The International Weekend Round Up – Yokohama
International racing made its return this weekend in Yokohama, kicking off a huge year for the sport and signalling the restarting of Olympic and Paralympic Qualification.
The Irish trio of Carolyn Hayes, Mark Millar and Russell White have been in Yokohama since earlier this week, read our preview of the weekend’s action here.
Elite Women’s World Triathlon Championship Series
The women’s World Triathlon Championship Series Yokohama was won in convincing style by the USA’s Taylor Knibb with Maya Kingma (NED) second, and Summer Rappaport (USA) third. You can catch up on how the action unfolded on World Triathlon here.
Coming out of the swim down the field, Carolyn Hayes worked hard in a small chase group on the bike. Running a strong 35:56 for 10km, the deficit was too large for Hayes to make up at that point, finishing 42nd in 2:02:02.
Carolyn is back in action next week at the World Triathlon Cup Lisbon. We recently caught up with Carolyn, where she explained what she needs to do to secure Olympic qualification, and what going to the Olympics would mean to her.
Elite Men’s World Triathlon Championship Series
In a thrilling standard distance race, Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) topped the podium. Jelle Geens (BEL) was second and the USA’s Morgan Pearson was third. Read more about how the action unfolded in the elite men’s event in World Triathlon’s race report here.
Russell White was unfortunately forced to retire early and will be looking ahead now to the next four weeks of racing. At a recent training camp, Russell White told us more about his quest for Olympic Qualification and the challenges that this block of racing will bring.
World Triathlon Para Series
The men’s PTWC event saw a stacked field on the start line, including eventual first and second placed, five times world- and reigning Olympic champion, Jetze Plat (NED) and his compatriot, Olympic silver medalist Geert Schipper. Ahmed Andaloussi (FRA) was third. Read the World Triathlon Race Report here.
In just his second season at the level, Mark Millar gained some valuable experience in Yokohama today, finishing ninth in a time of 1:11:20 on the technical sprint distance course.
Coming Up
There’s a big few weeks ahead for Team Ireland, and we’ll be following them every step of the way. Check back for updates!
