Triathlon Preview: Athletes Targeting The Title

The best triathletes in the world will soon be vying for the most coveted title of all. Learn more about the athletes to watch.

It’s the most coveted title of all—and very soon, the world’s best triathletes will be putting four years of work to the test as they go head to head this summer. With the men’s and women's races now taking place on Wednesday July 31, it’s time to analyze the start list and give you the lowdown on the athletes to watch.

The Men's Race

Not only does the French team of Pierre Le Corre, Dorian Coninx, and Leo Bergere have the home advantage, they are all very real contenders for the podium and it’s highly likely that we’ll see at least one of them taking home a medal. Bergere has four WTCS (World Triathlon Championship Series) wins to his name, including the 2022 Grand Final in Abu Dhabi. It’ll be his second time racing on the world's biggest stage, having raced in Tokyo in 2021, which means no first-time flutters and knowing exactly what to expect.

Also bringing considerable experience to the table is Coninx, whose appearance this summer will be his third. As the reigning World Triathlon Series champion, he’s also proven he’s got what it takes to win a major title, having won the WTCS Grand Final in Pontevedra, Spain, last year with an impressive sprint finish.

Le Corre’s resume is just as impressive, particularly over the last 18 months where he’s rarely finished outside of the top five at most major races he’s started. He brings strength in depth—and no real weaknesses—to a highly favored French team.

Yet many argue that the French don’t have the necessary run firepower to win this summer that the likes of Great Britain’s Alex Yee and Hayden Wilde, of New Zealand, possess. And while that might be true, the French—and everyone else in the field—will be doing everything in their power to stop Yee and Wilde from hitting T2 with fresh legs. If they do, then it’s surely going to be a 1-2 for Yee and Wilde, likely with the Brit taking it all.

While much media attention has been placed on the water quality in the Seine (and whether or not the swim will actually take place), many close to the top athletes believe it implausible to think the French authorities would actually let it come to this. What they are more focused on, however, is how the current could impact the swim dynamics on race day. 

If athletes are faced with a strong negative current (swimming against the tide) then this will arguably favor the strongest swimmers, and also increases the chances of a front pack getting—and staying—away. If Yee and Wilde are dropped in the swim (as happened at last year’s Grand Final in Pontevedra), and all three Frenchmen come out of the water together, then you can expect to see a strong display of cycling and teamwork from the French on the mean streets of Paris. However, the bike course in Paris is fast, flat, and not technical (i.e., not ideal for breakaways), and Wilde has the cycling horsepower, skills, and tenacity to bike through the field if he needs to. It’ll just be a dangerous game if he brings Yee with him. 

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Another athlete well worth watching is American Morgan Pearson who, like Yee and Wilde, has sublime run pedigree. Having automatically qualified for Team USA courtesy of a dominant win at WTCS Yokohama in May (with a 29:11 10K run split), if Pearson can stay in contention on the swim and bike, he has the potential to run himself onto the podium. 

Other athletes of note include Australian Matt Hauser, who’s shown great form so far this year (2nd at WTCS Yokohama, 1st at WTCS Hamburg) and Portugal’s Vasco Vilaca, a gutsy, powerful young racer who finished second at the Paris test event and fourth overall in last year’s WTCS.

Female Triathletes to Watch This Summer

If you thought the men’s race might be spicy, well, buckle up, because the women’s event is sure to dial it up to 11/10. As with the men’s race, the French women’s team is an all-star cast with few weaknesses. Many would say Cassandre Beaugrand is the stand-out favorite for the title and arguably the most well-rounded triathlete on the start list. There are no chinks in Beaugrand’s armor—although there are plenty of women ready to test her mettle. 

Beaugrand’s teammate Emma Lombardi is one of the most exciting—and well-respected—athletes racing this summer. She has shown time and again that she’s never afraid to attack the swim and bike, and has the run legs to stay in it at the business end of the race. Fellow Frenchwoman Leonie Perault also has strength and experience across the board, having won Yokohama this year (with a 33:02 run split) and a top-five finish in Tokyo.

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But there will be many women diving into the Seine hoping to prevent it being an all-French affair. Among them will be defending champion Flora Duffy who, after 500 days away from racing due to injury, is coming into this race with a renewed appreciation for all she is capable of and, perhaps most importantly, finding form and confidence at just the right time. 

Only a fool would discount Duffy in a race of this magnitude, and if she can exit the water within close proximity of fellow super-biker Taylor Knibb then the pair will almost certainly work together on the bike to try to punish the top runners. Although the Paris bike course will make it hard for them to break away, if they can make that happen then they’ll potentially be laughing all the way to the podium. That, in fact, would be a dream set-up for Knibb, the talented young American who will also be racing for Team USA in the cycling time trial a few days earlier.

But, of course, there will be others with different game plans and strategies, and chief among them will be the British trio of Beth Potter, Georgia Taylor-Brown, and Kate Waugh. A remarkable runner with an impressive catalog of results at the races that matter, Potter has the potential to win this race if she can stay in contention on the bike—and her teammates will almost certainly be working to do just that. 

And if that’s not enough to whet your appetite, then let’s not forget about the German women who, with Lisa Tertsch and Laura Lindemann, have two fine runners capable of posting race-best run splits. If either of these racers are still near the front of the race as they hit T2 then it could be interesting. Lindemann knows what it takes to succeed this summer, having finished third at the test event last year, and Tertsch’s run is widely considered as dangerous by many of the top-ranked women.

Tune into the triathlon:

• Men’s race (UPDATED TIME): July 31 at 10:45 a.m. local time, 4:45 a.m. EDT, 1:45am PDT

• Women’s race: July 31 at 8 a.m. local time, 2 a.m. EDT, 11 p.m. PDT (July 30)

• Mixed relay: August 5 at 8 a.m. local time, 2 a.m. EDT, 11 p.m. PDT (Aug 4)

Note: The start time of the Men's race was updated on July 30 after the event was postponed.