Looking strong and fast as ever at age 39, mother of three Nicola Spirig looks primed for another medal in her fifth Olympic triathlon after impressive performance at the Lisbon World Cup.

Unperturbed after a 30th place swim that left her 30 seconds behind swim leader Summer Rappaport, Spirig advanced methodically to 18th after the first of eight laps, 12th after three laps until she assumed the lead on the 5th and 7th laps. After Carolyn Hayes of Ireland surged into the lead in T2, Spirig relaxed through transition into 5th place, 4 seconds behind the Irishwoman and also trailing Vicky Holland of Great Britain, Summer Rappaport and Kirsten Kasper of the U.S.

Hayes, who had one career World Cup podium in 2019, seized this opportunity to bolster her chance at an Olympic slot and stretched her lead to 13 seconds over Spirig halfway through the run. After 3 of 4 laps Spirig whittled her deficit to 4 seconds while Kirsten Kasper of the U.S. charged hard to advance to 3rd, 14 seconds behind Spirig.

After 8.5 kilometers, Spirig arrived beside Hayes and seemed destined leave Hayes behind. However, Hayes summoned every ounce of her Irish pluck to pull back into a tie with Spirig, even momentarily retaking the lead. Finally, with just under a kilometer to go, Spirig summoned a definitive surge and ran away off to finish with a race-best 33: 57 split that brought her to the tape in 1:59:05 with a 12 second margin on Hayes and 34 seconds on Kasper.

Spirig cinched her victory with that race-best 33:57 10k split, 15 seconds better than Hayes’ effort, 35 seconds better than Kasper’s split, 48 seconds better than fourth place finisher Jolanda Annen of Switzerland, who had a 53 seconds quicker run than 5th place Vicky Holland of Great Britain.

“I am very happy,” Spirig told ITU media. “it’s great to be back on top of the podium, I really appreciate it. I don’t know how many World Cups I will still do so it’s amazing to win again here.” said the Swiss after crossing the finish line.

Hayes earned the second World Cup podium of her career and secured some valuable points that will put her in a more comfortable position on the road to Tokyo 2020. “I am a bit annoyed that I lost it on the last lap but there are worse people you can come second to (than Spirig, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist and 2016 silver medalist at the Rio Games) Hayes told ITU media. “I am thrilled, really happy. I kept thinking, ‘Just keep running, don’t look back.’ I wanted to race with the best and this gives me confidence moving forward. Hopefully it’s enough to give me a ticket to Tokyo.”

Kasper, back on the podium after two years of injuries, was thrilled. “It means a lot for me to come back after Yokohama and have a better run and honestly show what I know I am capable of,” Kasper told ITU media. “This is just what I came here for.”

Many Olympic qualifying slots are still up in the air leading up to WTS Leeds in June. While Kasper’s performance at Lisbon made a pitch for the third and final U.S. women’s slot, oddsmakers still favor Katie Zaferes, if she can regain her WTS World Championship form after a disappointing outing at Yokohama, or Taylor Spivey, who finished 4th at Yokohama and stands higher in Olympic Qualifying points.

World Triathlon Cup Lisbon
Lisbon, Portugal
May 23, 2021
S 1.5k / B 40k / R 10k

Elite Women

1. Nicola Spirig (SUI) S 20:41 T1 00:52 B 1:03:11 T2 00:24 R 33:57 TOT 1:59:05
2. Carolyn Hayes (IRL) S 20:32 T1 00:53 B 1:03:18 T2 00:22 R 34:12 TOT 1:59:17
3. Kirsten Kasper (USA) S 19:37 T1 00:51 B 1:04:15 T2 00:24 R 34:32 TOT 1:59:39
4. Jolanda Annen (SUI) S 209:27 T1 00:49 B 1:03:29 T2 00:25 R 34:45 TOT 1:59:55
5. Vicky Holland (GBR) S 19:34 T1 00:50 B 1:04:20 T2 00:22 R 34:50 TOT 1:59:56
6. Amelie Kretz (CAN) S 19:46 T1 00:54 B 1:04:06 T2 00:31 R 34:52 TOT 2:00:09
7. Alberte Kjaer Pedersen (DEN) S 20:32 T1 00:48 B 1:03:24 T2 00:25 R 35:12 TOT 2:00:21
8. Rachel Klamer (NED) S 20:28 T1 00:54 B 1:03:22 T2 00:23 R 35:18 TOT 2:00:25
9. Summer Rappaport (USA) S 19:31 T1 00:54 B 1:04:21 T2 00:29 R 35:15 TOT 2:00:30
10. Lea Coninx (FRA) S 19:35 T1 00:51 B 1:04:21 T2 00:23 R 35:29 TOT 2:00:39
11. Natalie Van Coevorden (AUS) S 19:32 T1 00:55 B 1:04:17 T1 00:32 R 35:26 TOT 2:00:42
44. Gina Sereno (USA) S 21:47 T1 00:56 B 1:09:52 T2 00:36 R 38:40 TOT 2:01:51