World Triathlon series kick off race stacked with fast runners heading to Abu Dhabi this weekend

The World Triathlon Championship Series launches this weekend with its opening race in Abu Dhabi. It promises to be a showdown in the men’s race with favourites New Zealander Hayden Wilde, Australian Matt Hauser and American Morgan Pearson among some of the fastest runners on the circuit taking the start line.

2024 Paris Olympics gold medallist Alex Yee from Great Britain isn’t racing as he focuses on preparing for the upcoming London Marathon. Yee and Paris Olympic silver medallist Wilde usually provide spectators with a thrilling faceoff when they compete side by side.

Men’s field expected to put on a fast run

Wilde will instead face stiff competition on the run from Pearson, another Olympic medallist winning two silvers in the Mixed Relay at the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris games. Pearson more recently made the news for his extraordinary performance at the House half marathon with a finish time of one hour and one minute.

Hauser and Portugal’s Vasco Vilaca are strong contenders also expected to give Wilde and Pearson a run for their money. Other one’s to watch include Norway’s Casper Stornes and Vetle Bergsvik Thorn, and Great Britain’s Hugo Milner. Milner not only ran a 28 minute and 47 second 10km at the WTCS Grand Final in Torremolinos last year, he won the 2024 English national cross country title.

Without Yee in the mix, Great Britain’s Ben Dijkstra and Max Stapley have an opportunity to shine as representatives from their country. Canadian Charles Paquet is also kicking off his season at the inaugural race since representing his nation at the Olympics last year.

Women’s field a mix of new and old favourites

Veteran Americans Gwen Jorgensen and Taylor Spivey are set to race on the women’s side. 2016 Rio Olympics gold medallist Jorgensen continues her journey to make a comeback in the sport after a long hiatus following her Olympic win. She has been slowly but surely rising in the ranks in her last two seasons and is currently back in the top 1o of the world rankings. Longtime fans and rivals will be curious to see how she performs in her debut season race.

Spivey more recently won an Olympic medal, capturing silver in the Mixed Relay at last year’s Paris Olympics. She has been on the WTCS circuit for several seasons now and is mixing up short course racing this season with the PTO T100 World Triathlon Tour.

Other big names making an appearance include Germany’s Laura Lindemann and Lisa Tertsch, who both won gold last year in the Mixed Relay at the Paris Olympics. Leonie Periault is set to race as well and is the one to watch from France since reigning Olympic champion Cassandre Beaugrand will be absent.

Great Britain’s Kate Waugh is the only one to watch from her country. She is sure to be in the mix after a strong season last year with a second place finish at the WTCS Grand Final and overall supertri champion. Canada’s Emy Legault will also be kicking off her season since coming off of the Olympics last year.

This weekend’s racing begins with the elite men and women’s individual race on Saturday followed by the relays on Sunday.