It is a new year and a new batch of talented athletes are primed to make their move on the international stage. In this article, we highlight six up and coming athletes that could make a splash this season.
As a disclaimer, we are not calling the athletes named here the definitive best athletes in the Junior/U23 categories. Instead we are highlighting six that look to have particular promise going forward.
The athletes still have to be eligible to race in either the Junior or U23 categories in 2024, so any athletes that aged up at the end of 2023 will not be included. Moreover, we will not include any duplicates from last season. As such, neither Tilda Månsson nor Emma Lombardi are included, even though they are both U23, as they were both named in the equivalent list last year.
Selina Klamt (GER) 2001
Now in her final year as an U23 athlete, Klamt enters 2024 as the reigning World U23 champion and European U23 champion. As such, she has effectively completed the U23 level already and will be setting her sights on making her name in Senior racing.
Last year, she made significant strides forward at the Senior level as she made her WTCS debut – finishing 29th in Hamburg – and logged a personal best World Cup finish of 5th in Karlovy Vary. To go with that, Klamt also won two European Cups, in Caorle and Olsztyn. She also narrowly missed out on a medal at the European Games in Poland, finishing 4th.
A considerable challenge facing Klamt will be the sheer depth of the German women’s squad. Already, the Olympic team has been selected after three athletes logged top-8 finishes at the selection events in Paris and Pontevedra last season. A second three woman team consisting of an Olympian and two WTCS medallist could also be selected while another World Cup medallist and WTCS top-5 finisher will be pushing for WTCS and World Cup selection.
All this is to say that the incredible range of talent at the German team’s disposal means that breaking onto a WTCS start list will be a tall order for Klamt.
As things stand, she is ranked 38th in the world. However, that makes her only the seventh German in the rankings. To be more secure in WTCS selection, she will need to be among the five leading German women. Realistically, that will require a world ranking in the top-25 of the world. Given that Klamt is an athlete on the rise, it would be no surprise to see her continue to move up the rankings.
Based on her remarkable success in 2023, if Klamt can gain the places she needs in the early part of the coming season and get onto the requisite start lists, she could very soon turn some heads at the top level of the sport.
David Cantero del Campo (ESP) 2003
At the start of last season, David Cantero del Campo was flagged as an athlete leaving the Junior ranks to watch. He won four European Junior Cups and an Asia Cup while still a Junior athlete which prompted us to suggest that he could be something special.
In 2023, he blew away all expectations.
In a stunning performance, he won the Valencia World Cup. What stood out was not so much that he won, rather it was the style in which he did. From geeing up the crowd on the run to out-duelling World Cup winner Lasse Nygaard Priester at the death, it was certainly a cool way to win.
To prove it was no fluke, Cantero then added a silver medal at the Tangier World Cup. There, he took the fight to WTCS race winner Pierre Le Corre and gave the experienced French athlete some moments of concern.
As with Klamt, Cantero may have some bother in getting onto WTCS start lists given the density of fast Spanish triathletes. Nevertheless, he can be confident of more success at the world level when opportunities come. Having also run a sub-29 minute 10km on New Year’s Eve, he will no doubt be a force in 2024.
Joao Nuno Batista (POR) 2005
Batista was the Junior athlete that we simply could not ignore.
Now entering his final season as a Junior, the World Junior champion and European Junior champion has plenty of options ahead. One avenue could be to defend his titles. Given the panache with which he claimed his gold medals last year, it is highly likely that he could do the same this season.
Alternatively, Batista could move on from the Junior level entirely. Such an approach would copy what Tilda Månsson did in 2023 after her World Junior-European Junior double in 2022. With regard to Batista’s Senior prospects this year, the omens are good.
At the tail end of 2023, he claimed a silver medal at the European Cup in Ceuta. A strong cyclist with speed to burn on the run, he has the assets required to fight for medals against athletes over a decade older than him. One point to further develop will be his swimming, particularly if he hopes to make a World Cup debut this season.
