The 2018 world champion and 2016 Olympic bronze medallist, Vicky Holland, will be making her return to elite triathlon racing at the Tangier World Cup next month.
Holland last raced at WTCS Abu Dhabi in November 2021. She then took a maternity break from the sport and earlier this year gave birth to her first child. After an absence of two years from the international scene, Holland will now be making her return.
The examples of Katie Zaferes and Gwen Jorgensen this year have shown how successful post-partum returns to the sport can be. Jorgensen won a silver medal at the Huatulco World Cup while Zaferes finished 5th at WTCS Montreal.
On the note of Jorgensen, Holland’s return means that two of the women’s medallists from the 2016 Olympic Games are back racing. Furthermore all three of the Rio women’s podium have taken maternity breaks at some point in their career and then returned to the elite level.
A new generation of athletes are also starting to integrate maternity into their careers, particularly since World Triathlon introduced the frozen rankings system earlier in the year. Bianca Bogen is one such athlete that has utilised the frozen ranking.
As a five-time WTCS race winner, Holland will no doubt look to get back to the sharp end of races. The examples of Jorgensen and Zaferes have shown that athlete can get back to the swing of things fairly quickly. Whereas the former kicked off her year with an Oceania Cup, the latter returned at WTCS Abu Dhabi.
Holland will be starting at the level between with the Tangier World Cup.
Looking ahead to next summer, Holland’s return has realistically come too late for her to make another appearance at the Olympic Games. The depth of the British team at the moment means that at least one athlete more than capable of achieving a high finish will be left at home.
For Holland, then, the rest of 2023 will likely mark an experimental phase before she is able to put in a winter of training for next season.
