Celebrating 10 years of WTS World Champions

One decade ago, the first-ever ITU Triathlon World Championship Grand Final, under the title of Dextro Energy Triathlon, was held in Gold Coast. Ten seasons on, the World Triathlon Series Grand Final returns to Australia to once again unite the greatest triathletes on the planet and ultimately crown the year’s most consistently brilliant performers.

Dominating the men’s competition since 2009 have been four remarkable athletes from two European countries; Spanish duo Javier Gomez Noya and Mario Mola and Great Britain’s brothers-in-arms Alistair Brownlee and Jonathan Brownlee. First over the line at the inaugural men’s series event in the South Korean city of Tongyeong, however, were an Australian and New Zealander, as Bevan Docherty and Brad Kahlefeldt delivered the closest of sprint finishes and a thrilling finale that would set the bar for the next ten years in terms of pure racing excitement.

From that moment on in the 2009 season, it was to be the Brownlee-Gomez Show, Alistair effectively sealing the World title with victory in London before powering home to take the title in Gold Coast. Gomez would build on his second place by winning the title in 2010, delivering two golds and two silvers in the final four races to ensure a comfortable margin at the top of the rankings.

Gomez then finished third behind Alistair and younger brother Jonny in 2011, the British duo sharing the podium on no fewer than five occasions and winning six of the year’s eight races.

Jonny Brownlee won the first overall WTS title in its present incarnation in 2012 when one of the most open seasons to date was decided during a thrilling Auckland Grand Final. Gold went to Gomez, but the series went to Brownlee thanks to his second-place finish. Since then, the Spaniards have ruled the men’s WTS competition. In 2013, Javier Gomez wreaked his revenge on Brownlee junior, before twice defending his title, each time holding off ever-growing challenges from compatriot Mola. It was then in 2015 at the Chicago Grand Final that a second-place finish was enough to grant Gomez his fifth World Championship title, a feat that no elite triathlete has been able to match.

By 2016, it was Mola’s turn to assume the mantle of world’s greatest triathlete, by the incredibly fine margin of just four points, before obtaining the honour for a second year in 2017 after four superb wins and third place in the Rotterdam Grand Final.

By contrast, over the past decade, the women’s competition has been a considerably more open affair, despite three women successfully defending their titles in that time.

In 2009, the inaugural title went to Australia’s Emma Moffatt, crowned in front of her home fans in Gold Coast thanks to a nail-biting Grand Final finish that saw her take the tape ahead of Lisa Norden (SWE) and narrowly beat the Swede to the season’s title. Moffatt then delivered once again in the heat of Grand Final Budapest 2010 to retain the title at the end of a wide-open season that had seen greats such as Nicola Spirig (SUI), Andrea Hewitt (NZL), Paula Findlay (CAN) and Norden all in contention.

After winning the first three races of 2011 in fine style, Canada’s Paula Findlay sadly succumbed to injury, opening the door for Great Britain’s Helen Jenkins to be crowned Series champion.

Lisa Norden finally seized her chance in 2012, finishing the season strongly with wins in Stockholm and Yokohama to earn her first overall win. As the Brownlee brothers dominated the 2013 men’s series, so did Brits Non Stanford and Jodie Stimpson control the women’s, holding off the challenge of the brilliant American Gwen Jorgensen. Stanford took the tape in front of a delirious Grand Final London crowd and sealed a hard-earned title.

Jorgensen would not have to wait long for her time in the spotlight to return. After GB’s Stimpson won the first two races of 2014, the American took gold in five of the next six races including the Edmonton Grand Final to earn her first title, a feat she then bettered in 2015, winning an incredible seven out of ten races to cruise to the Series Championship.

In one of the most memorable seasons to date, Flora Duffy (BER) produced the race of her life at the Cozumel Grand Final to deny Jorgensen a third straight title and take the trophy to Bermuda for the first time, making a star of herself and the sport on her home island. Duffy went on to win six out of nine races in 2017 to defend her title and firmly establish herself among the greatest female triathletes of all time.

Who will add their name to that list of champions in 2018? USA’s Katie Zaferes and Great Britain’s Vicky Holland have been locked in battle several times and only 34 points separates them heading to Gold Coast. In the men’s competition, Mario Mola has a commanding lead over Australia’s Jacob Birtwhistle and Vincent Luis of France, but anything could happen in the pressure chamber of the Grand Final.

Help us celebrate 10 Years and 10 Seasons of WTS racing by joining the conversation using #WTS10Years. And tune in to watch the 2018 season unfold in #WTSGoldCoast from Sept. 12-16 only on TriathlonLive.tv