Leeds 2022 WTCS set to parade GB’s Olympic Triathlon Gold Medalists
The city of Leeds is set to parade GB Olympic Triathlon mixed relay Gold Medialists of Jess Learmonth, Jonny Brownlee, Georgia Taylor-Brown and Alex Yee who will all get the chance to race individually at Roundhay Park after World Triathlon announced the WTCS event is coming back to the city on the weekend of June 11-12, 2022.
2022 World Triathlon Championship Leeds will bring even more intrigue than usual as the GB’s four victorious hero’s of European, Commonwealth, Olympic and World Triathlon Series fame will be able to race on home-soil which will be even sweeter for Yorkshire born and bred duo Jess Learmonth and Jonny Brownlee to race in front of a Yorkshire home crowd
Jess Learmonth will be looking to improve on her second place in this year’s Leeds event crossing the finishing line ahead of Olympic Gold and Bronze Medalists Flora Duffy and Katie Zaferes. Olympic Silver Medalist Georgia Taylor-Brown will look forward to the challenge of this home nation race having missed the 2021 event due to injury.
Listen to Jess and Georgia talk triathlon to the TriNation Podcast Crew here.
(Podcast only released this week-end)
Also representing the home nation will be local favourite Jonny Brownlee, although the Brownlee brothers racing together will not be replicated as Alistair retired from short-course racing after the 2021 Leeds event as he failed to plot a course toward a second defence of his Olympic title.
It was the Brownlee brothers that started the British triathlon boom in 2012 at the London Olympics and their achievements brought the World Triathlon Championship Series to Leeds for the first time in 2016.
Nonetheless, Jonny is still in top form following his successful outings in Tokyo and has the potential to gain a podium at Leeds 2022 which would be really special for him in front of a home crowd, as he prepares for the Paris Olympic 2023.
And finally, there is Great Britain’s Alex Yee who showed his Olympic credentials with a golden WTCS 2021 Leeds display, coasting to a first WTCS gold after a magnificent 10km run and then going on to take a Gold and a Silver Medal at the summer Tokyo Olympics.
The city of Leeds event is all part of British Triathlon’s new three-year strategy which includes 2022 World Triathlon Championships Series Leeds (11-12 June), the 2022 World Triathlon Para Series Swansea (6 Aug) and also sees the British Triathlon Super Series Grand Final move to Sunderland for the first time.
Marisol Casado, World Triathlon President said: “We are thrilled that Leeds will join once again our family hosting a leg of the World Triathlon Championship Series, and Swansea stepping up to welcome the best para triathletes of the world for a World Triathlon Para Series. We are extremely proud of our partnership with British Triathon and it will be fantastic to join forces with them once again to deliver first class events for all”
It was reported that 2021 was the final time Leeds would hold the WTCS event but a deal was brokered between Leeds Council and British Triathlon to stage the event under new terms for 2022.
Leeds 2021 pre-Tokyo race was hosted entirely in Roundhay Park due to the pandemic’s tighter restrictions, with 4,000 fans watching the men’s and women’s races. More details of the Leeds leg will be revealed next week of whether it will it stay in Roundhay Park or go back to touring more of the city. Given the success this summer’s race as a TV spectacle with everything in one location, it would not be a surprise to see the event remain in Roundhay Park.
