Full Triathlon Quota increases Team Australia’s chances to Medal at Tokyo Olympics
Australia have sneaked under the Olympic qualification radar and are now the only country to have qualified its full quota of three men and three women, thereby also giving them the maximum options for their Mixed Team Relay squad.
The Olympic Triathlon qualifying period was frozen back in March 2020 due to the worldwide impact of the pandemic and the subsequent travel restrictions that forced athletes around the globe to limit their training and travel, and led to many events being postponed and cancelled. The World Triathlon events that took place at the end of the 2020 season, including the World Championships, did not count for the Olympics.
The restart of the Olympic qualification period on the 1st May 2021 meant that athletes had the opportunities to compete in a total of 6 events, including World Triathlon Championship Series Yokohama and Leeds and World Triathlon Cups in Osaka, Lisbon, Arzachena and Huatulco.
However, what was overlooked by many was the provision by World Triathlon to exceptionally include 2021 Continental Championships’ results. And It was at the Oceania Triathlon Championships in Port Douglas on 12 June that saw Australian Luke Willian’s claim victory and gain him enough points to move him to 28th in the World Triathlon Olympic Ranking.
Listen to Luke Willian talk about Race Mindset and Olympics on the TriNation Podcast here.
Even though Willian won it was still mathematically possible for Australia to drop out of the top 30 in the last qualifying World Triathlon race at the World Triathlon Cup in Huatulco, Mexico where Australia’s Aaron Royle was in need of much sought after points to maintain his 29th place in the Olympic rankings.
So, all was to play for as Royle and his closest rival Mexican Cristano Grajales faced off where Royle would have to finish in the top seven, if Grajales finished on the podium, to ensure Australia kept the three Aussies of Jacob Birtwhistle, Luke Willian and Aaron Royle inside the top 30 ranking.
It was a tense nail-biting moment for the Australian’s as Royle was forced to withdraw from the race due to illness. There was much relief at the end of the race when Grajales missed the podium crossing the line in 7th not enough to overtake Royle in the rankings. Royle held onto the last qualifying ranking spot of 30th as American Eli Hemming had already pulled out of the race in Huatulco due to an injury, which dropped him in the rankings to 31st spot, meaning America could only qualify two men for Tokyo.
The Australian Women’s Olympic Team of Ashleigh Gentle and Natalie Van Coevorden are joined by Jaz Hedgeland who like Willian earned maximum points in her victory in the Oceania Triathlon Championship in Port Douglas which moved her to 29th in the Olympic rankings. Hedgeland’s win confirmed Australia had earned three female quota spots.
With much debate over the last few weeks as to whether the British or the Americans would get a third spot for a full quota the Aussies were reassuring their athletes ‘it ain’t over till it’s over’ as they quietly went about their business in securing the valuable quota points at the 11th hour, stealing by stealth third spot in both the men’s and women’s category.
With Australia now at full strength in both men’s and women’s sections this depth in the field will give them a massive edge in the Mixed Team Relay where athletes will compete in teams comprising of two men and two women over a super-sprint course which features a 300-metre swim, a 7.2-kilometre bike and 1.8km run. With a full squad quota Australia now have the advantage of being able to change the team composition and order up to two hours before the race to take account of their athletes fatigue, mindset, injuries etc,
France, Spain and Norway are the only other teams to have qualified three men, while Great Britain, Italy and USA are the only other nations to have filled all three of their available women’s spots.
In terms of number of triathletes there will be 55 men and 55 women at the Games from 39 countries of which 17 countries qualified to compete in the Mixed Team Relay, which will debut in Tokyo.
The dates and times of the Olympic Triathlon races are as follows: Men -July 26 at 6:30 AM local time, Women -July 27 at 6:30 AM, while the Mixed Team Relay is scheduled for July 31 at 7:30 AM local time.
