Dalšími zápasy napříč skupinami pokračoval Zimní pohár Libereckého kraje. Z nich už vzešli vítězové skupin, kteří se potkají v dalších utkáních. Svoje soupeře se dozvědí v nejbližších dnech. Pohár končí před startem mistrovských soutěží. 

Úvodní zápas jarní části sezony ČFL, skupiny B, odehrálo jablonecké „béčko“ na hřišti ústeckého VIAGEMU. Aktivita v úvodu byla na domácí straně, do první větší šance se ale dostali hosté v desáté minutě. Šance se pak střídaly na obou stranách. Týmy se ale rozešly remízou 1:1.

Bod za remízu 1:1 berou jablonečtí fotbalisté v souboji s tabulkovým sousedem z Hradce Králové. Jablonec brzy prohrával, vyrovnal po penaltě Chramosty, jenže při tlaku přišel o vyloučeného stopera Hurtada a utkání skončilo dělbou bodů.

Steve McKenna a Chelsea Sodaro zaznamenali vítězství na Ironmanu Nový Zéland. McKenna předvedl vynikající výkon ve všech třech disciplínách a po napínavém souboji zvítězil s časem 8:01:13. V ženské kategorii pak Chelsea Sodaro dominovala od začátku do konce. Český závodník Petr Vabroušek si v kategorii M50-54 vybojoval skvělé 2. místo.

Do A týmu Pěnčína (JN) přišel Pavel Patka po devítiletém působení v Německu. Zkušeností z vyšších soutěží má na rozdávání. Podzim zakončilo jeho mužstvo na prvním místě krajského přeboru. A vzdát se ho určitě hned tak nehodlá.

V Ostravě se konalo Mistrovství České republiky juniorů, juniorek, dorostenců a dorostenek v atletice. Tento závod má přezdívku Gigant, protože na něm startuje vždy velký počet závodníků. Letos jich bylo necelých osm stovek.

Olympic years are different. Having crept towards the shining moment with painstakingly small steps over the course of years, all of a sudden everything moves at once.

For all stakeholders of sport, from fans to organisers to those in the media, the sight of the Olympic Games on the horizon is enough to set pulses racing. For the athletes, the effects are even greater still. Everything is brighter, faster, more intense, and the final steps to the Olympics become a blur.

Yet no two athletes’ journeys to the Games are alike. As such, World Triathlon is happy to unveil the opening instalment of the Paths to Paris series in which we trace the roads taken by some of the best triathletes in the world.

Australia’s triathlon stars back on the rise

Today, we start with an athlete more than capable of winning Olympic gold this summer. He knows it. His rivals know it. Crucially, his country knows it too.

When Matthew Hauser (AUS) steps onto the pontoon at the Paris Olympic Games, then, he will do so with the eyes of an expectant home audience upon him.

“I’ve had a couple of bike crashes,” said Hauser, when asked how his training has been. “I had a delayed concussion and a week or two off training which wasn’t fun. It isn’t all smooth sailing but if it was it would be boring.”

Thus far, his path to Paris has been anything but boring.

COVID derails Test Event plans

After storming to a maiden WTCS win last summer in a performance that put his name on the lips of the entire triathlon community, Hauser was sidetracked by a bout of COVID-19 that forced him out of the Paris Test Event. He did not simply lose out on a chance to scope the Olympic course. He also missed the first opportunity to qualify for the Australian Olympic team.

“Obviously I would have loved to have been in that race in Paris. With Alex (Yee) having such an amazing performance it was definitely tough to sit in my hotel room and watch the livestream.”

“It wasn’t just a case of being sick. I couldn’t get out of bed which made it a little easier to swallow.”

Over the subsequent weeks, his recovery proved tougher than anticipated. At times, he struggled with his breathing, particularly when exerting himself. The second Olympic selection race, though, was around the corner at the WTCS Final in Pontevedra.

“Pontevedra was a bit of a scramble,” admitted Hauser. “But it kind of made me have that killer mentality, where there’s no room for error. I had to nail this race and nail every bit of it to get the qualification standard, which was a top-8.”

He got out to a great start as he led the field out of the water. The second test came on the bike.

“We worked super well on the bike in the front pack. The French were just driving it and I was trying to help where I could. Marten Van Riel was pushing it to the point where he was almost dropping all of us.”

In the end, Hauser did enough to finish 8th and book his place on the team.

“I remember crossing the line and breaking down in tears with my coach. We kind of embraced with a hug and it was a really special moment. Despite all the ups and downs in the year we still managed to tick our major goal of Olympic selection.”

