With the World Triathlon Championship Series Final around the corner, the time has come to take a look back at this season’s medallists.
Hamburg 2021
Less than two months after the Tokyo Olympic Games, Hamburg saw a host of new faces start in 2021. Ultimately it was a day for local fans to enjoy as Germany took the win in both the men’s and women’s races through Tim Hellwig and Laura Lindemann.
Lindemann was joined on the women’s podium by Nicole Van Der Kaay and Summer Rappaport. Meanwhile, on the men’s side, Paul Georgenthum took silver while Leo Bergere took bronze.
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Abu Dhabi 2021
Abu Dhabi followed in November 2021 and saw the return of the women’s World and Olympic Champion, Flora Duffy, and it was no surprise that Duffy went on to take the win. Brits Georgia Taylor-Brown and Sophie Coldwell rounded out the podium.
The men’s race was a little less predictable. After a poor swim, Jelle Geens surged through the field to victory on the back of a fantastic run split, pushing Vincent Luis down to silver. Bence Bicask of Hungary took bronze.
Yokohama 2022
Yokohama was the race of the calendar year in 2022 and really set up the narrative for the battles for the world title to come. In the women’s race, Georgia Taylor-Brown took her first win of the season, getting the better of Duffy to bring the two women to almost level points in the Series. Duffy was beaten out to silver by Leonie Periault.
Hayden Wilde managed to score his first ever WTCS medal although ultimately was outrun by Alex Yee for the gold. Moreover, Leo Bergere logged his second bronze of the season with his third place finish.
Leeds 2022
At first glance, it seemed as if Leeds was going to give us a re-run of Yokohama. However, Duffy had the misfortune to catch COVID in the build-up to the race and could not keep pace, while Alex Yee suffered from a bike crash that ended his day early.
This left Hayden Wilde to reel in Leo Bergere to take his first ever WTCS win. Bergere, meanwhile, quietly took steps to consolidate his podium position in the Series with his silver. Bronze went to Lasse Luhrs for his maiden WTCS podium.
The women’s race did not turn into a home coronation for Taylor-Brown as Cassandre Beaugrand produced an electric run (despite a penalty) to take the win. Taylor-Brown went on finished second while Sophie Coldwell took her second bronze of the season.
Montreal 2022
Montreal saw the return of Yee and his return to the top of the podium as he defeated Wilde. Both Wilde and Bergere took their third consecutive WTCS medals by placing second and third, respectively, to separate themselves from the rest of the WTCS field.
In a reverse of Leeds, Taylor-Brown outran Beaugrand to extend her lead in the Series, while Beaugrand drew within range of Duffy in the overall Series courtesy of her silver. Alongside this, Beth Potter logged her first ever podium by taking bronze.
Hamburg 2022
With several Brits sitting out Hamburg ahead of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, the wins were taken by their Commonwealth rivals, Duffy and Wilde. With four medals from four races, this would be the last time Wilde raced until the Final, having put clear daylight between himself and the field. Joining Wilde on the podium were Matt Hauser and Jawad Abdelmoula.
Duffy’s win saw her consolidate second place in the Series, however she remained a significant distance behind Taylor-Brown. Beth Potter went one step better than Montreal by taking silver while Lisa Tertsch achieved her first ever WTCS podium.
Cagliari 2022
In a reversal of Hamburg, the first ever WTCS race in Cagliari saw Yee and Taylor-Brown take the start line, with their rivals Wilde and Duffy opting out. Both athletes went on to win their respective races, allowing Yee to close the gap on Wilde and Taylor-Brown to create a near-insurmountable lead with only one round to go before the Final.
Taylor-Brown was joined on the podium by Emma Lombardi and Taylor Knibb while Yee was accompanied by Jonathan Brownlee and Manoel Messias.
Bermuda 2022
WTCS Bermuda marked the penultimate race of the 2022 season, well over a year after it started. In a dominant showing, Flora Duffy closed the gap to Taylor-Brown to just 69 points. Whoever of the pair wins in Abu Dhabi will take the world title.
Taylor Knibb took another WTCS medal by finishing second, while Beth Potter earned bronze to take her third WTCS medal of the season.
In a surprise turn, Yee was off the pace in the men’s race and Vincent Luis took his first win of the season with a brilliant performance. Finishing behind Luis, Antonio Serrat Seoane and Roberto Sanchez Mantecon took their first ever WTCS medals.
