Beth Potter Tops Kate Waugh at Haeundae World Cup
British competitors and training teammates Beth Potter and Kate Waugh, plus Hungarian Zsannett Bragmayer, broke away on the swim and the bike legs before Potter rocketed away on the run to take the gold at the inaugural World Triathlon Cup at Haeundae, South Korea.
After a second-fastest 16:53 run split, Potter finished the sprint distance contest in 56:25 with a 15 second margin over Waugh and 33 seconds over third place finisher Bragmayer. Roksana Slupek of Poland finished 4th in 57:04 and Sandra Dodet of France took 5th in 57:19.
Race recap
Bragmayer, Potter and Waugh set the tone for the finish with race-best 9:01, 9:02 and 9:03 swim splits. Boosted by a race-best transitions, Bragmayer and Potter led the field through the first lap of the bike, and Waugh pushed hard to join the breakaway duo on lap 2. Working together, they established a 50-seconds margin at T2 over a chase group that included Sandra Dodet of France, Roksana Slupek of Poland, Bianca Seregni of Italy of Italy, Nina Kishimoto of Japan, Australia’s Charlotte McShane and reigning Junior World Champion Beatrice Mallozzi of Italy.
Potter, Waugh and Bragmayer arrived together at T2, but Potter lost 9 seconds due to trouble putting on her shoe. Once properly shod, Potter got on the gas and passed Zsannett and Waugh on her way to a 16:53 run which provided her a 15 seconds lead at the line. Bragmayer showed signs of fatigue on the run ands fell to third with a 17:38 run split. Waugh charged away to the silver with a 17:19 run. Roksana Slupek of Poland ran a second-best 17:05 to finish 4th, 39 seconds back of the winner. On the strength of a race-best 16:52 run, Dodet finished 5th, 54 seconds back of the winner.
After overcoming her awkward shoe issue, Potter was thrilled with her gold medal. “It wasn’t quite perfect out there. I lost my shoe in transition so I had a bit of work to do on the run but I was able to get back and I am happy with the performance. I am off to World Cup Tongyeong next week and really looking forward to it.”
Waugh was also delighted with her silver medal performance. “I love a beach start and I love diving through big waves so I was really excited because the swell was pretty big before we started. I had a really good swim and we managed to get a breakaway on the bike. The girls worked really well on the bike, we all knew were in podium position which really helped to push us on. I set off on the run, I nailed my transition for like the first time this year, so I was really pleased and just held on for second.”
Women's World Triathlon Cup Haeundae
Busan, South Korea
October 23, 2021
S 750m / B 20k / R 5k
1. Beth Potter (GBR) S 9:02 T1 00:40 B 29:00 T2 00:48 R 16:53 TOT 56:25
2. Kate Waugh (GBR) S 9:03 T1 00:40 B 28:56 T2 00:39 R 17:19 TOT 56:40
3. Zsannett Bragmayer (HUN) S 9:01 T1 00:38 B 29:01 T2 00:38 R 17:38 TOT 56:58
4. Roksana Slupek (POL) S 9:19 T1 00:41 B 29:20 T2 00:37 R 17:05 TOT 57:04
5. Sandra Dodet (FRA) S 9:34 T1 00:42 B 29:30 T2 00:39 R 16:52 TOT 57:19
6. Paulina Klimas (POL) S 9:18 T1 00:41 B 29:21 T2 00:38 R 17:22 TOT 57:21
7. Bianca Seregni (ITA) S 9:06 T1 00:44 B 29:32 T2 00:39 R 17:24 TOT 57:26
8. Nina Kishimoto (JPN) S 9:18 T1 00:38 B 29:25 T2 00:40 R 17:30 TOT 57:33
9. Charlotte McShane (AUS) S 9:40 T1 00:41 B 29:23 T2 00:37 R 17:14 TOT 57:37
10. Costanza Arpinelli (ITA) S 9:45 T1 00:41 B 29:20 T2 00:37 R 17:21 TOT 57:46
