World Triathlon

The cool conditions of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, played host to the penultimate event in the 2016 World Triathlon Series on Sunday. Two very different races provided two very different winners; one who is no stranger to a WTS presentation and another whose very first visit the podium was to collect a Gold medal that few had predicted. Let’s look a little deeper into the statistics and stories from Edmonton.

Women’s Review

From a DNF 12 months ago due to freezing conditions, to World Triathlon Series race winner, Sunday was certainly quite a day for Summer Cook (USA). Cook has shown form this season, winning on the ITU World Cup circuit in Chengdu, China, but few if any were expecting her to repeat that on Sunday. That was her first WTS podium finish in only her fourth start.

Cook made it tough for herself too, regularly having to work hard to close the gap on the bike after losing time on the technical sections. A slow entry into T2, combined with a poor transition had seemingly put her well out of contention – but a race best run split changed all of that. As she gains more experience and improves on some of those technical aspects, you would have to predict that we will be seeing a lot more of Summer Cook at the front end of World Triathlon Series racing over the coming years.

After finishing second and third respectively in the year-end Columbia Threadneedle Rankings for the past two seasons, 2016 has been a difficult one for Sarah True (USA). After being unable to finish the Olympic Games due to a leg injury, True showed immense mental strength to bounce back from that heartbreak and come close to a third career WTS win in Edmonton. While the she couldn’t hold off the charge of the flying Cook in the final kilometre, an eighth WTS podium and another four place improvement on the Columbia Threadneedle Rankings to 12th, should provide significant comfort, plus added motivation for the Grand Final in Cozumel.

Since starting her year with a DNF in Abu Dhabi, Katie Zaferes (USA) has now built a run of five consecutive top ten finishes in World Triathlon Series racing during 2016. Following her magnificent victory in Hamburg, Bronze in Edmonton shows that she is holding her form well in the later part of the year as well as leap-frogging her to fourth place in the Columbia Threadneedle Rankings. Having missed a World Championship medal last year with an uncharacteristic 24th at the Grand Final in Chicago, Zaferes is now well positioned to gain the medal that she’ll feel she missed out on last year. She will be full of motivation with plenty to race for in Cozumel.

Of course, we have to mention the U.S.A. women’s team in aggregate. That’s the third time in the past two seasons that they have achieved a complete podium sweep, following London and Gold Coast and London last year. Sarah True and Katie Zaferes have been part of all three of those successes. That the U.S.A. can achieve that without the presence of World and Olympic Champion Gwen Jorgensen, shows the strength-in-depth of their squad right now, emphasized further with Kirsten Kasper also taking six position, splitting the Great Britain pairing of Vicky Holland and Non Stanford.

Jolanda Annen (SUI) achieved her best career finish to date in tenth place and that has had a dramatic impact on her Columbia Threadneedle Ranking, jumping 27 places to 22nd. Gillian Sanders (RSA) gained even more places (from 68th to 39th), thanks to ninth place in Edmonton, though perhaps not surprisingly it is Summer Cook’s move from 59th to 16th after her win, which represents the biggest move after Edmonton.

The battle for World Championship Gold looks set to be between Flora Duffy (BER) and Gwen Jorgensen (USA). Duffy has a lead of 166 points, but should Gwen win in Cozumel then Flora would have to finish second. It really is all up for grabs in Mexico.

Men’s Review

It’s been over a year, but Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) returned to the top step of a World Triathlon Series podium in Edmonton. Much like his last victory in the Gold Coast, it was an exceptionally impressive performance, which left little chance for his rivals to catch him. After a strong swim, Brownlee - in conjunction with Richard Varga (SVK) and Aaron Royle (AUS) – held off the large chasing group on the bike leg, before producing the fastest run split for a decisive win. That was his 11th career World Triathlon Series Gold and 27th podium, all achieved from just 36 race starts.

It also maintained another interesting statistic: Jonathan Brownlee has now won at least one WTS event in each of the last six seasons. His Edmonton points also move him to second place in the Columbia Threadneedle Rankings ahead of the Grand Final in Cozumel, Mexico, and keep alive his hopes of winning the World Championship title for 2016. Jonathan last won the title in the Olympic year of 2012; will history repeat itself?

If Jonathan is to become World Champion for the second time then the man he will have to beat is Mario Mola (ESP). Second place in Edmonton also improved Mario’s point score in the Columbia Threadneedle Rankings. With four wins and one second place now from his best five counting events, Mola will head to Cozumel just 60 points short of the maximum possible at this stage for the season. Were Jonathan Brownlee to win the Grand Final, Mario would need at least a podium finish to secure the championship. Jonathan first and Mario fourth would see the Olympic Silver medal winning Briton take over the top spot by just 15 points. It is certainly close and you can expect some tough racing to determine the 2016 World Champion in the sunshine of Mexico.

While the women’s Elite race was certainly a Team USA dominated affair, Great Britain can be rightly proud of their efforts in the men’s race. As well as victory for Jonathan Brownlee, Grant Sheldon (fourth) and Thomas Bishop (fifth) also secured the highest finishing positions of their careers by some margin. Just a few seconds back in seventh place, Adam Bowden continued his excellent year. His consistency sees him improve four places to sixth position in the Columbia Threadneedle Rankings with just the Grand Final remaining. He looks well placed to improve on a previous best year-end ranking of 15th in 2014.

Also worthy of note, even in the absence of double Olympic Champion Alistair Brownlee, that is only the second time in WTS history that the British men have had four athletes finish inside the top ten.

It was also a good day for Germany. Just weeks after the disappointment of the German Olympic Committee not selecting any male triathletes for Rio 2016, Steffen Justus (sixth) and Jonathan Zipf (eighth) provided a reminder of their talent.

A name to watch out for in the future is Shachar Sagiv (ISR). Finishing ninth in only his second World Triathlon Series start, Shachar also improved nine places on the previous best ever result by an athlete from Israel (18th, Ron Darmon, Cape Town 2016).

The 2016 World Triathlon Series will conclude with the Grand Final at the ITU World Triathlon Championships Cozumel in Mexico. The Elite Women will race on Saturday 17 September with the Elite Men on Sunday 18 September.

Columbia Threadneedle Rankings following ITU World Triathlon, Edmonton

Women

1st – Flora Duffy (BER) 3491
2nd – Gwen Jorgensen (USA) 3325
3rd – Jodie Stimpson (GBR) 3146

Biggest rankings mover: Summer Cook (USA) – from 59th to 16th (1668 points)

Highest new entry to rankings: Joanna Brown (CAN) – 71st (427 points)

Men

1st – Mario Mola (ESP) 3940
2nd – Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) 3705
3rd – Fernando Alarza (ESP) 3443

Biggest rankings mover: Shachar Sagiv (ISR) – from 78th to 50th (701 points)

Highest new entry to rankings: Matthew Sharpe (CAN) – 48th (762 points)

This report is brought to you in partnership with Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Global Financial Services partner of the ITU World Triathlon Series and Title Sponsor of the official rankings.

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