Taylor Knibb nails her Olympic spot – Paris Test Event recap in words and spectacular photos

It’s no secret that making the US women’s triathlon squad for next year’s Olympics is going to be one of the toughest tasks in triathlon. The country had five women competing in today’s Paris Test Event, which serves as both a run through for next year’s Olympics and a qualifier for many countries for the Games next year, and that didn’t even include 2016 gold medalist Gwen Jorgensen, who is also trying to make the team. All five of the American women came off the bike together in today’s race, setting up a 10 km run for a chance to nail a trip to the Games in 2024.

World Triathlon photographers Janos Schmidt and Wagner Araujo were in Paris and provide these spectacular photos from the beautiful course. That gives us a great chance to recap the day in words and pictures. Here we go:

Turns out the water was swimmable for today’s race, no-doubt a huge relief for organizers after the scare from a few weeks ago after a Swimming World Cup event was cancelled due to poor water conditions. The race got underway in the calm waters of the Seine with a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

Italy’s Bianca Seregni led the way ont of the water in 19:42, with American Summer Rappaport three seconds behind, and France’s Cassandra Beaugrand 11 seconds down. After coming out of the water in fifth place after the first loop, Taylor Knibb dropped well back to come out of the water 37 seconds back in 22nd spot, with Great Britain’s Beth Potter two seconds ahead.

The lead chase group would get out of transition a few seconds behind Rappaport and Seregni, and included Beaugrand, France’s Emma Lombardi, Brazil’s Vittoria Lopes, Germany’s Lena Meissner and Laura Lindemann, American Taylor Spivey and Great Britain’s Sophie Coldwell.

After an uncharacteristically poor position after the swim, Knibb would power the third chase group up to the front, eventually creating a group of 24 at the front of the race.

The lead group contained, as mentioned, all five Americans along with Potter and the rest of her British teammates Sophie Coldwell and Kate Waugh, Beaugrand and her countrywoman Emma Lombardi and all four Germans.

Canada’s Dominika Jamnicky would end up in the chase group on the bike – that group ended up about three minutes behind the lead group of 23 into T2.

T2 was busy as athletes scrambled to be in position to attack the run course in a good position. Spivey would lead the way out with Beaugrand and Germany’s Nina Lim on her heals. Potter was five seconds behind as she started the run, with Knibb the last of the 23 women from the group to leave T2, 14 seconds behind.

Early on it looked like Spivey would be in the best position to nail her spot on the Olympic team for next year, leading the American contingent.

Beaugrand would bolt to the front at a pace that even 2016 track Olympian Potter couldn’t hold, but the Brit managed to keep herself and the rest of the chase group that included Lombardi, Germany’s Laura Lindemann, Lisa Tertsch and Nina Eim within three to five seconds. At this point Spivey was the top American, eight seconds down in seventh.

Like Jamnicky, Canadian Emy Legault was in the chase group. She would finish 40th, while Jamnicky would take 29th.

Knibb was 17 seconds back at the end of the first lap, but by the end of the second was the top American – sixth and 10 seconds back of the leaders.

Then there were five. At the end of the second lap Potter was the one in front driving the pace, with Beaugrand, Lombardi, Lindemann and Tertsch hanging on.

Heading into the final lap Potter and Beaugrand had pulled clear of the rest of the group, with Lombardi and Lindemann racing for third.

Potter would make her move with a few hundred metres to go and Beaugrand didn’t have an answer.

All smiles as she takes the win. The British selection process guaranteed a spot for Tokyo Olympians who finished on the podium at the Test Event, so her win doesn’t mean she’ll automatically be on the team next year. (Another podium finish at the Grand Final in Pontevedra will nail her spot, though.)

Beaugrand would have loved to have taken the win, but her runner-up finish was enough to solidify her spot at the Games next year. The same goes for third-place finisher Lindemann. Lombardi’s fourth-place also earns her a spot on the French team.

Knibb was able to run her way up to fifth, enough to nail an automatic spot on the US Team for the Games next year. Spivey, who was left off the US team for Tokyo, would finish 10th and remains in the Olympic hunt.

You can find full results from today’s racing here.