Whereas a World Junior and European Junior title was enough to earn the mantle of the top Junior male triathlete of 2023, it is curiously not the case with the women.
It may be a little inconsistent, and perhaps even a little controversial. After all, the athlete that won both titles could not have won a more important race at the Junior level. However, the top athlete here is actually one that did not take part in a single Junior race this season.
Instead, the Junior Female Triathlete of 2023 was busy crossing swords with some of the best triathletes in the world at the World Cup and WTCS level.
Tilda Månsson (SWE)
Tilda Månsson won everything there was to win at the Junior level in 2022. She completed the World Junior-European Junior double and in 2023 set her sights on making a dent at the Senior level.
It is fair to say that she did just that.
She won the Tiszaujvaros World Cup with a remarkable sprint finish. Her win itself was not a huge surprise; she had won the Bergen World Cup in 2022. Nevertheless, she showed an impressive degree of composure as well as endurance to succeed over two days of racing. Later in the season, Månsson won a bronze medal at the Tangier World Cup. She also finished 9th at the Valencia World Cup.
She therefore established herself as a consistent medal contender at the World Cup level. A personal best WTCS finish of 32nd in Sunderland also showed signs of improvement and that she was starting to come to terms with the highest level of the sport.
Perhaps the most eye-catching aspect of Månsson’s season is that she is now only one place in the Olympic rankings away from qualifying for the Paris Olympics. Although she will no longer be a Junior in 2024, the bulk of her points will have come while being in the category.
Even if she did not actually compete as one, then, Månsson showed in 2023 that she is the best Junior triathlete in the world.
Honourable Mentions
It is exceptionally harsh to not award the title to Ilona Hadhoum, the World Junior and European Junior champion. At both events she was simply too good for her rivals and powered to victory. She also won a bronze medal at the European Junior Cup in Caorle. In pretty much any other year, Hadhoum would have clearly been the best athlete of her cohort. However, Månsson was playing at a different level.
Margareta Vrablova won the European Junior Cups in Tabor, Wels, Olsztyn, Quarteira and Melilla. Five wins in a single season is a terrific accomplishment and she proved to be a machine in Junior racing. Prior to 2023, the most European Junior Cups an athlete had won stood at five (Ivana Kuriackova). After managing that in just one season, Vrablova now has a mammoth nine wins to her name.
She also finished 5th at the World Junior Championships in Hamburg and showed that she is coming ever closer to cracking championship racing.
Jimena Renata De La Peña Schott also stood out in 2023 as she won the North American Junior Championships in Sarasota, the Americas Junior Qualification Event in Punta Cana and then claimed the silver medal behind Hadhoum in Hamburg. Like Månsson, De La Peña has raced at the World Cup level. Being two years younger, she could well make the full step up to the Senior level while still a Junior in the next couple of years.
