With the new year in full swing and anticipation for the 2019 Triathlon season building, it is time to take another look back at the 2018 season and honour the impressive accomplishments, stats, moments and performances that made the year such a classic.
As we continue to showcase the noteworthy, the remarkable, the powerful, the inspirational and the just down-right outstanding individuals that made us all fall in love with swimming, biking and running even more than we already did, the next category in the series is…. World Cup Wonders.
Men’s World Cup Wonder:
David Castro Fajardo (ESP) - From Salinas wait list to emotional World Cup gold.
Back in 2016, the Salinas ITU World Cup race in Ecuador made its debut on the circuit’s calendar and Spain’s David Castro won a career-first World Cup gold. Last year, Castro treturned to Salinas but rather than hoping to win the race, he entered hoping simply to compete. Ahead of race day, Castro found himself on the waiting list uncertain he would in fact toe the start line. Fortunately for him, mere hours before the starting horn sounded it was confirmed that Castro would indeed have a starting spot for the sprint-distance event.
It was a full roster, featuring some strong medal contenders, and the swim and bike legs saw large packs form, with nobody successfully breaking away. Out onto the run, a small group finally broke, Castro included, and stride for stride they pushed on before the Spaniard found yet another gear, enabling him to forge out alone and take the tape and a second Salinas gold. The emotion on Castro’s face as he crossed the line said everything about the journey he had been on to get to that point, not just the uncertainty about starting but his own effort to return to peak performance; a true moment of World Cup wonder.
Women’s World Cup Wonder:
Nicola Spirig (SUI) - Wins Lausanne World Cup. On home soil. While pregnant.
It was no surprise that Nicola Spirig returned to elite racing in 2018 as a force to be reckoned with. The two-time Olympic Medallist has showcased her strength and tenacity time and again over the years and at the 2018 Lausanne World Cup, it was to be no different. Lining up to test the very course that welcomes the 2019 WTS Grand Final in September this year, Spirig competed in her first World Cup since winning in Cartagena in 2014.
The Swiss star looked strong in the water but was overshadowed by some top swimmers and entered the first transition zone more than 40 seconds down. Undeterred, Spirig dug in on the bike and drove the chase group until it caught the leaders, leaving the race wide open into the run. From there, it was just a matter of delivering for the home crowds. Spirig broke away and looked in complete control as she made her way to the finish line, Swiss flag in hand, to the adulation of the crowd. Victory was ensured with an impressive 51-second advantage and the display underlined her determination to qualify for Tokyo 2020 and a remarkable fifth Olympic Games. What made the performance even more impressive was that a few months later in October, Spirig announced that she was pregnant with her third child - and had been in the race!