Probably few experts would have designated Leonie Periault as the winner of the WTCS Yokohama beforehand, but the French athlete was supreme today and ran to a stunning victory. With that, Periault is fueling confidence heading into the Paris Olympics.
In a race that was not fully decided until the final run, the first WTCS of the season proved to be a real thriller. Not because the race was decided by a few seconds, but because Periault gave a wonderful lesson in triathlon and showed everyone how to decide a race in your favor.
Periault won the race in a time of 1:52:28. American Taylor Knibb was second in 1:53:04 and Emma Lombardi, also French, was third in 1:53:08. Reigning Olympic champion Flora Duffy finished seventh in 1:53:38.
