ahead…

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