The WTCS Final in Pontevedra represented a second opportunity for elite triathletes to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games next summer.
In the men’s race, several individuals earned their places having satisfied various national criteria. The women’s event was no different as a number of athletes nailed their places on the start list at the Games.
The race winner, Beth Potter, met the particularly brutal criteria set by British Triathlon. To earn a place, she would need to medal at both the Paris Olympic Test Event and in Pontevedra. No matter: she won both.
Having won the two biggest races of 2023, Potter will head into 2023 firmly in the conversation for the gold medal in Paris and, on balance, as the favourite.
Potter’s teammate, Kate Waugh, won the silver medal in Pontevedra however that alone will not be enough to secure her place on the Olympic team. However, her medal has likely bumped her up the British pecking order. At the same time, the British policy gets a little complicated here.
Potter satisfied “Phase 1” by earning her two gold medals. Phase 2 then covers athletes that medal in Paris or Pontevedra, British Triathlon may select that athlete on a discretionary basis. On paper, that could be Waugh.
On the other hand, if there is an athlete that is a “clear and obvious individual medal contender for the Games”, British Triathlon may hold back a slot to use to pick said athlete at a later Phase. As Georgia Taylor-Brown is the reigning Olympic silver medallist, won in WTCS Cagliari and missed Paris and Pontevedra through injury, there is a good chance she is considered a clear and obvious medal contender.
Another problem is that Sophie Coldwell won WTCS Yokohama earlier in the year. A good case can also be made that she will be a medal contender in Paris.
Outside of Potter, the rest of the British team will be composed using selectorial discretion. One of Waugh, Taylor-Brown or Coldwell will miss out and at this point in time it is impossible to say who it will be.
After finishing 4th in Pontevedra with a massive run split, Lisa Tertsch completed the German women’s Olympic team. Laura Lindemann and Nina Eim had qualified in Paris. To join them, Tertsch required a top-8 finish in Pontevedra.
Tertsch also finished 9th in Paris so there was a kind of justice in her making the team. One thing she will need to correct ahead of the Games, however, is her swim behaviour. In Pontevedra, she picked up another swim conduct penalty which nearly cost her an Olympic place.
To lock in her place, Tertsch will need to remain in the top-30 of the Olympic rankings. Being ranked 8th (1 place behind Lindemann), she should have no issues with that.
Rachel Klamer then added her name to the Dutch Olympic team with a storming run to take 5th place. She needed a top-8 finish which appeared a tall order. After finishing 2nd at the Karlovy Vary World Cup, though, she arrived in Spain in good form.
Emma Lombardi missed out on locking in her Olympic place. After finishing 4th in Paris, she needed a medal in Pontevedra to secure her place but finished 6th.
However, having finished 3rd overall in the Series, there is a high probability of her racing in Paris next year. France will qualify three women for the Games and have only three regular faces on the WTCS circuit: Cassandre Beaugrand, Lombardi and Leonie Periault. Lombardi can therefore expect a discretionary selection next year.
Julie Derron finished 8th in Pontevedra which would have essentially secured her Olympic spot had she not already qualified in Paris.
Finally, Claire Michel finished 11th in Pontevedra which has put her in a position to qualify for Paris.
Under the Belgian Olympic selection policy, she must record two results that hit a particular performance standard. One of the standards was a top-12 at a WTCS Final, which she has satisfied. If she can add a WTCS top-8 or a European Championships medal before the end of the qualification window, she will confirm her place on the Belgian team.
However, neither of Michel’s rivals, Jolien Vermeylen and Valerie Barthelemy, have achieved the double performance standard yet. In the event none of the trio achieve two races at the standard, one result should be enough. As such, Michel may already be partially on the Belgian team.
Unlike Potter, Tertsch and Klamer, though, there is still a possibility that Michel can be overhauled by her compatriots. She has a foot onto the Paris pontoon, but the slot is not yet secure.
The current list of qualified (or sort of qualified) names therefore looks as follows:
- Cassandre Beaugrand
- Laura Lindemann
- Nina Eim
- Julie Derron
- Beth Potter
- Lisa Tertsch
- Rachel Klamer
- Claire Michel*
