After a dramatic season that saw the realisation of numerous Olympic dreams, Team World Triathlon will be out in force at the WTCS Finals in Torremolinos-Andalucia. The Team’s mission is to guide athletes from emerging National Federations towards qualification for the Olympic Games by providing support, resources and expertise. The current cycle therefore came to a close in Paris but this iteration the Team nonetheless has a shot of signing off in style.
Matthew Wright (BAR) will be the sole entrant from the Team in the men’s WTCS Final. His appearance caps a remarkable comeback that has been half a dozen years in the making. Before this year, Wright’s last WTCS start came back in 2018 in Edmonton. Then, after a string of superlative continental results, including winning the Americas Championship over the sprint distance, he fought his way back into the Series, making his return in Cagliari in May. Olympic qualification duly followed and Wright will now cap his year with a stab at the Finals.
Two women from the Team will also be starting at the WTCS Final. Maria Carolina Velasquez Soto (COL) is another Paris qualifier and won the silver medal at the Wollongong World Cup back in spring. As it happens, Torremolinos will represent only her second WTCS start. If her debut is anything to go by, though, Velasquez could produce something special. Last season, she made her bow in Montreal, finishing 10th, in what was one of the best debut finishes of recent times.
Joining Velasquez on the elite women’s start list will be Romana Gajdošová (SVK). This will be Gajdošová’s first start in the Series since Abu Dhabi at the start of 2023. In the intervening period, she became a World Cup medallist by landing on the podium in Yeogndo last August. Gajdošová also continued her promising World Cup form with a 9th place in Wollongong.
In the men’s U23 race, Panagiotis Bitados (GRE) will look to build upon his 4th place finish from the 2023 edition of the event. Like Gajdošová, he narrowly missed out on Olympic qualification. Thereafter, however, Bitados went on a tear in middle distance triathlon, logging a string of victories across a golden summer. In draft legal racing, he also finished 8th at the Hong Kong World Cup at the start of the season.
Gabriel Terán Carvajal (ECU) will be another to start at the men’s World U23 Championships. In July, he made his WTCS debut in Hamburg, a reward for his sustained rise throughout the world rankings. Although he did not finish that day, it represented an important milestone in Terán’s young career and he will doubtless bring the experience to bear in Torremolinos this week.
Zuzana Michalickova (SVK) is the only female entrant from Team World Triathlon at the World U23 Championships. Nevertheless, her presence alone could be enough to see the Team claim a medal in Torremolinos. She races as the European U23 champion after an outstanding performance in Balikesir in August. With multiple top-10 World Cup finishes to her name, Michalickova has steadily risen over the past 18 months and could have something special up her sleeve.
In addition, World Triathlon Development will also take the opportunity to observe the next generation of Team World Triathlon members in Torremolinos across the U23 and Junior World Championships. Among the National Federations with prospective athletes racing are Chile, Guatemala, Peru, Ecuador, Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa, Sweden and many more. World Triathlon Development will meet with athletes, their coaches and National Federations to brief them about the project, covering matters such as its principles, selection and mapping their needs. Thereafter, the process of building up the new Team will start on the way to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games and beyond.
Stay up to date with all the latest from Team World Triathlon and the action in Torremolinos across all World Triathlon channels.
