Only one athlete won five WTCS medals in 2023 and in doing so she claimed the world title. As such, the situation here is fairly clear. Much as it is easy to know what to do when the Macarena plays on the dancefloor, the choice of the European Female Triathlete of the Year was similarly bereft of difficulty.
Beth Potter (GBR)
Abu Dhabi. Montreal. Paris. Pontevedra. Four WTCS wins in 2023 put Beth Potter on a different plane to anyone else in the world of triathlon and established her as the current preeminent figure in the Series. Her wins in Paris and Pontevedra stood out as they came against the strongest fields of the season. Meanwhile, her performance in Montreal deserved plenty of plaudits.
Potter’s silver medal in Hamburg only added to her excellent season. Indeed, whichever way you slice the scoring system, Potter comes out on top.
She shared the fastest Sprint distance run split of the season with her 16:08 from Montreal and showed that she is able to win in a breakaway as well as in a running race. Such has been her form this year, with every passing race she has looked increasingly like the complete triathlete.
The task of beating her next year will certainly be a tall order.
Honourable Mentions
Cassandre Beaugrand ended 2023 with two wins in the WTCS as she broke the tape first in Hamburg and Sunderland. Her performance level at the former was inspired and created a case that she is the best exponent of the Super Sprint format in women’s triathlon. It was over the Olympic distance, though, that she made her greatest improvements. A first international win at the format came at the European Cup in Quarteira before she added a silver in Paris and a bronze in Pontevedra.
With four WTCS medals, Beaugrand had an exceptional year. This time round, though, Potter was just too good.
Sophie Coldwell started 2023 in imperious form as she won the silver medal in Abu Dhabi and then claimed the gold in Yokohama. Although she did not sustain that level over the course of the season, she nonetheless showed that her ceiling the sport is as high as any of her rivals. On any other continent, she would have been the top athlete. However, such is the depth of Europe she came up against the entire WTCS overall podium and settles for an honourable mention here.
Emma Lombardi and Laura Lindemann also won two WTCS medals. While the latter won two bronzes, the former claimed two silvers (in Cagliari and Sunderland) and finished the season ranked 3rd overall in the WTCS. Lombardi thus warrants the final honourable mention slot.
Lombardi took to the WTCS like a duck to water in her maiden season in 2022. In 2023, she went even better as she proved her talent over and over. While Potter and Beaugrand were on a different level to everyone else, Lombardi was well-placed among the best of the rest.
Such has been the level of the women listed above, the defending individual Olympic medallists will have their work cut out beating them should they go head-to-head in Paris next summer.
