May’s WTCS and World Cup races fuel World Triathlon Team’s Olympic dreams • World Triathlon
Team World Triathlon is facing the final roll of the dice. The Olympic qualification window closes in less than four weeks, and as such, the current iteration of the Team will soon find out which of them will go to Paris.
As a reminder, the aim of Team World Triathlon is to provide support, resources and expertise to athletes from emerging/developing National Federations, with the aim of helping them qualify for this summer’s Paris Olympic Games. Of the twenty-seven athletes on the team, more than half still have a realistic chance of qualifying.
Who is nearby?
At the time of writing, three members of the World Triathlon Team have essentially secured Olympic qualification. WTCS medalist Jawad Abdelmoula (MAR) is the leader in this regard, while he will likely be joined on the men’s starting list in Paris by Diego Moya (CHI). Moya’s recent bronze medal at the Wollongong World Cup essentially guaranteed her qualification. Meanwhile, on the women’s side, Maria Carolina Velasquez Soto (COL) can afford to turn her attention to Paris after winning the silver medal in Wollongong.
Several other team members are incredibly close to making the cut. Erica Hawley (BER) may be confident she will secure her place, but remains vulnerable to any last-minute changes to the rankings. Not far behind Hawley in the Olympic rankings is Zuzana Michlickova (SVK). The Slovakian athlete has been in excellent World Cup form since last August, recording five top-10 finishes, and is on the verge of qualifying. Badr Siwane (MAR) is another athlete looking to qualify in the Olympic rankings.
At the same time, Michlickova’s compatriot and fellow team member Ivana Kuriackova is currently leading the women’s New European Flag race. Vicky Van Der Merwe (RSA) is the leader in the African women’s New Flag race, while Siefeldeen Ismail (EGY) is striving for the African men’s New Flag race.
Three athletes on the team will also likely win the two universal places by gender. Tyler Smith (BER), Eloi Adjavon (TOG) and Edda Hannesdottir (ISL) have a great chance of receiving an invitation from the Tripartite Commission.
Several other members harbor Olympic aspirations and Team World Triathlon will continue its qualification efforts until the deadline at the end of May. With two WTCS races and two World Cups taking place this month, many of the team will be taking on the world’s best as they head towards Paris.
WTCS – Yokohama and Cagliari
Two athletes have secured starting places at WTCS Yokohama and the team will have a representative in each of the men’s and women’s races. Moya will start in the first, while Michalickova will line up on the pontoon in the second. Michalickova has yet to crack the top 30 of a WTCS race in her fledgling career. If she achieves her best result ever in Yokohama, Olympic qualification could become a reality. Moya, for her part, is hoping to translate her recent World Cup medal into a strong WTCS result.
In May’s second WTCS race in Cagliari, five team members will be racing. One of the quintet’s most memorable stories belongs to Matthew Wright (BAR).
Wright last raced in the WTCS in 2018 in Edmonton. Almost six years will have passed before he suits up on the Cagliari start line and simply completing his journey back will be a huge achievement. If all goes according to plan, Wright could cap off the WTCS return with Olympic qualification during the same weekend. He will be accompanied by Abdelmoula.
Three women from Team World Triathlon will start in Cagliari. Michalickova will be back for more WTCS action, while fellow Slovakian Kuriackova will also be in attendance. Hawley will complete the trio in Cagliari. She has yet to finish in the top 40 in a WTCS race and therefore finds herself in a similar boat to Michalickova. With a better personal result, Paris can call.
World Cups – Samarkand and Huatulco
Of course, world-class racing won’t just be happening at the WTCS this month; May will also see two World Cups held in the final fortnight of Olympic qualifying, in Samarkand and Huatulco. The two events will, in fact, take place on the same weekend, between the clashes in Yokohama and Cagliari.
Samarkand is the second of two designated World Cup events for Team World Triathlon ahead of the Olympic qualification deadline at the end of May. The first event was the Chengdu World Cup last month. It therefore attracted a significant group of team athletes.
Hawley and Michlickova will race in Samarkand the week before WTCS Cagliari. As one of three world-class races for Michlickova, May will certainly be a busy month. Romana Gajdošová (SVK) and Hannesdottir will also be present.
Aleksandr Kurishov (UZB) will have the chance to compete in a World Cup on home soil as Uzbekistan welcomes the triathlon community to its first World Cup event. Smith, Siwane, Henry Räppo (EST) and {/exp:tag_this}Panagiotis Bitados{/exp:tag_this} (GRE) will also be starters in the men’s race.
In Mexico, the illustrious Huatulco World Cup returns. Velásquez will be looking for his second World Cup medal of the season, just like Moya. Van Der Merwe hopes to translate her brilliant African form – she is unbeaten on her continent in 2024 – to pastures new in Huatulco and will be joined by her teammate and South African athlete Amber Schlebusch.
Two team members from Costa Rica and Ecuador will also start in Huatulco. Alvaro Campos Solano and Raquel Solis Guerrero will represent the first, while Gabriel Terán Carvajal and Ramón Armando Matute will race for the second.
Many Team World Triathlon athletes will therefore start at May’s WTCS and World Cup events. However, with Olympic qualification at a truly tight stage, they will have to overcome the best efforts of the rest of the world if they are to reach Paris. Keep up to date with all the action and how Team World Triathlon fares on their Olympic journeys on TriathlonLive and World Triathlon’s social channels.
