WTCS Yokohama 2021 Recap
Yokohama WTCS: Men’s Race
The first race off the season got off to a fiery start, with Vincent Luis (FRA) leading Richard Varga (SVK) and Marten Van Riel (BEL) out of the 1500m swim in a touch under 18 minutes, with 6 other men closely following them into T1 ahead of the main pack. Unfortunately, the breakaway many would have wanted never materialized on a tight and technical course in Yamashita Park, and the main contenders were all off the bike together leading into the 10km run.
Whilst the pack may have stayed together on the bike, four athletes shot off the front quickly on the first lap of the run, with Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt, Belgium’s Jelle Geens, Britain’s Alex Yee and the big German Jonas Schomburg setting the pace. Schomburg was the first to drop off, and Geens and Blummenfelt slowly started to pull away from Yee, with Blummenfelt kicking to win from the Belgium. Perhaps one of the biggest stories was Morgan Pearson’s run leg, where he overtook 35 athletes including Alex Yee to gain selection for Team USA in Tokyo by finishing 3rd. Pearson, whose brother passed away in March which led to him taking some time off training, only started triathlon after being recruited by Team USA after out of college, where he’d ran as part of the NCAA XC winning Colorado Buffs team. He is the first US male to be selected for this year’s triathlon team at the Games. This guy is the epitome of hard work.
It was a mixed bag for the British men racing in Yokohama this weekend. Alex Yee, who never fails to impress with his ability to race at the highest level, had a great performance to finish just outside the medals in 4th, beating two-time World Champion Vincent Luis and Commonwealth Games Champion Henri Schoeman in the process. If anyone from the Olympic selection committee is reading this, get this man on the plane to Tokyo! Alex Yee’s commitment to triathlon over athletics should be rewarded, and he is the most consistent contender on the world stage for Team GB in the Sprint and Olympic distance and has been for the past two years. Not only can he contend for an individual medal, but he is perfectly suited for the shorter legs raced as part of the mixed team relay, where Team GB will face fierce competition for the podium. The two other British men in the field, Jonny Brownlee and Tom Bishop both finished over 2 minutes behind Yee in 22nd and 23rd respectively.
Yokohama WTCS: Women’s Race
Taylor Knibb of the USA finished first in a women’s race missing a handful of big names but won’t be fazed after becoming the second athlete to secure their place on the US Olympic team this summer, with Summer Rappaport finishing second to ensure she will also be on the plane. This leaves one spot open for the US women, with 2019 World Champion Katie Zaferes yet to punch her ticket, with Kirsten Kasper and Taylor Spivey also in contention for the final seat on the plane, it looks like a fierce run in for that Olympic spot over the next coming months.
Maya Kingma, the young Dutchwoman who was part of the breakaway group on the bike and led for most of the race, finished in 3rd place for her first WTCS medal, having been overtaken by Rappaport on the 10km run leg. Taylor Spivey of the USA finished in 4th whilst Austrian Julia Hauser put in an extremely impressive performance for 5th place. Whilst Super League star Beth Potter was unfortunately lapped out, Non Stanford and Sophie Coldwell did not disappoint with great races to finish inside the top 10, with Coldwell in 6th, 3 seconds ahead of Stanford. With the British women’s team already selected for Tokyo, the pair made sure they set themselves up for a good year on the WTCS rankings, with Stanford also qualifying for Wales for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Rounding out the Top 10 for the women’s race was Miriam Garcia of Spain and Claire Michel of Belgium, whilst Cassandre Beaugrand of France showed a return to previous form with a solid 10th place. Whilst there were absentees, the racing proved that the battle for the medals in Tokyo and podium places in this year’s WTCS will be hotly contested.
