Katie Zaferes makes life difficult for the American Olympic selection committee … and more Olympic drama from Cagliari
Olympic spots were on the line in Cagliari
Photo by:
Kevin Mackinnon
Heading into the final World Triathlon event before the Olympic qualification cut off at the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) Cagliari, there was lots of drama around who would end up at the Games in Paris this summer. The American women’s team probably led the way on that front, with five more than viable options competing for the two available spots. (Taylor Knibb had earned pre-selection for Paris this summer.) They weren’t the only team that was in for some tough decisions, though. France has four of the top male triathletes in the world, all vying for one of its three spots. Great Britain has selected Beth Potter to its women’s team, but there were three women who could be logical courses for its team, too.
If that wasn’t enough, there were a number of athletes who arrived in Cagliari in need of a big race to earn themselves a shot at the Games. For the women, there were five women, including Canada’s Dominika Jamnicky, who were after the final qualifying spot for Paris.
American selection
Three years ago the American selection committee chose Katie Zaferes over Taylor Spivey for the Tokyo Games, which proved to be a smart call as the American took the bronze medal in the individual race and helped the US to silver in the mixed relay. On the comeback trail after having a baby two years ago, US Triathlon decided to give Zaferes a shot at a WTCS event in Cagliari, bumping Rio Olympic gold medalist Gwen Jorgensen from the field to give Zaferes a chance to race.
In Cagliari Zaferes finished as the second American, just one spot behind Knibb and three spots ahead of Spivey. The other woman who was in the mix for the American team, Kirsten Kasper, might have put herself out of contention after finishing 21st.
The US selection committee will certainly take lots of factors into consideration when it comes to picking the team, but things don’t appear to be that promising for Jorgensen to be named as part of the team. At the last WTCS event in Yokohama, Jorgensen was the fourth American in the field, behind Knibb (second), Spivey (fourth) and Kasper (fifth). (A podium finish in Yokohama would have earned Spivey or Kasper an automatic selection.) That result will likely not be enough to convince the selectors to give the 2016 gold medalist the spot for Paris.
The results from Cagliari certainly make for another argument to put Zaferes on the team again. She’s been steadily improving over the last year, and her finish today ahead of Spivey and Kasper might be enough to get the nod for another Olympic team. Spivey would certainly seem to be a logical choice for a spot, too – she’s one of the top-ranked women in the WTCS series and has consistently finished ahead of Kasper.
How much fun is that committee going to have?
British selection
Like the Americans, the British women’s team is stacked. Reigning world champion Beth Potter has been named to the team, but that leaves Tokyo silver medalist Georgia Taylor-Brown, Sophie Coldwell and Kate Waugh to contend for two spots. Taylor-Brown continued her injury comeback in style with a sixth-place finish in Cagliari, one spot ahead of Coldwell. Waugh, who finished 10th, might end up being the odd woman out of the Olympic team picture.
The British men will likely only have two qualifying spots, so the fun will be to pick the best person to compete alongside Yee in the mixed relay. Multiple-medalist Jonny Brownlee didn’t race in Cagliari, but finished ahead of Hugo Milner (38th to 39th) at WTCS Yokohama a few weeks ago. Milner took 13th in Cagliari today, though, which might be enough for selectors. Leaving a bronze (2012 – individual), silver (2016 – individual) and gold (2020 – mixed relay) medalist off the team – Brownlee is the only person to have medalled at three consecutive Olympic Games – will certainly be tough.
Team France
Three of the last four WTCS world champions were French – last year Dorian Coninx won the title, the year before it was Leo Bergere, and Vincent Luis took the the titles in 2019 and 2020. Add to that mix last year’s Championship Finals bronze medalist Pierre Le Corre and you have four men vying for three spots at the Paris Games. Le Corre took sixth in Cagliari, which meets the French criteria for Games selection. Coninx, though, broke his wrist and elbow in a crash at the race in Yokohama, which could put him out of the Games. If he’s able to come back in time, though, what will the French federation do? Three world champions, two spots.
Final women’s spots
Heading into the race in Cagliari there were five women in the hunt for the final Olympic qualifying spot. Sitting in that final spot was Petra Kurikova (CZE). Within striking distance to pass her and get themselves a spot on the start line in Paris was Bermuda’s Erica Hawley, Canada’s Dominika Jamnicky, Zuzana Michalickova (SVK) and Toreza Zimovjanova (CZE). If Jamnicky could pull off a big race and get the spot, she would also earn Canada a mixed relay position, too, as the country would have two men and two women qualified for the Games.
The top finisher from that group was Michalickova (33rd). Will that finish be enough to move her ahead in the rankings? We’ll have to wait for the final Olympic selection numbers to come out. Kurikova didn’t finish the race in Cagliari, while Hawley, who was ranked ahead of Jamnicky, was the second of that group of five to cross the line. Zimovjanova was one spot behind Jamnicky in the rankings and finished one spot ahead of the Canadian in the race (47th to 48th).
