Olympic gold medallists and world champions join Super League Malibu

Olympic gold medalists Flora Duffy and Kristian Blummenfelt will join newly crowned Ironman 70.3 World Champions Gustav Iden and Lucy Charles-Barclay on the start line as Super League Triathlon’s 2021 Championship Series wraps up with a spectacular finale in Malibu (Saturday, September 25, 1.30pm local time).

The four stars have been given Wildcards to Super League’s US debut and are set to spice things up as the race for the titles reaches its conclusion. The additions of Duffy and Blummenfelt means that all six of the medal winners from the individual events in the Tokyo Olympics will be racing from the shores of Zuma Beach.

Iden and Charles-Barclay come into the race in fine form having produced incredible wins at the 70.3 World Championships in St. George last weekend. Charles-Barclay made her short course debut with Super League Triathlon earlier this year in the SLT Arena Games in London where she finished second.

Just four points separate the top four men in the Championship Series standings with the events in London, Munich and Jersey having all produced a different winner. Jess Learmonth has taken a perfect 45 points with three back-to-back victories so far. Barring a serious issue only Georgia Taylor-Brown can realistically catch her, as she sits just three points behind her gold-medal winning teammate having been second in all three races.

However, the addition of four massive hitters in the sport, and the extra Championship Series points on offer for the finale in Malibu, really shakes things up.

The race in Malibu will be held over the Eliminator format. That means three rounds of swim-bike-run with a short break in between each stage and a set number of eliminations from the back of the field after each bike and run leg meaning only the strongest athletes will finish.

For how to watch this weekend’s race, head here.

Liz Barrett 220 Deputy Editor

About

220 deputy editor Liz Barrett started work on the magazine in 2007 as staff writer. Since then, she’s reported live from almost every major triathlon across the globe, including the Ironman World Championships, 70.3 Worlds, six ITU Worlds, Challenge Roth, the 2014 and 2022 Commonwealths, the London Olympics and the Rio Paralympics, to name but a few. Name a pro and chances are she’ll have interviewed them, so, unsurprisingly, she’s our go-to pro-athlete expert on the team. When not covering races, you’ll find her whipping words into finely-crafted shape for both the magazine and website.