USA's Pearson wins first WTCS race in Yokohama

USA’s Morgan Pearson underlined his credentials as an Olympic medal contender by winning his first World Triathlon Championship Series race in Yokohama.

The 30-year-old, who secured his Paris qualification at the test event last year having only edged on to the start-list at the last minute, showed his run legs to defeat Australian duo Matt Hauser and Luke Willian.

Leo Bergere, the 2022 world champion, finished fourth after being caught up in a crash on the last bike lap, with fellow Frenchman and two-time world champion Vincent Luis in ninth, one place ahead of reigning Olympic champion Kristian Blummenfelt.

It was a bad day for the two Brits though, with Jonny Brownlee down in 38th after struggling on the 10km run, and Hugo Milner in 39th, after being gapped on the 40km bike leg.

Yokohama is a happy hunting ground for Pearson, who finished third here in 2021 to seal qualification for the Tokyo Olympics. He will be hoping for a better return in the individual event in Paris. In Tokyo, he had a day to forget and finished 42nd before redeeming himself as part of a US quartet that won mixed team relay silver.

“I knew I could win one, but these guys are beasts and are training just as hard as me,” Pearson said, who struggled through much of 2023 with a back issue. “You can be in the shape of your life and something can still go wrong. We’ve got to show up and give it our best and today my best was good enough to win.

“It’s a nice way to start the series but we all know who is missing from this race and I know there’s a long way to go until Paris.”

As Pearson was alluding, there was no Alex Yee or Hayden Wilde on the start-list, and with the first World Series race in Abu Dhabi cancelled in March, the race in Yokohama was wide open.

What happened in the swim?

Hungary’s Mark Devay took just 17:38 to complete the 1,500m swim, followed by France’s Luis and Germany’s Jonas Schomburg.

But there was little separation throughout the field and despite Brownlee emerging 28th from the water, he was still only 20sec down, with Milner just 9sec further behind in 33rd and in contention.

What happened on the bike?

Brownlee had to work hard at the start of the nine-lap bike leg to latch on to the front group, as Milner also just missed the break but was unable to claw back the deficit.

Rio Olympic bronze medallist Henri Schoeman and Canadian Tyler Mislawchuk crashed out early, and Switzerland’s Simon Westermann was another to hit the deck.

It looked as if a large front pack was going to roll into T2 together, until a pile-up on the final lap splintered the group, taking out world champion Dorian Coninx and hindering a number of athletes including Bergere and Portugal’s Vasco Vilaca. in total there were 13 DNFs.

What happened on the run?

While Australia’s Willian and Schomburg took the early advantage, Pearson quickly worked his way through the field and was in the lead by the midpoint.

Pearson then pulled away on the final 2.5km lap, as Willian was overtaken by Hauser, but managed to retain the final podium spot and secure his trip to the Olympics.

Milner produced the day’s fourth fastest run spit of 29:30, but was chasing from too far back to make an impact.

Quotes…

Matt Hauser: “I’m really proud of myself for the last couple of years. Coming up I really struggled with consistency and it’s just great to have these results. Credit to my family, support team and my girlfriend back home. There is much at stake with the Olympics and dreams on the line.”

Luke Willian: “I’m a bit speechless right now. I missed out last time and was so close. This whole journey has been about taking opportunities and creating our own destiny. To do that today with selection on the line was pretty special.”

WTCS Yokohama: Final standings

Morgan Pearson 1:42:05
Matt Hauser +0:07
Luke Willian +0:15
Leo Bergere +0:22
Charles Paquet +0:25

There was British success in the men’s paratriathlon visually impaired class as Paris favourite Dave Ellis and his guide Luke Pollard took the win in 56:25 ahead of France’s Thibaut Rigaudeau, with GB’s Oscar Kelly in fourth.

Top pic credit: World Triathlon

About

Experienced sportswriter and journalist, Tim is a specialist in endurance sport and has been filing features for 220 for a decade. Since 2014 he has also written a monthly column tackling the divisive issues in swim, bike and run from doping to governance, Olympic selection to pro prize money and more. Over this time he has interviewed hundreds of paratriathletes and triathletes from those starting out in the sport with inspiring tales to share to multiple Olympic gold medal winners explaining how they achieved their success. As well as contributing to 220, Tim has written on triathlon for publications throughout the world, including The Times, The Telegraph and the tabloid press in the UK.