In recovery after suffering a bad bike crash at WTCS Hamburg in mid-July, Roksana Slupek is our guest this week, and the Poland number one shares her reflections on the highs and lows of her journey to the Paris 2024 Olympic start line.

From attacks of self doubt and depression to ultimately qualifying for her life’s dream, and the harsh realities of racing on – and crashing out of – the world’s biggest triathlon series, the 26-year-old shares an eye-opening hour of life as an elite athlete, and how recent events have made her re-evaluate her attitude towards her fellow competitors on the World Triathlon Championships Series.

A second individual gold in the 2025 World Triathlon Championship Series strengthened Matt Hauser's grip on the Series Rankings after WTCS Hamburg marked the halfway point of the season. The 27-year-old followed it up with one of the greatest Mixed Relay legs you will see as he reeled in a 20-second deficit to 2023 World Champion Dorian Coninx and helped secure Australia their first World title since 2017.

Now it's all eyes on France and the WTCS French Riviera at the end of August to see if he can take the maximum 3000 points into a home Championship Finals in Wollongong, Australia, in October, where he will look to become the country's first men's world champion for 20 years.

MIXED RELAY HIGHLIGHTS

MEN'S HIGHLIGHTS

WOMEN'S HIGHLIGHTS

The first Brazilian to win a World Triathon Championship Series gold in the modern era, Miguel Hidalgo now has his sights set on a first World Championship title, but knows all too well just how far there is still to go if he is to be challenging in October's finals in Wollongong, Australia, against the likes of home favourite Matt Hauser.

If you achieved your dream double of becoming Olympic and World Champion in the same year, what would you do? For Alex Yee, the answer was simple. Test himself over running's marquee distance on one of the biggest stages of them all: The London Marathon.

We headed to Brockley, south London, just a few miles from that start line, to speak to one of the most understated, unflappable and, quite simply, impressive triathletes of all time and hear about the emotion and exhaustion of the day as he strived for something remarkable.

From the training loads to the heat of battle and what lies ahead, Yee is the epitome of relaxation and ambition as he recounts the journey from the backyard of the house he grew up in.

FOLLOW HIS RACE ON STRAVA: https://strava.app.link/iZJX5Kxn2Sb

[00:00:00] Post-Marathon Reflections

Yee reflects on the surreal experience of finishing 14th in the marathon and the emotional significance of the start line.

[00:03:00] Marathon vs. Triathlon Pain

The unique physical challenges of marathon running—mental endurance vs. muscular fatigue.

[00:05:00] Purpose Beyond Olympic Success

Seeking purpose and new challenges post-Olympic and World Championship victories.

[00:09:00] Training Volume and Adaptation

The training details - up to 600km/month- with triathlon elements still retained.

[00:16:00] Philosophical Perspective and Gratitude

Maintaining internal motivation, gratitude, and broader perspective after his serious crash in 2017.

[00:20:00] Emotional Finish Line at London Marathon

The powerful emotions and pride of his hometown Marathon

[00:26:00] Performance Analysis and Heat Impact

The performance dip in the final 8km and hitting the data, including heat and heart rate drift.

[00:29:00] Collaborative Coaching Approach

Just how he and coach Adam Elliot worked with experts across disciplines to prepare for the marathon.

[00:39:00] Physiological Learnings from Marathon

The unexpected physical adaptations and how they may influence future triathlon training.

[00:45:00] Triathlon culture and his Blue Carpet Future

Where next for the Marathon Man as he builds towards defending his triathlon title at LA 2028

A very special guest joins the podcast to mark the 100th episode, the Paris 2024 Olympic Triathlon Champion Cassandre Beaugrand!

It is a deeply honest hour in the company of our Olympic and World Champion, each story revealing a little more about just where all the grit, determination and competitive spirit that has taken the 27-year-old to the very top of the sport came from.

Cass explains why she so cherished the support of teammate Leonie Periault, even when she was being ‘a nightmare’ to train with, why she was so envious of the cool, calm spirit of Andrea Hewitt, and why she threw up all over her feet next to Georgia Taylor Brown in Paris.

