Spain and the USA continue to bestride the World Triathlon Series leaderboards for 2015, hogging the top-three spots for the men’s and women’s title races respectively.
In the men’s rankings, 2014 champ Javier Gomez (ESP) managed to record a winning margin of 45 seconds for WTS Stockholm last weekend – the biggest gap for a WTS race in two years. It surely helped that neither Alistair nor Jonny Brownlee were racing though.
This means that Gomez now has a career record of 34 WTS podiums from 46 race starts, and sits top of the 2015 leaderboard with 3820 points. His high-flying compatriot Mario Mola didn’t have such a good race in Stockholm, finishing 12th, but remains second on the leaderboard (3374pts). Fernando Alarza rounds out the top three (2961pts), thanks to a consistent run of results this season topped by silver in London.
France’s Vincent Luis sits in fourth position (2910pts), having grabbed gold at WTS Hamburg last month and racked up four podiums in total this year. South Africa’s Richard Murray is not far behind with 2857pts, though his best WTS result so far this season was bronze in Abu Dhabi.
And the Brits? Alistair and Jonny are in ninth and tenth at the moment, with just four points between them. Alistair made a strong start to the Rio 2016 test event earlier this month before being forced to slow down by an ankle injury, while Jonny remains out with a stress fracture picked up in St. Moritz. It’s not clear yet if either Brownlee will return to WTS racing this year.
Women’s rankings
Sarah True clearly enjoys Sweden – having grabbed the first WTS gold of her career in Stockholm last year, she repeated the feat over the weekend and strengthened her third place (3322pts) in the leaderboard rankings with just Edmonton and the Chicago Grand Final remaining.
With Gwen Jorgensen (4000pts) having won all six races she has started in 2015, True joins Britain’s Vicky Holland as the only other athlete to reach the top step of a WTS podium in 2015.
The USA’s Katie Zaferes continued her incredible run of second-place finishes in Stockholm, taking her fifth silver medal of the season last weekend, and currently sits in second position behind Jorgensen with 3700pts.
New Zealand’s Andrew Hewitt is in fourth position on the leaderboard with 3131pts, thanks to a consistent run of top-10 finishes that’s included bronze in Auckland and Stockholm. Rachel Klamer (NED) holds fifth position in the points race (2196pts), despite not reaching a WTS podium yet this year.
Non Stanford, Gwen Jorgensen and Vicky Holland racing at Rio 2016 test event
Vicky Holland is top-ranked Brits with 2126pts in sixth place, having won WTS Cape Town and taken silver in Hamburg. Resurgent fellow Brit Non Stanford is out of the title race with 1238pts, after being forced to miss a number of races due to injury, but thrilling performances in her last few races suggest the 2013 world champ is getting back to top form.
The next stop on the World Triathlon Series is Edmonton, Canada on September 6th over the Sprint distance, followed by the Grand Final in Chicago on 18-19 September. We’ll be in Chicago to bring you all the action live right here on 220triathlon.com.
Columbia Threadneedle Rankings following ITU World Triathlon, Stockholm
Men
1st – Javier Gomez Noya (ESP) 3820
2nd – Mario Mola (ESP) 3374
3rd – Fernando Alarza (ESP) 2961
4th – Vincent Luis (FRA) 2910
5th – Richard Murray (RSA) 2857
6th – Ryan Bailie (AUS) 2601
7th – Henri Schoeman (RSA) 2508
8th – Joao Pereira (POR) 2344
9th – Alistair Brownlee (GBR) 2340
10th – Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) 2186
Biggest rankings mover: Eric Lagerstrom (USA) – from 103rd to 66th (254 points).
Women
1st – Gwen Jorgensen (USA) 4000
2nd – Katie Zaferes (USA) 3700
3rd – Sarah True (USA) 3322
4th – Andrea Hewitt (NZL) 3131
5th – Rachel Klamer (NED) 2196
6th – Vicky Holland (GBR) 2126
7th – Barbara Riveros (CHI) 2118
8th – Aileen Reid (IRL) 2078
9th – Flora Duffy (BER) 2009
10th – Rebecca Robisch (GER) 1929
Biggest rankings mover: Emma Jackson (AUS) – from 63rd to 40th (667 points).
The full Columbia Threadneedle Rankings can be accessed here.
Are there any surprises left in this year's WTS contest? Let us know in the comments!