It all comes down to this. After a World Triathlon Championship Series that has twisted this way and that, consistent only in its refusal to come to order, we head to the Wollongong Final where the women’s race will at last determine which of the multiple world title contenders will come out on top. Thus far, five women have won across the six instalments, with the seventh to come later this week in Weihai. Any of this quintet could triumph in Wollongong. Even more intriguingly, even if one of them does not win the world title, they can deny one of their rivals the same honour. A blockbuster finish will therefore be in store and you can find out who will be on the start line below.
Who’s there?
The current Series leader Cassandre Beaugrand is the woman to beat. The reigning world and Olympic champion is the only woman with two wins in this year’s Series and can lock up another crown if she maintains her lofty standards. However, one of her closest rivals comes from within her own camp.
Leonie Periault is ranked 4th overall and beat Beaugrand in style in Hamburg. It might be too much of an ask for Periault to win the world title. A spot on the overall podium, though, is definitely up for grabs and her personal pursuit of glory could come crashing through Beaugrand’s best laid plans. In addition, multiple WTCS medallist Emma Lombardi (FRA) completes the French line-up and is a potential joker in the pack.
Leading the British team will be Beth Potter, ranked 2nd overall. Here, the situation becomes even tighter. Should Potter win in Weihai on Friday, she will head to Wollongong tied with Beaugrand at the top of the table and as the only other woman with two wins to her name. Crucially, Potter will also have momentum behind her.
On the other occasion Potter and Beaugrand went head-to-head in a live world title fight at a Series Final (in 2023), Potter came out on top comfortably. With a stacked British squad containing Georgia Taylor-Brown, Olivia Mathias, Kate Waugh, Sian Rainsley, Jess Fullagar and Tilly Anema, there are allies galore with whom Potter can work too, in stark contrast to Team France’s internal competition.
Jeanne Lehair is currently ranked 3rd overall. Like Beaugrand and Periault, her next Series appearance will be in Wollongong. Although the WTCS Yokohama winner will only have one Luxembourgish teammate on her side – in this case Eva Daniels – she should have no trouble fighting for another podium in Wollongong.
The final of the five world title candidates is Lisa Tertsch. As with Potter, Tertsch will race in Weihai this week and so could jump from 5th overall to a hair’s width behind Lehair. Should this materialise, her world title hopes will be very much alive; at minimum, she will be able to scent a spot on the overall podium. One aspect in Tertsch’s favour is the powerful German squad consisting of Nina Eim, Annika Koch, Tanja Neubert and Selina Klamt that could shape the bike in her favour.
Of course, there will be plenty more going on at the Final beyond the world title hunt as positions and prize money will be contested throughout the field. Taylor Spivey heads up the American contingent after matching her best ever WTCS finish in Karlovy Vary. Erica Ackerlund, Gina Sereno, Kirsten Kasper and Danielle Orie will start alongside her. Notably, this will be Paris Olympian Kasper’s first international race of 2025, perhaps signalling the start of her road to LA 2028.
WTCS medallists Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal and Bianca Seregni will start for Mexico and Italy, respectively. Both will look to secure slots inside the overall top-10 and either could snatch invaluable positions from world title candidates in their own hunt for points. The former will be joined by Ana Maria Valentina Torres Gomez while the latter will have Ilaria Zane for company in Wollongong.
Several countries will be represented by teams of two. Among them are Spain (Miriam Casillas Garcia and Anna Godoy Contreras), Switzerland (Alissa Konig and Nora Gmür), Japan (Yuko Takahashi and Kanae Takenaka) and Canada (Desirae Ridenour and Emy Legault).
The home team will also be two-strong with World Cup medallists Sophie Linn and Emma Jeffcoat hoping to impress. Finally, Jolien Vermeylen (BEL), Maya Kingma (NED), Tilda Månsson (SWE), Maria Tomé (POR) and Tereza Zimovjanova (CZE) are just some of the names among the large cohort of lone representatives for their respective countries.
Who’s not there?
Only three women from the WTCS top-30 will be absent. Gwen Jorgensen (25th) is out injured and misses what otherwise would have been a “home” race of sorts after her years based in Wollongong. Franka Rust (27th) will be in Wollongong but has opted to take on the World U23 Championships instead. Her compatriot Laura Lindemann (29th) is also out while on a break from top level racing.
Four talking points
A numbers game
It is hard to talk precise numbers without knowing the results of WTCS Weihai (unfortunately, the crystal ball has failed). Nevertheless, we can still broadly predict what kind of outcomes in Wollongong could shape the world title race.
For Beaugrand, the task is simple. Win. Only then can she be sure of the world title. Assuming Potter finishes no better than 3rd in Weihai, Beaugrand will need only a silver medal in Wollongong. Yet if Potter wins in Weihai, as previously mentioned, the pressure will be piled back onto Beaugrand.
Factoring in a possible Potter medal this week, she and Beaugrand are therefore the only women that can win independently of their rivals’ performances. Lehair and Tertsch (assuming the latter podiums in Weihai) will need Beaugrand and Potter to miss the top-4 to be confident of claiming the world title, and they themselves would need to win in Wollongong. Periault would need an even bigger drop-off by the two leaders to win. But a victory or podium performance by her at the Final would still reshape the rankings by elevating her at the expense of others.
Humbled by history
Moreover, we cannot forget the 2023 and 2024 Finals. Last year, Beaugrand nearly threw away her race by going the wrong way in the swim. She recovered, but it serves as a warning that a single mistake could blow everything wide open. And then there was the men’s 2023 Final.
That day, five athletes came into the race with real chances of winning the world title. The man leading at the start of the day (Alex Yee) ended up 5th overall, and the man that started 5th overall ended the day as world champion (Dorian Coninx). As such while the numbers look simple enough on paper, we should all be cognizant that little is ever simple when it comes to triathlon.
The new Brit
Amid a large British squad stuffed with WTCS and World Cup medallists is a new face. Tilly Anema will be making her Series debut in Wollongong, a huge moment for her personally and a chance to lift an already superb season to new heights.
Anema recently earned the bronze medal at the European Championships in Istanbul. Prior to that, she logged top-5 finishes at the Samarkand and Tiszaujvaros World Cups (despite crashing out of a well-set breakaway in the former), showing off her front-end speed in both. She also started her year with a Europe Cup win in Quarteira. And yes, that came from a breakaway. The theme of Anema’s year has therefore been clear and it will not be hard to guess how she will approach WTCS Wollongong. After her compatriot Oliver Conway impressed on his Series debut in Karlovy Vary, she could feature prominently at the front of the race.
The double medallist
Maria Tomé will be one of the key rising stars to watch in Wollongong. Across the past two WTCS Finals, the Portuguese athlete has chosen to race the World U23 Championships. In both instances, she came away with a medal, taking silver in 2023 and bronze in 2024. At both, she was only a sprint finish from gold.
Now leaving the U23 ranks, Tomé’s test is against the very best. She raced well at the Paris Olympics last year and recorded a WTCS personal best of 10th place in Yokohama earlier this season. Throw in her proven ability to peak for the Finals, and the omens look good. If anyone could spring an upset in Wollongong, there is a chance it could be Tomé.
The start lists can be found here. Be sure to watch the world title go down to the wire at WTCS Wollongong live on TriathlonLive on 19th October. Until then, catch the latest updates across all World Triathlon channels.