Whether on the Junior circuit or European Cup front, though, look for Batista to make some headlines.
Anahi Alvarez Corral (MEX) 2001
We have said it before but if Anahi Alvarez Corral can fix her current vulnerability in the swim, she has the potential to dominate the circuit.
After winning a silver medal at the Valencia World Cup in 2022, she went one better last year as she won the World Cup in Huatulco. In Mexico, she took down several noteworthy rivals, including Gwen Jorgensen and Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal. More than anything, Alvarez proved that day that if she is within striking distance of the lead coming out of T2, she will win the race.
Later in the year, at the World U23 Championships in Pontevedra, she confirmed the theory. She ran essentially 2 minutes faster than the race winner, Klamt. However, Alvarez had lost too much time earlier in the day to contend for a high finish. Still, her run was the best by any woman in Pontevedra, including the splits from the WTCS Final. Given the chance, then, she will scare a lot of rivals.
Looking ahead to 2024, it feels almost impossible that someone so fast will not win at least one World Cup medal. Granted, Alvarez will need the right race conditions to fully exploit her running speed. Over a long season, surely at least a few events will suit her.
In the bigger picture, she is ranked 80th in the Olympic rankings. Yet she is a long way from hitting her quota in terms of scores. A couple of big World Cup and WTCS performances could catapult Alvarez towards the top-30 and put Mexico in a position to earn three female slots at the Paris Olympics (Lizeth Rueda Santos would also need to gain 4 places).
The question for this year, then, is not whether Alvarez can win races. It is how many she will be able to win.
Cathia Schär (SUI) 2001
Of anyone mentioned in this list, Cathia Schär has been by far the best performer at the WTCS level. Last season she finished 8th in Hamburg, 9th in Sunderland and 12th in Montreal. Her performance in Hamburg was particularly inspired as she rallied from a number of precarious positions out of the water and used her tremendous cycling strength to regain contact with the leaders.
In 2022, Schär also finished 14th in Montreal and 16th in Bermuda. She therefore already has the kind of WTCS consistency that athletes half a dozen years older than her would envy.
To go with her WTCS form, Schär won the bronze medal at the European Championships in Madrid, albeit in a duathlon, and a maiden World Cup medal by finishing 3rd in Rome. For what it is worth, Rome was also host to the strongest women’s World Cup field of the year. Schär, then, is evidently an athlete capable of performing in the toughest conditions.
While she is a superb cyclist and runner, her swim may need to undergo some minor improvements if she is to take the step to the next level. After all, she could become a WTCS medallist in the near future. Even without any major changes, though, Schär’s form has been such that she will be one to watch in 2024.
Dylan McCullough (NZL) 2001
The third man and final athlete in our six to watch was another to earn a maiden World Cup medal in 2023. After two 4th place finishes (in New Plymouth and Tongyeong), Dylan McCullough finally made his breakthrough at his last race of the season. In Miyazaki, he took an impressive silver medal.
While Hugo Milner took plenty of plaudits for an astonishing run split that saw him fly to the gold, McCullough’s run was itself noteworthy. At the midpoint of the 10km, he took off from the lead group and made a bold move as he hunted the gold. But for Milner’s antics, it would have likely paid off.
McCullough’s silver medal was also overdue. In addition to his 4th places on the World Cup scene, he finished 4th at the Oceania Cup in Wanaka and at the Oceania Championships. Now with his medal duck broken, he can look to claim further medals in 2024.
Like Schär, McCullough is another strong cyclist. He got through a mountain of work at WTCS Montreal last summer to help the chase pack catch the leaders. He went on to finish 14th that day and then placed 12th at WTCS Sunderland, a result which stands as his personal best. Looking ahead, McCullough will definitely be a candidate for a maiden top-10 finish in the Series.
His World Cup form also promoted him to the second New Zealand man in the world rankings. He will face a battle against Tayler Reid to lock down the second Olympic spot for his country. In light of his autumn form, he is in with a great chance of doing so.
