30 Apr IT’S SINGAPORE’S TIME TO SHINE
April was an eventful month for the Arena Games Triathlon Championship Series. The inaugural event took place in Munich on 9 April, followed by London on 23 April. And now it’s Singapore’s turn to welcome the world’s best triathletes to the biggest stage.
The picturesque Marina Bay in Singapore will play host to the Grand Final on 6 – 7 May, ensuring that the 2022 series closes out in style, with the crowning of the first-ever triathlon esports World Champions. Previous iterations have all taken place indoors, but the Grand Final in Singapore will mark a first, as all three disciplines will take place outdoors.
To make sure you’re ready for the grand finale, let’s get you up to speed with what happened in the first two legs.
The Arena Games Triathlon kicked off with a famous victory in Munich, with one of Super League’s most dominant performances by British triathlon star Beth Potter. Famed as a running powerhouse, she bossed every discipline and refused to give the field even a glimpse of hope with a victory margin of 90 seconds.
“That was good, that was hard. I enjoyed that. I didn’t think it was a format that I’d be good at” said the Brit at the finish line. “I wanted to run as hard as I could to see if the wheels came off on the final leg”. Her final kilometre time of 3:09 suggests the wheels were securely in place.
Aurelien Raphael sprinted to the title in Germany, the French star finally delivering on his SLT promise as the pre-race favourites failed to deliver. Australia’s Max Stapley and hometown hero Justus Nieschlag would complete the podium. “It was a great competition and I was really happy to win,” said Raphael, at the finish line. At 33 he was the oldest athlete in the field, and he showed the multi-national field a clean pair of heels on the final run leg to secure the victory. In contrast to the women’s event, the men’s race came down to a showdown on the final 1km run leg of Stage 3.
Two weeks later and new for London, would be a switch to a non-drafting bike leg format. A return to elite short-course triathlon’s pre-Olympic Games roots. How much would this change the dynamic of the racing?
French star Cassandre Beaugrand utterly dominated the women’s event at London’s Aquatics Centre. The 24-year-old smashed a field of Olympic Games gold medallists, home favourites and Super League Triathlon powerhouses to take her debut Arena Games title and set up an almighty battle with Beth Potter for World Championship glory in Singapore in a fortnight’s time.
Beaugrand dominated eight of the nine legs over the three mini triathlons to produce a performance that will surely enter the Super League Triathlon history books, including a run record 2:45 minute kilometer!
The majority of the bumper and raucous crowds had come to witness local lad Alex Yee secure the Arena Games London title, but Justus Nieschlag was having none of it. The German would power to victory to add another Super League title to his groaning mantlepiece, his fourth Arena Games medal and perhaps most convincing. Yee would finish second some 30 secs in arrears.
The best is yet to come! Watch the action live on Super League Triathlon’s social pages.
Race times:
Saturday 7 May 2022
- Pro Women – 1620 SG time
- Pro Men – 1732 SG time
