[ad_1]
A strong start to the season saw Callum McCluskey and Sophie Lin win gold at the Napier World Cup. The next day, the Australian team finished first in the mixed team relay and achieved yet another victory.
The race at Napier had a wider impact beyond the success itself. With the World Cup and World Triathlon Mixed Relay Series both canceled, these events counted toward Olympic qualification. Importantly, several athletes and teams made great strides in their results in Napier.
Men’s Olympic ranking
One of the most appropriate moves in the Olympic rankings was made by Napier Olympic bronze medalist Alberto Gonzalez García (ESP). His 3rd place finish moved him up four places in the rankings to 36th overall. This is especially important as Spain currently have two players in the top 30. If three male triathletes are sent to Paris, they will need a third to break into the top 30.
Sergio Baxter Cabrera (ESP, 32nd), David Castro Fajardo (ESP, 35th) and Gonzalez are all in the top 40, and one of the athletes could be in the top 30. But time is definitely running out.
One reason for Baxter’s drop to 32nd is that Dylan McCullough (NZL), who finished fifth at Napier, has moved up five places to 27th. As it stands, McCullough is therefore only the second New Zealander in the top 30.
In addition, Alessio Crociani (Italy) placed 6th and Samuel Dickinson (Great Britain) placed 7th, contributing to the rise of both players in the rankings. Crociani has moved up 11 places to No. 87 in the rankings, while Dickinson has moved up eight places to currently sit at No. 63. Neither of them meet the score quota, so there is a possibility that the score will go up even more. But to have any impact on the potential third man’s spot in Paris, countries will need them to break into the top 30.
Women’s Olympic ranking
One of the big winners in the women’s rankings was Napier Olympic gold medalist Sophie Lin (Australia). Her teammate Callum McCluskey (Australia) rose 15 places to 81st, while Lynn climbed 10 places to 62nd. Importantly, she is only seven places away from being the second-highest Australian woman.
Another woman who made a big move was Melanie Santos (POR). The Portuguese finished in fourth place, moving up nine places to 61st place. As a result, she entered the expected list for the Olympic individual qualifiers.
Ilaria Zane’s (ITA) 6th place finish could also be an important stepping stone. Zane moved up five places in the rankings to 34th place. Therefore, she is close to becoming the third Italian woman to enter the top 30 of the ranking. If she gets a few more spots, Italy could send three women to Paris, but Sereni, Bett, Steinhauser and Zane could all get one spot.
On the other hand, medals for Sophie Alden (GB) and Olivia Mathias (GB) would have minimal impact on Olympic qualification due to the depth of the British team, although Britain already has three female athletes He is considered a strong candidate to qualify for Paris. With four British women already in the top 15 of the ranking, there is plenty of room for the top 30 requirements. Alden and Mathias both made big moves in the rankings, but their changes don’t have far-reaching implications for their countries.
Mixed relay Olympic ranking
It’s finally time for the mixed team relay. This is perhaps where the most notable change occurred after Napier.
First, Australia overtook the United States in the Olympic rankings and finished 6th overall. The Australian team is now almost certain to qualify for the 2+2 Olympics in Paris.
The top six teams in the Olympic relay rankings will qualify, excluding the teams that automatically qualified (France, Great Britain, and Germany). For teams that do not secure a spot, all eyes will be on the Olympic mixed team relay qualifying event to be held in Huatulco.
Great Britain (1st place), Germany (2nd place) and France (3rd place) occupy the top three spots in the rankings, with Australia’s rise to sixth place almost confirming their qualification.
Even more noteworthy were the gains made by the Italian and Portuguese teams, who finished third and second respectively in Napier. Italy moved up two places to 8th place, while Portugal moved up three places to 9th place. As a result, both teams eliminated Spain and Norway from the expected relay qualifying rounds.
Spain may be able to overcome the loss of rankings as two women and at least two men will need to qualify separately for the Olympics. Therefore, you will earn the right to start the relay even if you do not actually qualify.
However, the Norwegian team does not have the same luxury. Therefore, fluctuations in the Olympic rankings could have a significant impact on relay hopes.
Napier was the penultimate venue for the Olympic berth in the World Mixed Relay Series. The final outing is scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi within two weeks. Therefore, there could be further changes to the relay qualification outlook.
Stay up to date with upcoming action on TriathlonLive.tv and across World Triathlon social channels.
[ad_2]
Source link
