Fernando Alarza
Age 25
Lives Talavera de la Reina, Spain
Alarza races without the weight of expectation of his more decorated Spanish teammate Mario Mola but looks increasingly confident in the company of Mola, and Javier Gomez, who sadly is unable to take part at the Games due to a broken arm, denying Spain a team with three genuine medal hopes. company. A glance at Alarza's improving results reveals his podium potential. A solid all-rounder on the WTS circuit, he lost out to Alistair Brownlee in last year’s sprint-distance race in London, pipped a fading Jonny Brownlee to take a runner-up spot on the Gold Coast, then out-kicked him in style for a maiden WTS victory in Cape Town. Alarza is running into form – and running fast.
2016 SEASON TO DATE
2nd, Gold Coast WTS
4th, Abu Dhabi WTS
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2nd, London WTS, 2015
2nd, World U23 Champs, 2013
2010 ITU World Junior Champion
Vincent Luis
Age 27
Lives Vesoul, France
After David Hauss and the late Laurent Vidal ran to courageous fourth and fifth places respectively in the London Games, a new breed of French triathlete has emerged. Luis was 11th in Hyde Park but at 27 is now the leading contender. Fresh-faced but powerfully built, fast through the water, strong on the bike with a fearsome finishing kick, he proved he’s suited to the challenging Rio course by finishing runner-up to Gomez in last year’s Test Event. It was part of Luis’ best season to date where he secured four WTS podiums including a win over the sprint distance in Hamburg and a solid fifth place in the Grand Final in Chicago.
2016 SEASON TO DATE
A minor injury has kept him out of much of the 2016 season so far but at the end of June won Châteauroux ETU Sprint Triathlon European Championships
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2nd, Olympic Test Event, Rio, 2015
1st, Hamburg WTS, 2015
2008 ITU World Junior Champion
Richard Murray
Age 27
Lives Le Cap, South Africa
A comrade of Mario Mola in the Joel Filliol camp, Murray’s strengths and weaknesses match those of his illustrious training partner. A non-wetsuit swim will not help the South African on his weakest discipline, and neither will the lack of specific training after a broken collarbone sustained in a bike crash on the Gold Coast. Murray took bronze in the 2014 Commonwealths behind the Brownlees and as long as he can bridge to within striking distance on the bike, expect him to again lead the chase over the final 10km. It worked in the Test Event, where he posted the fastest split (30:30mins) to finish third.
2016 SEASON TO DATE
DNF, Gold Coast WTS
1st, New Plymouth ITU World Cup
2nd, Abu Dhabi WTS
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2014 Commonwealth bronze medallist
1st, Hamburg WTS, 2012
Crisanto Grajales
Age 29
Lives Veracruz, Mexico
An outside medal hope but the course and conditions should suit the diminutive Mexican, who will be hoping the heat and humidity soar. Grajales recorded his first World Cup win on the continent in 2012 in Colombia and despite dropping out of last year’s Test Event on the run, stamped his ticket for the Games with Pan American success in Toronto. Approaching 30 but still improving, he caught the eye in taking fourth place, and the scalps of Luis, Alarza and Jonny Brownlee, in last season’s Grand Final, and is currently enjoying his finest season to date in the World Triathlon Series.
2016 SEASON TO DATE
2nd, Yokohama WTS
13th, Gold Coast WTS
5th, Abu Dhabi WTS
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
4th, Chicago WTS Grand Final, 2015
2015 Pan American Games Champion
1st, Guatape ITU World Cup, 2012
Mario Mola
Age 26
Lives Mallorca, Spain
Mola has emerged from the shadow of great friend and mentor Gomez, and with four WTS wins this season no triathlete has shown better form than the Mallorcan. The 26-year-old will be working hard on his swim as he hopes to minimise the deficit out of the water before tucking into a large pack that can rein in any Brownlee-led breakaway. In contention, Mola can unleash the run speed that saw him clock 28:59mins over 10km in 2015’s Grand Final. But as was proved in last year’s Rio Test event, where he eventually ran through for seventh, being with the leaders on leaving T2 is no given.
2016 SEASON TO DATE
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
1st, Chicago WTS Grand Final, 2015
1st, London WTS, 2014
2009 ITU World Junior Champion
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