Columbia Threadneedle Rankings Report #9
ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Chicago (MEN)
Welcome to the final Columbia Threadneedle Rankings Report of
2015. We do hope you have enjoyed these in-depth reviews as the
season has progressed. With the conclusion of the 2015 season at the ITU
World Triathlon Grand Final, we're going to split the report into two.
Below, we present the roundup on the Men's event and 2015
season, with the Women's review available separately HERE.
What a fantastic year it has been, culminating in Chicago with
sensational racing, a whole host of records being broken and two truly
exceptional ITU World Champions.
>>>CLICK HERE FOR
REPORT #1 (GOLD COAST) <<<
>>>CLICK
HERE FOR REPORT #2 (CAPE TOWN) <<<
>>>CLICK HERE FOR
REPORT #3 (YOKOHAMA) <<<
>>>CLICK HERE FOR
REPORT #4 (LONDON) <<<
>>>CLICK HERE FOR
REPORT #5 (HAMBURG)<<<
>>>CLICK HERE FOR
REPORT #6 (STOCKHOLM)<<<
>>>CLICK HERE FOR
REPORT #7 (EDMONTON)<<<
>>>CLICK HERE FOR
REPORT #8 (GRAND FINAL PREVIEW)<<<
>>>CLICK HERE FOR
REPORT #9 (CHICAGO / 2015 SEASON WRAP- WOMEN)<<<
>>>CLICK HERE FOR
REPORT #9 (CHICAGO / 2015 SEASON WRAP - MEN)<<<

Men's Review
It was called the #DriveForFive and Javier Gomez
delivered once again. Second place in the Grand Final to compatriot Mario
Mola was more than enough for Javier to hold the record as the most
successful athlete in history, with five ITU World Triathlon Championship
titles.

Much as we've shown with Gwen Jorgensen, what Javier has achieved is
quite remarkable based on the following statistics:
- Eight consecutive World Triathlon Series podiums in 2015 since
finishing sixth in the season opener in Abu Dhabi.
- The first athlete, male or female, to win three consecutive ITU World
Championship Gold medals.
- Nine consecutive seasons on the World Championship podium.
- 36 career World Triathlon Series podium finishes with a 75% podium
success rate.
- Raced more World Triathlon Series events (48), than any other
athlete.
- Finished on the podium in six of the seven ITU World Triathlon Grand
Final events held since 2009, only missing out in Beijing (2011), when he
was sixth.
While Javier was breaking records, the only man he couldn't break in
Chicago was his great friend Mario Mola. After an
incredible head-to-head run, decided only in the final few hundred metres
on the approach to Buckingham Fountain, Mario would become only the
third man after Alistair Brownlee and Javier himself to win an ITU World
Triathlon Grand Final.

Mario set himself up for a great day with perhaps the greatest
swim of his career to date, exiting the water in the leading group
and three seconds ahead of Javier. That's only the second time Mario has
ever managed to do that in a World Triathlon Series event. So often have to
play catch-up on the bike leg, that was a superb start for Mola.
Mario was the only male athlete to complete all ten World
Triathlon Series races in 2015 and his season had symmetry too,
winning the first and last races of the year. As with 2014, his efforts
earned him World Championship Silver and his third consecutive
season on the podium.
That podium was completed by Frenchman Vincent Luis.
Vincent limited his World Triathlon Series outings to the minimum
‘five plus the Grand Final', but it was clearly an approach which
worked well for him. Those six races yielded his first ever WTS win
in Hamburg and four podiums in total, while a highly respectable
fifth place in Chicago was his lowest of the year. With a second placed
finish in the Rio Test Event too, 2016 will surely see Vincent Luis as a
serious contender for the Olympic podium.

The third placed athlete in that Test Event, Richard
Murray, was also the Bronze medal winner in the Chicago Grand
Final. Exiting the water more than 40 seconds behind the main favourites,
it was an immense effort from Richard to both catch the main group on the
bike and still be able to produce a great run split. Richard ends the
season ranked fourth in the Columbia Threadneedle Rankings, which
is his best year end position to date.
We must also mention Mexican athlete Crisanto Grajales.
Fourth place in Chicago represents a career best result for
an athlete who has raced in the World Triathlon Series since 2010. He
finishes the year seventh in the Columbia Threadneedle
Rankings, a significant improvement on 23rd in 2014.
What about the Brownlee brothers? Alongside Javier Gomez, they have been
the dominant force in the sport for the past seven years, but with
Jonathan Brownlee (11th) and Alistair
Brownlee (14th) ranked outside of the top ten in the Columbia
Threadneedle Rankings, one could be forgiven for thinking that their star
is fading. If you dig a little deeper however, that may be a little
premature.
Prior to his mid-season injury, Jonathan won in both Auckland
and Gold Coast in exceptionally impressive style. Many would
regard his performance in the Gold Coast as one of the most dominant from
any athlete in recent years.

In a similar vein, Alistair only started three World Triathlon
Series events in 2015, winning Cape Town and London in style, and
only losing out to Javier Gomez in Yokohama after the best sprint finish of
the year. Expect the Brownlee brothers to be stronger than ever in Olympic
year.
Some other notables from 2015:
- Two athletes earned their first career World Triathlon Series podium
finishes during 2015: Pierre Le Corre and Fernando Alarza.
- Alistair Brownlee and Javier Gomez maintained their record of having
finished on the podium in at least one race every year, since the World
Triathlon Series was introduced in 2009.
- Alistair Brownlee has won at least one World Triathlon Series event in
all seven seasons since 2009.
- Only 13 men have ever won a World Triathlon Series race since 2009,
with Vincent Luis the only new name added to that list during 2015.
- The highest ‘new entry' to the Columbia Threadneedle Rankings in
2015 is Canada's Tyler Mislawchuk (28th, 1270 points).
- The biggest mover in the Columbia Threadneedle Rankings in 2015 versus
last season is Jason Wilson from Barbados. 164th in 2014, he improved by
124 places to end the year ranked 40th (1099 points).
The 2016 World Triathlon Series kicks off in Abu Dhabi, March 4th-5th
next year and we look forward to following the action with you.

Columbia Threadneedle Rankings 2015
Following ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Chicago
1st – Javier Gomez Noya (ESP) 4930
2nd – Mario Mola (ESP) 4795
3rd – Vincent Luis (FRA) 4422
4th – Richard Murray (RSA) 4317
5th – Fernando Alarza (ESP) 3774
6th – Ryan Bailie (AUS) 3196
7th – Crisanto Grajales (MEX) 3005
8th – Joao Pereira (POR) 2987
9th – Aaron Royle (AUS) 2966
10th – Pierre Le Corre (FRA) 2702
The full Columbia Threadneedle Rankings can be accessed at: http://wts.tria
thlon.org/ColumbiaThreadneedleRankings
This report is brought to you by Columbia Threadneedle Investments,
Global Financial Services partner of the ITU World Triathlon Series.
Join the conversation on twitter with @CTinvest_tri
or by using #CT_Rankings.