Mexico Showdown for White
After three years of racing, including four races over the last four consecutive weekends, Russell White’s Olympic qualification will be decided in one final event this Sunday at the World Triathlon Cup Huatulco in Mexico.
White heads in to the race this weekend knowing a strong performance could guarantee his participation at the Olympics next month.
But right behind White in the rankings are a clutch of rivals hoping to snatch away the last Olympic qualifying spot on the last day of the qualification period.
White finished 35th at Leeds last weekend – a result that didn’t move him up or down in the rankings. Just minutes after that race, he had already set his mind to Huatulco:
“It all comes down to Mexico now, but I am still in the driver’s seat and still have that slot. I just have to go for it. It’s going to be super hot – in the high 30s so it could come down to a hard messy run,” White said.
White: Fate in is Own Hands
White currently holds the 53rd and final non-invitational place on the 55 athlete Olympic Simulation List.
His task at the opening of the qualification period in Yokohama on May 29th was to hold on to, or improve on this ranking. So far, he’s managed this but heading in to this weekend there are still a number of athletes behind him in the Olympic Qualification Table that could overtake him on the final weekend of competition.
The scenarios here are complex and depend both on where White finishes in the race but also on how many places are between him and each particular rival (who include Richard Varga, Igor Polyansky, Stefan Zachhaus and Bob Haller).
Triathlon Ireland’s Head Coach explains:
“Because everyone’s lowest score is different, you have to beat your lowest score to gain a point. So my lowest score could be 150 and your lowest score could be 250, so I might not have to finish as high up as you – I could finish 20th and gain 150 points, you could finish 15th and not gain any points.”
The good news for White is that his fate is largely in his own hands: if he pulls off of a good performance, he can make it impossible for anyone to overtake him. The opposite is also the case however, making Huatulco a cup final for a number of athletes desperate to get to the biggest event in the sport of triathlon.
Ireland Hoping for Two Athletes in Tokyo
Olympic Qualification ends on June 14th – so once the points from Huatulco have been allocated, the final Olympic starting spots will be assigned according to the Olympic Simulation table. (Note: The Olympic Simulation table is not the official table but instead gives a snapshot of who can actually go to the Olympics once the ineligible athletes from Olympic Qualifying Table have been excluded).
Carolyn Hayes has secured her participation at the Games – something she made unassailable with her stunning performances at Lisbon and Leeds this month (in fact, last week’s 10th place in Leeds has seen Hayes move from 52nd where she was occupying one of the ‘New Flag positions’ on the Olympic Simulation to 47th where she is now one of the athletes qualifying by dint of her individual Olympic ranking.)
Watch it Live and Cheer Russell On!
Russell White will hope to join her on the plane to Tokyo – you can tune in live from 1:45pm on Sunday on Triathlonlive.tv to see every second of the action. Triathlon Ireland will also live tweet Russell’s progress throughout the race – head over to our twitter account for that.
