With a little over six months to go until the end of the Olympic qualification window, time is running out for athletes to stake their claim to race in Paris next summer.
At this point in time, the races to take the New Flag slots at the coming Olympic Games are perhaps the most intense of any remaining contests. The Mixed Team Relay will have a qualification event in Huatulco next May, which will offer up plenty of drama, while the final few slots allocated in the individual Olympic qualification rankings will lead to some tense battles.
The New Flags, though, will bring together an array of closely-matched talents all competing for their continent’s slots.
To earn a New Flag place, an individual must be the highest ranked athlete from their continent and race for a country that has not already qualified an athlete of the same gender to Paris. Moreover, they must be inside the top-180 of the world rankings.
In the European women’s race, being inside the top-180 will not be an issue. Much like the equivalent men’s race, the female European New Flag has several athletes within the top-100 that are all in contention.
Ivana Kuriackova currently leads the way. Ranked 60th in the world, the Slovakian athlete has 1780 points (rounded to the nearest integer). A large portion of her points came as a result of her early season adventures in which she raced extensively in the Americas.
In that period, Kuriackova won at the Americas Cup in Pucón and took silver medals at the Americas Cups in La Habana and Villarrica. Later in the year, she added a win at the Asia Cup in Samarkand before finishing 9th at the Chengdu World Cup.
Her early season form also had the added benefit of putting her onto WTCS and World Cup start lists which should offer further opportunities to boost her points total.
Although Kuriackova is in a good place with regards to the New Flag competition, she will have to keep one eye peeled on the athletes right behind.
Melanie Santos of Portugal sits in 65th place in world rankings. With 1730 points, the difference between her and Kuriackova is marginal at best.
Finishes of 10th at WTCS Sunderland and 16th at WTCS Yokohama stand out as Santos’ best 2023 results. Any repeat of those finishes before the end of May qualification deadline will likely see Santos vault ahead of Kuriackova.
One thing to note, however, is that Santos could yet qualify through the Mixed Team Relay. Portugal is not in line to qualify through the relay rankings. On the other hand, they could nab a spot at the final qualification event in Huatulco.
With the likes of Vasco Vilaca, Ricardo Batista, Joao Silva and Joao Pereira on the men’s side, they have an array of talent from which to choose. Moreover, alongside Santos Portugal can utilise Maria Tomé, the World U23 silver medallist. As such, they could put together a formidable team in Huatulco. Should they succeed in qualifying a relay, Santos’ New Flag quest will be voided.
Even if Santos is removed from the equation, the next threat to Kuriackova is just as close.
Tilda Månsson, the winner of this year’s Tiszaujvaros World Cup, is ranked 67th with 1713 points. As a fun aside, Månsson has an identical ranking of 67th in the world rankings and the Olympic qualification rankings.
With a bronze medal at the Tangier World Cup and a 9th place at the Valencia World Cup, Månsson has logged some valuable points hauls in the last few months. Given her age (she is still technically a Junior), it would be fair to expect her to continue to improve. If she does so, and logs further World Cup top-10s or better, she will eye up a place in the top-50 of the world rankings.
Yet Månsson’s Olympic ranking is also of relevance. Right now, Tereza Zimovjanova is 66th in the Olympic rankings and is the final woman due to qualify from that avenue. Should Månsson overtake Zimovjanova, she would not need a New Flag as she will have already qualified through the Olympic rankings.
Separately, with Petra Kurikova (also of the Czech Republic) placed ahead of Zimovjanova in the Olympic rankings, if Zimovjanova falls behind Månsson she would also not be eligible for a European New Flag slot.
If Santos and Månsson could potentially be removed from the New Flag covnersation by the end of the qualification window, Kuriackova’s closest challenger may turn out to be her compatriot, Zuzana Michalickova.
Ranked 70th in the world, Michalickova has 1677 points, putting her just over 100 behind Kuriackova. A hat-trick of top-8 World Cup finishes in Yeongdo, Valencia and Brasilia really lifted her chances. Given that those three results came in the second half of the 2023 season, she will be confident of carrying her form into the first half of 2024.
Slovakia also has a third contender for the New Flag slot in the form of Romana Gajdošová. Gajdošová is ranked 83rd with 1574 points.
Between Michalickova and Gajdošová is another athlete that should be a big factor in the New Flag race. In reality, though, they are not likely to figure.
Solveig Løvseth of Norway stands in 71st place with 1676 points. As the European Games champion and a World Cup medallist, she has proven her ability to log the kind of finishes required to overtake Kuriackova.
There are two reasons, though, that stand against her New Flag inclusion. The first is the relay. Right now, Norway are due to take a relay slot as the 9th best team in the Olympic relay rankings. Should that stay the same, Løvseth will already be at the Olympics and will not need a New Flag place.
The second reason is that, even if Norway fails to qualify a relay, Løvseth herself is ranked 48th in the Olympic rankings. As such, she has a substantial buffer ahead of the athletes behind her and should be able to qualify by right.
Løvseth, then, is unlikely to play a part in the New Flag conversation as she is already highly likely to qualify for the Olympic Games.
As previously mentioned, Maria Tomé could qualify alongside Santos in a Portuguese Mixed Team Relay. Should that avenue fail, she will need to rise from 89th in the world rankings in order to beat Kuriackova.
Having medalled at the World U23 Championships, Tomé is clearly an athlete to watch. Nevertheless, it will still be a challenge to close the 310 point deficit she faces to Kuriackova.
Overall, then, the European women’s New Flag race is as wide open as it is convoluted. Several contenders could qualify by other means and there is real possibility that the New Flag race becomes a race between Slovakia’s three leading triathletes.
