Athletes To Watch | Women

After a memorable 2023, the Brit opens her season here in London, looking to start the build-up to the Olympics with another world title. 

Potter landed the World Triathlon Championship Series crown for the first time in September in Pontevedra, getting the better of Kate Waugh and Cassandre Beaugrand, to add to her victory in the Olympic Test Event.

She was also the first ever Esports Triathlon World Champion a couple of years ago in Singapore and her record in this format is outstanding. 

In six appearances, she's always been in the top two - and she has two London wins out of three.

With her Paris spot already secured, the 32-year-old will be looking to build early-season momentum with a third London triumph.

One of the prime contenders for gold on home soil in Paris in July, the French star is now based in the UK, training at Loughborough.

And her record in Britain could hardly be better - the last couple of seasons have seen Arena Games and Super League wins in London as well as WTCS victories in Leeds and Sunderland.

The short format plays to her strengths and she'll be right in the mix for more all-time records. Last year she beat the swim record set by Jess Learmonth in 2020, and matched by Lucy Charles-Barclay in 2021 with a super-impressive 2:10 for the 200 metres.

She was also quickest on the curved treadmill, going well under the three-minute mark with a 2:50 split for the 1km - though Beth Potter was hot on her heels and just a second back so it should be another fantastic battle on Saturday.

Beaugrand heads into the event with the benefit of a hit out already, a second place over the Olympic distance in Quarteira.

It's an E debut for the short course legend as the battle to make the American women's team for Paris intensifies.

Zaferes became World Triathlon Series Champion in 2019 and in 2021 was part of the USA Mixed Relay Team that won Olympic silver in Tokyo, just days after claiming the individual bronze.

She then had her first child, Kimble, in 2022 and made a successful return to the supertri circuit at the end of last year. 

But such is the strength in depth of the Americans, Zaferes currently has a battle on her hands to again qualify for the Olympics. However, with supertri E also counting for World Triathlon ranking points, she'll be aiming to get as close to the full 500 points for winning.

She's already a Super League great having taken that series by storm when winning the inaugural title in 2018 and defending it the following season.

It was just over 12 months ago when the then 15-year-old Hungarian made history with an astounding Arena Games debut in Sursee, Switzerland.

Just by lining up she became the youngest ever athlete to compete in supertri’s Esports format. 

But she did so much more than that as she showcased her incredible talent with some of the fastest run splits of the day en route to a podium finish in third.

The young superstar went on to win five consecutive Europe Triathlon Junior Cup races and started this year in style with an emphatic victory in Quarteira last month.

Rightly labelled as the "next generation" in terms of triathlon talent, the now 16-year-old prodigy heads to London with a first season of SLT Championship experience behind her and it will be fascinating to see if she can again challenge for an Esports podium on the biggest stage.