It is a good time for triathlon in Mexico.
After Irving Perez, Crisanto Grajales and Rodrigo Gonzalez flew the flag over the past decade, it is the turn of the Mexican women. Leading the way is Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal.
At the recent World Cup in New Plymouth, Tapia recorded her best ever World Cup performance by taking 4th place. Tapia did not have the best of starts and she said the first 300m in the water was a challenge but things improved in the second half of the swim. Then came the bike.
“The bike was really tough, it was definitely the hardest I have ever done in a race,” said Tapia. “Solveig (Løvseth) was pushing really hard. On the first lap of the run I was so tired and when I started I was not sure I could finish high up. Luckily the second lap felt better.”
Tapia did more than hold on as she battled with Løvseth for the bronze medal until the final stages.
“I was very surprised at my result!” confessed Tapia.
Her 4th place saw her rise five places in the individual Olympic rankings to 32nd. Lizeth Rueda Santos is the next Mexican woman and sits in 36th. After her comes Cecilia Sayuri Ramirez Alavez in 57th and then there is World Cup silver medallist Anahi Alvarez Corral in 79th.
Ramirez and Alvarez are a little younger, having been born in 2000 and 2001, respectively. Either way, the women’s team is in rude health for Mexico.
Having also recorded a personal best WTCS finish this year – a 16th place in Abu Dhabi – it seems like Tapia is on the verge of breaking through to an even higher level.
As with almost all athletes, her eyes look partly ahead to the Paris Olympic Games. To qualify for Mexico, Tapia will need to secure a top-30 position in the Olympic rankings at the end of the qualification period. Alternatively, she can qualify by finishing in the top-12 at the Paris Olympic test Event or the WTCS Final in Pontevedra.
With a number of countries setting a lot of weight in their Olympic selection policies behind Paris and Pontevedra, the races will be the most intense of the season.
“It makes me nervous but very excited.”
After Abu Dhabi, though, she has the confidence that she can also hit a top-12 finish in addition to getting into top-30 in the rankings.
Indeed, there is a sense that she will improve even further this season. Her momentum is one thing; the fact she is so young in the sport is another. Having been born and raised in Hermosillo, Tapia moved in 2019 to train under Luis Miguel Chavez. Having coached athletes to the London Olympics in 2012 and to Rio in 2016, he was the perfect fit to guide Tapia to to elite tier.
Until 2020, Tapia balanced triathlon with her studies. Then, just as she began to devote her time entirely to the sport, the pandemic struck.
As a result, the bulk of her international triathlon career has come since 2021. With such a sudden jump in exposure has come some challenges.
“Last year we raced very often,” explained Tapia. “At points there was not enough time for training as we were travelling between races.”
The travel itself was a facet as new as the elite competition. Aside from a trip as part of a scholarship on 2015, Tapia had not been to Europe until 2022. Last year, she suddenly found herself travelling there and to Asia to take on some of the best triathletes in the world. A first full at the world level takes time to adapt; with the adjustment of intercontinental travel, there was a heightened sense of novelty.
A year later and a year wiser, Tapia seems to have made the requisite adaptations if Abu Dhabi and New Plymouth are anything to go by.
Moreover she had some strong showings last season. 5th place finishes at the World Cups in Huatulco and Tongyeong showed her potential. Not all races went to plan, though and some of the less illustrious performances hit her confidence.
“After one or two races, I was confused and a little bit sad,” admitted Tapia. Indeed, not having the 2022 she had hoped for in part explained why she was a little surprised at the results she has already achieved this year.
At the same time, her 2023 results should also be not too great a surprise. Tapia has been putting in the work. Whereas last season, she felt she missed some training with the travelling and the racing, this year she has got the training in early.
“This year we had two months of hard training as pre-season and it was very intense.” Intense might be an understatement.
After the WTCS Final, Tapia and the team enjoyed two weeks holiday to return home. Afterwards, they built from 0 to 34 hours of training a week. In addition that included an altitude camp in Zacatecas.
With the long hours and work at altitude in the bank, she is already reaping the benefits.
“Abu Dhabi was just the beginning. I know have to be consistent and there are a lot of girls especially in Europe that are pushing so hard. All I can do is train hard, eat healthy, sleep eight hours a night.”
Next up on her schedule is WTCS Yokohama and potentially another big performance. There is no doubt, though, that the likes of Rueda Santos, Ramirez and Alvarez will continue to push Tapia.
Likewise, while Aram Michell Peñaflor Moysen is the next big men’s hope and is 48th in the Olympic rankings, Perez, Grajales and Gonzalez are still going strong. With growing depth, Mexican triathlon could rise to new heights.
A bright future lies ahead for Mexican triathlon, then, and Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal will be at the forefront of a new wave of success.
