The third and final day of a huge
weekend of racing at the 2022 World Triathlon Championship Series Montreal sees
the Mixed Team Relays take to the course, with World titles for Elite, Jr-U23
and Age-Group on the line, as well as Olympic qualification slots for two men
and two women for the elite world champions.
With so much on the line and so much
racing already put in for many, several teams have brought in fresh legs, while
many of the young stars who made names for themselves in Friday’s Junior World
Championships will be getting their first taste of top-level Mixed Relay
action.
One of the countries that has decided
to try a new and fresh combination of athletes will be France. Even though the
hosts of the Paris 2024 Olympics have already guaranteed two men and two women
in the next Olympics, the current Olympic bronze medallists on the Relay don’t
want to give away the opportunity of another title. Pierre Le Corre was this
Saturday one of the more consistent swimmers, and this would be indeed a great
factor to consider for the line ups. Next will be Emma Lombardi, current U23
world champion and 4th place on her debut at the WTCS circuit in Yokohama,
fresh as she didn’t compete in the eliminator event.
Team GB will be trying to get a
hat-trick of gold medals this weekend in Montreal, with both champions of the
WTCS Montreal, Georgia Taylor-Brown and Alex Yee, lining up tomorrow for the relay,
this time along teammates Sophie Coldwell and Samuel Dickinson, who decided to
skip the repechage on the hunt for a spot in the final to try to save some
energy for the mixed relay.
USA is also bringing fresh legs for
the Mixed Relay World Championships, with Kevin Mcdowell as a new addition to a
team that will see Seth Rider, Taylor Spivey and Summer Rappaport fighting for
the direct qualification spots. The Americans already know what it is to win
here in Montreal, as they did last year. The long run from the swim exit to
transition will surely play on their advantage, with excellent runners and
swimmers in the team.
Team Australia and Team New Zealand
know that not only Olympic qualification spots are up for grabs but also a good
test of what they can expect in a few weeks at the Commonwealth Games, and both
countries will be experimenting with some of the already qualified athletes for
the Games, Hayden Wilde, Ainsley Thorpe, Tayler Reid and Nicole Van Der Kaay
for the Kiwis, and Jacob Birtwhistle and Natalie Van Coevorden and Brandon
Copeland lining up for the gold and green team along with non-qualified Jaz
Hedgeland.
Husband and wife duo Richard Murray
and Rachel Klamer will likely be tagging each other once again in Montreal for
the Dutch team, that will also include Mitch Kolkman and Barbara De Koning,
while for the Belgian Hammers, both Jelle Geens and Marten Van Riel planned in
the initial line up, along with Valerie Barthelemy and Anne de Vet.
Considering the performance of all
the Brazilian athletes in the last 48 hours, Brazil is putting all their cards
on the table for a strong performance on the Mixed Relay. Miguel Hidalgo, an
excellent swimmer and fast runner, will be doing the first leg, followed by
Djenyfer Arnold, Manoel Messias and Vittoria Lopes in charge of the anchor leg.
The Canadians will enjoy the extra
push of racing at home and it will be local hero Tyler Mislawchuk the one
walking on the pontoon for the first leg, while Emy Legault and Charles Paquet
will try to repeat their excellent performances of the weekend, to leave the
anchor leg for Dominika Jamnicky.
Another country that will take
advantage of the fresh legs of most of their athletes will be Spain, that will
have Antonio Serrat Seoane in charge of diving in the water for the first leg,
while Sara Perez Sala and Roberto Sanchez Mantecon will be in charge of staying
in touch with the lead group, to give the last relay to another excellent
swimmer and fast runner, Anna Godoy Contreras.
The Junior and U23 Mixed Relay World
Championship sees some of the athletes who made a name for themselves at
Friday’s Junior World Championships back on the start line, including
Australia’s men’s silver medallist Toby Powers and USA’s Reese Vannerson who
finished in third, and Germany’s Jule Behrens, runner-up here after winning the
women’s title in Quarteira in 2021.
Matilda Offord joins powers as part
of a new generation of Australian talent, and the women’s junior bronze
medallist Livia Gross will be looking to put in a big finish for the Swiss
team.
Team Italy field a strong team of
youngsters including Fiorenzo Angelini and Myral Greco, French rising stars
Paul Georgenthum and Valentin Morlec are joined by Ilona Hadhoum and Candice
Denizot.
The exciting junior prospects Chisato
Nakajima and Kotomi Anzai start for Japan, and Marcela Alvarez Solis is part of
a strong Mexican team. Niels Van Lanen put in an eye-catching display in the
men’s race and has the bike power to make an impact.
Full start lists can be found here.
https://triathlon.org/events/start_list/2022_world_triathlon_sprint_relay_championships_montreal/547005?mc_cid=46314ac929&mc_eid=6139649918
ABOUT WORLD TRIATHLON
World Triathlon is the international
governing body for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of triathlon and all
related multisport disciplines around the world, including duathlon, aquathlon,
cross triathlon and winter triathlon. Triathlon made its Olympic debut in
Sydney 2000, with a third medal event, the Mixed Team Relay, added to the
programme at Tokyo 2020, while para triathlon was first added to the Paralympic
programme at Rio 2016. World Triathlon is proudly committed to the development
of the sport worldwide, with inclusion, equality, sustainability and
transparency at our core as we seek to help triathletes at all levels of the
sport to be extraordinary.
www.triathlon.org
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