Next Saturday the Super League Triathlon Arena Games will take place in London, where the world titles will be distributed. Super League Triathlon looks at who the biggest favorites are.
It’s all to play for at the final of Arena Games Triathlon in London with a host of athletes knowing that one big race could make them a World Champion.
The World title is decided by an athlete’s best score from either of the regular Series events in Montreal or Switzerland plus their score in the final.
Expanded fields means the final is much harder for athletes, but with double the number of points on offer compared to a regular Series event there is a huge incentive to succeed.
There are an awful lot of permutations, but here we take you through some key ones to look out for on the day.
MEN
Chase McQueen and Henri Schoeman lead the standings with 250 points each thanks to their wins in Montreal and Switzerland respectively. They are mathematically as well as athletically the favourites to take the World Championship title.
However, the way the maths works any of the top five men in the standings will take the title if they win the race in London.
That means Schoeman – whose points for second place in Montreal are disregarded as a result of his win in Switzerland – McQueen, Maxime Hueber-Moosbrugger, Jack Stanton-Stock and Simon Westermann all know their fate is in their own hands.
Aurelien Raphael and Nicolo Strada would have to win and hope that Schoeman and McQueen both finish third or worse to take the title. Dan Dixon and Fabian Meeusen would need to win and hope Hueber-Moosbrugger falls into that group as well to get their hands on the trophy.
WOMEN
It’s a similar situation for the women. Dominika Jamnicky is not making the trip to London which means the top five who are competing – event winners Gina Sereno and Zsanett Bragmayer as well as Olivia Mathias, Sophie Linn and Fanni Szalai – will take the title with a race win.
However, looking further down the list probably doesn’t paid dividends in the same way with the women – due to the participation of Cassandre Beaugrand and Beth Potter. It seems improbable that at last one, and likely both, won’t be right up there and even on the podium in the final reckoning.
That would make life extremely difficult for Emma Jackson who is next down the list, as the win becomes even more challenging to secure. Should Jackson finish third behind those two then she would need Bragmayer, Sereno, Linn and Mathias to finish fifth or worse.
