Three Stories To Watch For In San Diego
- By Triathlete.com
- Published May 10, 2012
- Updated May 11, 2012 at 8:49 AM UTC
Olympic Qualifying
As the penultimate WTS event before the Olympic qualifying period closes, it’s a crucial race in terms of just which National Olympic Committees will secure places, and how many, in London. In the women’s field, the battle for eighth place (out of eight countries who can qualify the maximum three athletes) is between Switzerland and Germany. Daniela Ryf has a chance to put Switzerland ahead given Kathrin Muller is not on the start list. In the men’s race, it’s currently a three-way battle between Portugal (seventh), Australia (eighth) and Canada (ninth). While Canada’s Simon Whitfield is his country’s third athlete, all of the Canadians need to do well, as they are grouped closely together on the rankings points. Joao Pereira for Portugal and Courtney Atkinson from Australia are the third men from their respective countries, and therefore hold the key to claiming three spots.
Aside from that battle, it’s also an automatic qualifying race for the U.S. The top placed men’s finisher – regardless of place – will qualify for London. There is a chance for two men to qualify. If two finish within the top nine, then both will automatically be selected for London. If more than two finish in the top nine, it will be the first two. For the women’s, the first finisher within the top nine will qualify for London. That’s excluding Gwen Jorgensen and Sarah Groff, who have both already qualified.