by Doug Gray
If the
Tokyo 2020 medal hunt looked wide open three years ago, then the Paris 2024
chase for glory surely goes even further in the unpredictability stakes.
All three
medallists from that incredible finish in Odaiba Bay return; Kristian
Blummenfelt, Alex Yee and Hayden Wilde. Two subsequent World Champions are
present and correct; Leo Bergere and Dorian Coninx. Add to those huge
favourites Australia’s current top two in the Series, Luke Willian and Matthew
Hauser, May’s WTCS Yokohama winner Morgan Pearson (USA), plus no fewer than 12
past WTCS medallists, and this is a race that is far too close to call.
And it is
not just past performances that may point the way to the medals. Whoever can
shrug off - or feed off – the unique pressures of an Olympic Games will surely
have the edge, too. Preparation is key, a healthy dose of good fortune can also
go a long way. It’s a 1.5km swim, 40km bike and 10km run that stands between
the 55 men starting and a career-, if not lifetime-defining victory.
Men’s
Paris 2024 individual triathlon: 8am, Tuesday 30 July.
TRIUMPHANT
IN TOKYO
Any
preview needs to begin with the defending champion, Kristian Blummenfelt. It
was out of the fires of that final kilometre in Tokyo that the Norwegian was
able to summon reserves of energy and power that nobody else could match. Plus
a 10km run split of 29’34” that was 10 seconds faster than his nearest rival.
Out-pacing
Yee and Wilde over 10km today appears a Herculean task. Nobody could say
Blummenfelt made it look easy, but the gap he was able to open up with
consecutive surges completely broke the challenges of his nearest rivals.
Both Yee
and Wilde have subsequently hit the top of the WTCS podium 11 times between
them, including Yee’s Test Event triumph. Kristian Blummenfelt has done so just
once, albeit at the 2021 Championship Finals Edmonton to be crowned world
champion one month after Tokyo.
Having
been ecstatic with their Olympic medals, and Yee following his with a relay
gold, there is an inescapable feeling that anything less than the top of the
podium this time around would feel like mission incomplete, such has been their
progress and ambition in the past few seasons.
FRENCH
THREAT
Then
there is the French challenge. Home court advantage. How valuable will that
prove to be in combination with the sheer talent of this team? The crowds
urging them onwards along every metre of this course and, potentially
crucially, packed into the grandstands down the blue carpet, will be priceless.
Current
World Champion Dorian Coninx has bounced back from a crash in Yokohama that
threatened to derail his Olympic campaign. There are mental as well as physical
scars from such incidents, though, and that race in Japan was his last before
the Games.
Like
Blummenfelt the year before, Leo Bergere has also not hit the top of the podium
since winning the gold and world title at the 2022 Championship Finals in Abu
Dhabi, a career-defining moment that wrestled the prize from the likes of Yee,
Wilde and Vasco Vilaça in the most dramatic fashion. Bergere’s secret weapon
has been his consistency and unerring ability across all three disciplines.
Rarely right in the spotlight, the 28-year-old can never be written off.
And the
same can be said of Pierre Le Corre, the third French man on the team and
another podium regular at the top level. The U23 World Champion way back in
2023, his first Series medal followed with bronze at Auckland 2015 the first of
his six to date, including the WTCS Sunderland gold won as he edged the
tightest of sprint finishes against Bergere.
AUSSIES
ON TOP OF THE WORLD
Three
races into the 2024 Series and the top two places on the Series leaderboard
belong to Luke Willian and Matt Hauser. After the pain of Tokyo 2020,
Australian triathlon could be set for a renaissance in Paris, Hauser’s win in
Hamburg and silver in Yokohama suggesting he could be peaking at the perfect
time. Olympic medals are won on more than form, but Hauser has the kind of
strength over all three disciplines that such triathlon triumphs are built on.
The top
American male at Paris 2024 is Morgan Pearson. Winner of the de facto season
opener at WTCS Yokohama in some style, he has since struggled to rediscover his
best form. One of the athletes who could match or even stretch the likes of Yee
on his day, the pace on the bike could be make or break time for Pearson’s
podium potential. Third fastest on the run at WTCS Hamburg but tenth slowest on
the bike, the early cards will need to fall his way to be a contender.
Belgian
Jelle Geens once again showed his form in Hamburg. The 31-year-old was denied
his Tokyo 2020 start with illness but is ready to make an impact this time,
along with compatriot Marten Van Riel, for whom 6th at Rio 2016 and 4th in
Tokyo will be all the fuel his fire needs for a big show in Paris.
YOUNG
GUNS AND NEW FLAGS
It is
easy to forget that Vasco Vilaca is just 24 years old given his presence on the
Series over the last season. Denied his Olympic shot in Tokyo, this may well be
his time to shine, with five WTCS medals to his name since the start of 2022,
albeit still hunting that first taste of gold.
Netherlands’
Mitch Kolkman will be the youngest man on the start list, but arrives with the
wind in his sails after securing late qualification via the Mixed Relay event
and World Cup Huatulco. Add in a strong 14th place at WTCS Hamburg and the
future is looking bright for the 21-year-old.
Italy’s
Alessio Crociani took a brilliant 7th place in Hamburg to take plenty of
confidence to Paris, while the likes of Miguel Hidalgo of Brazil and Jamie
Riddle of South Africa have more racing under their belt and Hidalgo, in
particular, should be a genuine medal threat across all three disciplines.
Members
of the Team World Triathlon development squad who qualified for the Games
include Chile’s Diego Moya and Jawad Abdelmoula of Morocco. One New Flag place
was available for each continent, with Jean Gael Laurent L’entete of Mauritius,
Matthew Wright of Barbados, Eloi Adjavon of Togo and Felix Duchampt of Romania
earning their spots, while Tyler Smith of Bermuda received a tripartite
invitation.
For the
full start list, click here.
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