Triathletes targeting Tokyo 2020
The race towards qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will start for three of South Africa’s top triathletes at the WTS Yokohama this weekend.
Commonwealth Games champion Henri Schoeman, Richard Murray and Wian Sullwald will all line up at the third leg of the World Triathlon Series on Saturday.
To secure the maximum of three quota places the South Africans would need to have three athletes within the top 30 places of the International Triathlon Union’s individual Olympic qualification rankings by May 11, 2020.
Schoeman is currently in second place on the WTS rankings after finishing eight at the Bermuda leg two weeks ago.
He has been the form athlete this season after a dominant performance at the opening leg of the World Triathlon Series in Abu Dhabi.
The South African took his hot form into the Commonwealth Games where he won the country’s first gold medal in the swim-cycle-run event in Australia.
Spaniard Mario Mola leapfrogged Schoeman to the top of the WTS rankings after finishing fourth in Bermuda.
Murray’s ranking took a bit of a knock after he retired during the running leg of the Bermuda race as a precautionary measure due to a sore back.
He opened his season on a high, capturing the Cape Town World Cup and Mooloolaba titles before finishing in sixth place at the Commonwealth Games.
Former world junior champion Sullwald has been battling to get his season off the ground and will be looking for a good result in what would be only his third race of the season.
Sullwald finished 20th at the Commonwealth Games and did not complete the race at the New Plymouth World Cup in March.
Saturday Star