SHOW NOTES

02:20 – 'All change' - Why she is joining coach Glenn Poleunis in Girona and saying goodbye to Loughborough

13:17 – ‘How success feels’ - Releasing the pressure, the 5km French record and Lievin

19:40 – ‘Early years’ - Growing up in Paris, losing her mum, moving to Antibes

23:50 – ‘All change’ - Leaving her father as coach and moving to Montpelier

27:45 – ‘Bad mindset’ - Being hard to coach and pushing too much in training

31:37 – ‘Good people’ – Support of Stephanie Gros and Leonie Periault

33:25 – 'Christmas present’ – Being the youngest woman at Rio 2016

37:20 – 'Shattered dreams' – The trouble with Tokyo

41:40 – 'I need a plan' – The move to Loughborough

45:26 – 'Pain threshold' – Pain and gains in WTCS Cagliari

52:08 – 'Paris panic' – The rain returns on Olympics day

57:00 – 'Lost at sea' – Turning it around in Torremolinos

A new perspective with World Triathlon's Kris Gemmell.

Welcome to the start of a revealing new series that takes a wider look at the World Triathlon ecosystem as we head towards the LA 2028 Olympic Games, with insights from New Zealand Olympian turned Head of Commercial at World Triathlon, Kris Gemmell.

Just days after winning the first new-look T1 Indoor World Cup, we cover the rise and rise of Cassandre Beaugrand to becoming the best triathlete in the world, what could be the irresistible lure of a home Games for Taylor Knibb and USA Triathlon, rules, regulations and something of a 2025 Championship Series exclusive...

PODCAST #100 INCOMING WITH CASSANDRE BEAUGRAND

Don't forget to email [email protected] with any questions for the Olympic and World Champion, our very special guest on podcast #100, for a chance to win a year subscription to TriathlonLive.tv.

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LINKS & RESOURCES

WATCH CASSANDRE BEAUGRAND WIN IN LIEVIN over on the World Triathlon YouTube channel

Where you will also find the channel's most watched video featuring a certain Kris Gemmell.

Before Beth Potter and Cassandre Beaugrand go toe-to-toe for the first time this year at the supertri E World Triathlon Championships, watch back the highlights of their 2024 battle!

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🚨 RACE WEEK! 🚨

Two of the stars of the Paris 2024 Olympic Triathlon - and indeed Tokyo 2020 - Hayden Wilde and Morgan Pearson (Morgan's bit starts from 20m30s) look ahead to the weekend's big season opener WTCS Abu Dhabi. They talk title chances, the young contenders ready to try and ramp the run pace up even further in 2025, and the prospect of some big T100 debuts.

It's just a taster people! Stand by for full the in depth interviews coming to a screen near you soon! And of course episode 100 of the World Triathlon Podcast! Thanks for listening 💪

📺 WATCH WTCS ABU DHABI ON TRIATHLONLIVE.TV

15 February from 2pm

The second Olympic Qualification Period saw a meteoric rise to the Paris 2024 start line for Sweden's Tilda Mansson. From 2022 Junior World Champion to multiple World Cup podiums in the space of a whirlwind 12 months, the 20-year-old has bypassed U23 racing entirely and heads for a remarkable third Championship Finals of a young career in Torremolinos.

With LA 2028 the next major target, the interim years will be earmarked for refining her talent, but the memories - and stories - from the Paris swim and beyond still have plenty of time to be told...

• Watch Mansson's brilliant Bergen World Cup win

USA's John Reed heads into this year's U23 World Championships on a mission to crown what has already been a brilliant breakthrough 2024. The rising star discusses his debut Series appearances, first World Cup win in Karlovy Vary and a sparkling WTCS Weihai, and hits his last U23 start line knowing that if he can take home a medal, it would catapult him into the next Olympic cycle and towards a huge home Games at LA 2028.

We catch up with Great Britain's defending Paralympic Champion in the PTS5 Triathlon Lauren Steadman, USA's PTS2 medal hope Mohamed Lahna and compatriot and Rio 2016 PTS5 champion Grace Norman fresh from the swim familiarisation in the Seine River ahead of their big races on 1 September.