After starting with the men yesterday, today we are kicking off the women’s series in the TriStats Top 30 for 2024. The same parameters have been used to govern the women’s ranking as were applied with the men.
In general, WTCS performances have taken priority but results at World Cups and Continental Championships also feature. Across the board, we have tried to find a balance between promise and experience, consistency and medals, and the different levels of the sport.
It should also be noted that these rankings are not intended as a prediction for the year. Instead, they are more of a survey of how we feel the field stands going into the new season. There will always be an element of subjectivity here so feel free to disagree with any names or suggest your own in the comments below.
30) Lena Meißner GER (2023: 21st)
Meißner will have been left to rue the injury problems that compromised her 2023 season and left her on the outside looking in with respect to qualification for the German Olympic team.
She broke out in a big way at the end of the 2022 season, peaking with a fantastic bronze medal at the WTCS Final in 2022. At the start of 2023, it seemed she would pick up right where she left off as she logged an impressive 5th place on her return to Abu Dhabi.
In both of her Abu Dhabi successes, her swim proved to be a real weapon and she made the small breakaway group. It seemed she was primed to go from strength to strength but then a run of bad luck, including a foot niggle, hampered her.
Since coming back into the WTCS, she has not quite had the same spark. A 17th place in Hamburg was a solid display however it was a little lost as three of her compatriots made the top-5. With others making the most of her absence, Meißner will not be on the start line at the Olympics this year. Instead, she will try to find her way back into the top-5 at WTCS events.
Meißner is still fairly young and can absolutely regain her WTCS medal-winning highs in no time. First, though, she will need to dust herself off after 2023 turned into a bruising year.
29) Maya Kingma NED (2023: 9th)
At her best, Kingma is a top-5 athlete and could run amok through the WTCS. She claimed a maiden WTCS win in Leeds in 2021 and asserted herself as one of the best in the business. Since then, however, injuries have plagued her.
In a stop-start 2023, she only made the start line six times (logging one DNF). Nevertheless, a 6th place at WTCS Yokohama showed what a threat she can be. It was the only top-10 Kingma earned in 2023 but it matched her 6th place in Bermuda from November 2022. Moreover, it followed finishes of 9th in Hamburg and 7th in Cagliari in 2022.
Even with injury troubles, then, Kingma has been a regular top-10 contender. If she can get a run of consistent training and racing, she could easily become a medal candidate once more. However, we said the same of her at the start of last year and her results have only become more sporadic. To go with that, she slipped from 9th overall in the WTCS in 2022 to 40th in 2023.
A fit and firing Kingma could make the Olympic podium but her injury struggles make it hard to gauge exactly how she will do. After plenty of bad luck, she is overdue a healthy run.
28) Alice Betto ITA (2023: unranked)
Betto is the first unranked woman from 2023 to make the 2024 Top 30 as she made a rip-roaring return from a maternity break.
Her high point last year came with her win at the Brasilia World Cup, which was the first international victory of her career. On the World Cup front, she also finished 4th in Miyazaki and 8th in Rome.
Betto also impressed at the WTCS level with finishes of 13th in Paris and 10th in Pontevedra, both of which were two of the toughest events of the season. Considering that she only returned to international competition relatively late in the summer, it remains to be seen what she can do with a full season of racing.
She has barely put a foot wrong in her comeback and seems stronger than ever. Should her 2023 form prove anything to go by, Betto could light up more than a few races this season.
27) Jolien Vermeylen BEL (2023: unranked)
Vermeylen, also known as Captain Chaos, really bounced into view last season.
She logged a first ever WTCS top-10 by finishing 9th in Hamburg. Shortly after, she backed it up with a 12th place in Sunderland and a 14th place in Paris, demonstrating that she was coming to terms with the Series.
Her WTCS antics formed part of a hectic summer in which she also won bronze medals at the European Games and Tiszaujvaros World Cup. Later in the year, she enjoyed (or perhaps endured) a run of strong (or cursed) World Cup results as she finished 5th in Valencia, 4th in Rome and 4th in Tangier. While an autumn medal remained elusive, she proved how she could fight for podiums week in, week out.
At the start of the race, Vermeylen is increasingly asserting herself as one of the best swimmers in the field while at the end of races her distinctive running style has been carrying her to a number of noteworthy results. At this point in time, Vermeylen is a small hop away from being a consistent World Cup medallist and top-10 WTCS threat. Seeing as she is still developing in the sport as a late arrival, this might be the year she turns the near-misses of 2023 into frequent medals.
26) Miriam Casillas Garcia ESP (2023: 12th)
Going by 2022 form alone, Casillas belongs significantly higher in this ranking. Finishes of 5th in Cagliari, 7th in Bermuda, 9th in Abu Dhabi and 10th in Leeds established her as a major top-10 threat. Indeed, it was the most successful WTCS season of her career so far.
Meanwhile, in 2023 finishes of 12th in Abu Dhabi, 16th in Sunderland, 18th in Pontevedra and 19th in Cagliari showed that she remained a consistent top-20 candidate. However, she did not quite reach the same levels as a season prior.
A 5th place at the Brasilia World Cup towards the end of the year suggested an uptick in form may await. Furthermore, Casillas has already qualified for the Spanish Olympic team and so should be able to start the year without that burden.
At her best, she is one of the quickest runners in the field and has plenty of strength to call upon on the bike. When her form clicks again, she will shoot back up the rankings.
25) Nicole Van Der Kaay NZL (2023: unranked)
Van Der Kaay was on the cusp of making the ranking at the start of 2023 and her form in the ensuing season made her impossible to leave out.
She won the New Plymouth World Cup as part of a dominant run in Oceania in which she also claimed the Continental titles over the Olympic and Sprint distances. No one in her home continent could lay a hand on her at the start of the season.
Then, in the WTCS, she logged finishes of 6th in Hamburg and 8th in Sunderland. Her results were noteworthy as they signalled a comeback of sorts from a slightly more challenging 2022. As a previous WTCS medallist – she finished 2nd in Hamburg in 2021 – Van Der Kaay will look to return to the podium sooner rather than later.
At this point in time a clear case can be made that she is the best female triathlete in Oceania and it would be no surprise to see her claim another World Cup win in 2024.
