Triathlon world surprises and anticipates as Yokohama begins series with Paris points on the line • World Triathlon

Yokohama is gearing up for the start of the 2024 World Triathlon Championship Series on Saturday morning, with hopes rising at the prospect of a flawless first Olympic distance test for athletes in a crucial year for the sport. There is.

Last year’s world champion Beth Potter and runner-up Cassandre Beaugrand may be absent. Both have valid stamps on their Paris 2024 tickets, but last year’s Olympic champion Flora Duffy will be back to face Rio 2016 champion Gwen Jorgensen for the first time. This is the first race in eight years, and it looks like it will be a very enjoyable one.

For the American athletes, a podium finish here would mean an automatic berth to Paris, and, remarkably, all five at the start line achieved it. The goal is the same for the Italians, but a top eight finish will be enough for the Australians. Buckle up for this fast and furious 1.5km swim, 40km bike and 10km run as he kicks off May 11th at 10:15am local time. All streamed on TriathlonLive.tv.

Flying French finding his feet

Emma Lombardi will be the first to wear No. 1 at WTCS. Still only 22, he is the 2023 series overall bronze medalist, finishing fourth in the test event after winning a career-best silver medal at WTCS Sunderland. It was on his WTCS debut here in 2022 that the French star announced his entry with a spectacular race that saw him finish just shy of the podium behind Flora Duffy. The first gold medal of the series is definitely coming and this will be a big moment to achieve it.

Leonie Perriault is considering attending Lombardi and Beaugrand’s precious home games. Chasing her best form after an injury-affected season last year, where she also scored a career-best silver medal here two years ago, she cemented her place in the top 30 of the Olympic rankings and entered the starting line. He will become the third French player to hold the title. Goal here.

Big challenges await Duffy’s return.

2021 World Champion and Olympic Champion Flora Duffy has unfortunately missed the blue carpet for the entirety of 2023 due to a knee injury that has kept her from racing. It will be Yokohama’s first action since retaining her world title at the 2022 Championship Finals in Abu Dhabi, but it will be interesting to see how she fares in her Olympic distance return efforts and how far she can go in the 10km run. It will probably happen.

Duffy and Gwen Jorgensen last stood on the starting line at the 2016 Grand Final Cozumel, where they finished first and second respectively. Jorgensen now knows he needs a podium finish more than any other American to make a remarkable return to the top and qualify for the 2024 Paris Games. If 2023 was marked by some vintage performances on the World Cup circuit, this year demands that. Same but at the top.

Fellow Americans Taylor Spivey, Summer Rapaport and Kirsten Kasper have all reached the podium here, but none have won gold. Taylor Knibb won gold in Yokohama in 2021, and with his Olympic berth now assured, he can now take a more relaxed approach. For Rapaport, two silver medals in 2019 and 2021 underline her love of racing in Japan, which could all add up to a fascinating finale on this final stage. .

Laughing for the momentum of a medal

It may have been teammate Sophie Caldwell who grabbed the headlines here 12 months ago, but Kate Waugh’s then career-best fifth place was her place in a strong British women’s team. indicated the intention. Fast forward to her season finale in Pontevedra, and her outstanding silver medal puts her in 16th place in the Olympic rankings and is firmly in contention for a spot on her team. The mission of the 2024 Yokohama Games is clear, and a medal would be an incredible statement.

The German trio that qualified for the Olympics – Laura Lindemann, Lisa Telch and Nina Eim – will all start on courses that have historically had less success. Lindemann’s three 10th place finishes in 2016, 2018 and 2019 are his best results to date. Now would be the perfect time to break that voodoo.

Mexico’s surprise package in 2023 was Rosa María Tapia Vidal, who finished second in a rain-soaked race, but the queen of stability in Yokohama was Maya Kingma of the Netherlands, who finished four races here. He finished in 6th, 5th, 3rd and 7th place.

For Australian women Natalie Van Corvorden, Sophie Lin, Jazz Hedgeland and Charlotte McShane, a top eight finish would be enough to get them on the start line in Paris, but if they don’t, they’ll drop in the rankings at the end of the month. It turns out.

There’s a lot at stake and a big Olympic distance test ahead.