By its nature, the Olympic Games is a contest between countries as much as it is between athletes. Whereas a single medal is reward for a lifetime of work for an athlete, it is often the overall medal table that garners most attention in some quarters.
With that in mind, today you can take your pick as to which country will win the most medals across the three Olympic triathlon events this summer.
At the last Olympic Games, Britain and America each came away with multiple medals. For the former, Alex Yee claimed men’s silver and Georgia Taylor-Brown did the same in the women’s race, while the country added gold in the Mixed Team Relay. The latter took silver in the relay and also took home bronze in the women’s race through Katie Zaferes.
Britain also first set the record for of winning three triathlon medals at a single Games; they won three in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 (men’s gold and silver and women’s bronze), a haul they would then equal in Tokyo. Rio was perhaps even more impressive given it came in only two events.
As hosts, France will look to deliver multiple medals this summer. Equally, neighbouring Germany could spoil the party. As the defending relay world champions, Germany has already selected two male WTCS medallists and two female WTCS medallists to its team, making itself a candidate for the podium in all three events.
Have your say below, then, to predict which country will emerge at the top of the medal leaderboard in Paris.
