After three races in the 2024 World Triathlon Championship Series, we are now turning into the (lengthy) home stretch. Only WTCS Weihai remains before the Series Final takes place in Torremolinos, although athletes can still record scores at the Paris Olympic Games and at their Continental Championships. With races running out, though, the effects of Hamburg could set the tone in the hunt for the world title.
In addition, there was a wrinkle to the action. Being a sprint distance event, a win in Hamburg was only worth 750 points. This contrasts the 1000 points on offer in Yokohama and Cagliari while Paris and Weihai could reshape the rankings given they will also be standard distance affairs. It is therefore time to get your calculators out as we assess who leads the men’s and women’s Series at the season midpoint and who is in pole position to be crowned as world champion.
The Women’s Series Rankings
Emma Lombardi (FRA) maintained her leadership of the Series with her third straight top-5 finish. Results of 3rd in Yokohama and 4th in Cagliari preceded her 5th place in Hamburg, leaving her with 2196.15 points. Another medal would certainly reinforce her position, but with a lead of over 200 points at the top of the table Lombardi is sitting pretty.
A second consecutive silver medal for Lisa Tertsch (GER) moved her up a spot into 2nd overall. She holds 1981.70 points but will need to replace her 14th place from Yokohama if she is to leapfrog Lombardi. In light of Tertsch’s recent form, though, another podium is definitely not out of the question. Yet there is a problem.
Even more than Lombardi, Tertsch will be watching the oncoming steam train that is Cassandre Beaugrand (FRA). The French athlete is the only unbeaten woman in the Series and her second win of the year puts her 3rd overall with 1725 points. Beaugrand has the most points of any athlete with only two results and with another win (or medal) there is a risk she will be almost out of sight by the time the WTCS Final rolls around.
Nevertheless, Beaugrand is not untouchable. The fact that her Hamburg victory was only worth 750 points may prove the saving grace for her rivals as it could be trumped by the outcome of Paris and Weihai. In that respect, Beth Potter (GBR) is still very much alive and kicking in the world title race. Like Beaugrand, she has two results to her name and her two bronze medals in 2024 have given her 1497.50 points. On the one hand, she has a deficit of over 250 points to Beaugrand already. On the other, two big standard distance results could flip the script and lead to Potter defending her crown.
After opting to not race in Hamburg, Taylor Knibb (USA) has fallen from 2nd to 7th in the standings. She has 1384.58 points and is the third ranked woman with two results. Her medal in Yokohama does a lot of work in her points total and she will need to replace her 11th place from Cagliari. She therefore faces the same challenge as Potter: to become world champion, she will need to be near-perfect in each of Paris, Weihai and Torremolinos.
Meanwhile, the winner of WTCS Yokohama Leonie Periault (FRA) hovers in 10th with 1142.41 points, 1000 of which came in Yokohama. If the Periault of the season opener returns, she may rocket back into the reckoning for the Series leadership. Given how good she was in Japan, that possibility simply cannot be ruled out.
The Men’s Series Rankings
Luke Willian (AUS) fights on. The Australian athlete finished 11th in Hamburg and now has 1778.99 points from his three Series appearances. However, as impressive as Willian has been this year, he faces the prospect of his compatriot blowing right by him.
With 1675 points from only two races, Matthew Hauser (AUS) is one race away from overtaking his teammate and assuming the leadership of the men’s Series. A silver in Yokohama and a gold in Hamburg also makes him the only double medallist among the men thus far. Should he make the podium in Paris or Weihai (or even both), he will be set for a maiden Series title.
Vincent Luis (FRA) may sniff the chance of a third world title. The French athlete stands in 3rd place with 1579.81 points and his 6th place in Hamburg was his best result of the WTCS season. However, having not yet won a medal in the Series this year he faces a struggle in battling Hauser. Interestingly, Willian, Luis and the winner in Yokohama, Morgan Pearson (USA), are the only men in the top-8 with three scores. This lends to the feeling that the men’s Series has yet to fully take shape as so many athletes have unfilled quotas and the possibility of making great strides up the rankings.
Charles Paquet (CAN) and Csongor Lehmann (HUN) fell from the top-3 having not attended Hamburg. They are now 4th and 6th, respectively, with Pierre Le Corre (FRA) separating them after his bronze medal in Hamburg. Of particular note, Alex Yee (GBR) and Hayden Wilde (NZL) only have one score apiece. Yee’s win in Cagliari handed him 1000 points, inserting him in 12th overall. Wilde’s silver medal at the same event gave him 925 points and puts him two places back in 14th.
With only one race under their belts, Yee and Wilde will have to be faultless in Paris and Weihai if they are to arrive in Torremolinos with a legitimate shot at the world title. One slip, one crash or one bad day out will end their world title hopes before the Final even arrives. Equally, as seen in the women’s Series, podiums in both Paris and Weihai could see them out-gun Hauser’s Hamburg win and wrestle the Series lead away.
There are still three months to go until the WTCS Final but the Series will have twists and turns before we get there. You can keep all the latest developments at your fingertips across all World Triathlon channels.