The pieces of the puzzle come together

Now able to look ahead to Paris, Hauser took note of how the race panned out in Pontevedra. The front pack managed to drop favourites Hayden Wilde and Alex Yee after pushing the swim and the bike. Given the same happened at the 2022 WTCS Final, Hauser took the lessons of the races to heart.

“The most important thing is everyone working cohesively together and having that real belief that the hard work you’re putting in can eventuate into a really successful result. It’s shown on the results page: two times at major championships it has worked.”

“It’s not just up to a sub-29 minute run. A few different factors will have to come together to win the race.”

As things stand, Hauser is one of the vanishingly few men in the WTCS field capable of both being the first man out of the water and of recording a field leading run split. Indeed, he accomplished both feats on his way to his maiden WTCS win in Montreal.

In light of his success and ability, the Australian audience will have high hopes for him in Paris.

To date, five Australian women have won Olympic medals. No Australian man has yet done so. The men have enjoyed plenty of success over the years. Peter Robertson won a hat-trick of world titles in the 2000s, Brad Kahlefeldt took gold at the Commonwealth Games as part of a superb 2006 season, and Jacob Birtwhistle picked up the mantle by claiming WTCS race wins.

Now it is Hauser’s turn to shoulder the expectation.

“It fills me with a lot of pride that I have the opportunity to continue that success and to hold the banner for the new wave of triathlon talent out of Australia. I’m embracing it.”

Moreover, he drew lessons from his previous Olympic experience in Tokyo. A disappointing team showing prompted a fall-out in the triathlon community at home.

“It changed my approach to the Games a little bit in the fact that I want to make sure I take every opportunity with both hands. I was probably a little bit young and naïve heading into Tokyo and probably expected more than I could deliver. That was a big eye-opener.”

Equally, in Tokyo Hauser had the chance to see how gold medals across sports lifted the Australian team.

“I’m hungry to provide those empowering and uplifting moments for Australia.”

Australia expects - Hauser ready to deliver

Considering its population size, Australia has long punched above its weight. The country has celebrated world champions in an array of sports and has been a major player in the overall Olympic medal table. Representing a country that sets so much in store by way of cultural identity against its sporting success therefore comes with a unique type of pressure.

Hauser, though, shrugged it off.

“It goes hand in hand with having such a relaxed vibe and being such a young and vibrant country.”

Likewise, he remained level-headed regarding the prospect of becoming the first Australian man to win an Olympic medal in triathlon.

“It would mean the world to me. It’s what every four year cycle is about. If you’re not striving to win or get a medal or be up there in a race then what are you doing? Sixty guys are going to line up on the start line in Paris and essentially go for gold.”

“Everyone that has invested so much time in me and my journey, I want to do it for them.”

“But I’m not putting a medal on a pedestal. Knowing who I need to be and where I need to be physically and mentally to put my best foot forward on the day is what I’m striving for.”

Recent history has shown that Hauser cannot expect smooth sailing all the way to Paris. When he gets there, though, he will be prepared for anything that comes his way.

Australia expects. And Matt Hauser is ready to deliver.

Biatlonisté ještě nekončí, přesněji končí pouze v domácích podmínkách, ale v zahraničí je čekají ještě další závody. Vedoucí SKP Kornspitz Jablonec Jan Matouš už ale ví, že se letos nebude konat slavnostní biatlonová exhibice. Důvodem je nedostatek sněhu.

Ve skotském Glasgowu se od pátku do neděle koná Mistrovství světa v halové atletice. Na základě výsledků se probojoval do nominace čítající 23 sportovců také jablonecký překážkář Štěpán Schubert. Je to pro něho velký úspěch.

Čtvrtstoletí v dresu Jablonce a padesát let na Střelnici. K tomu nezapomenutelný zápas proti Vsetínu, zakázané soustředění v Jugoslavii a vzpomínky na skoro dvacet tisíc fanoušků na zápase. To jsou vzpomínky Jaroslava Gottwalda, osobnosti jabloneckého fotbalu. Příznivci Jablonce ho pamatují jako malé, ale čiperné pravé i levé křídlo.

V dalším vzrušujícím a napínavém utkání se utkal v rámci druhé volejbalové ligy tým Malé Skály na domácí půdě Chocně s místním celkem. Výsledek zápasu byl až do posledních momentů nejistý. Ale štěstí stálo na straně Maloskaláků, vyhráli 2:3 a 1:3.

Sněhové podmínky v okolí Harrachova závodům na běžkách nepřejí a obleva pokračuje. S ohledem na nedostatek sněhu a nejistou předpověď počasí nejsou organizátoři seriálu ČEZ SkiTour 2024 schopni 8. a 9. března uspořádat harrachovský závod.

Slovan má za sebou poměrně klidné přestupové období. Největší ztrátu zaznamenal ve středu pole, když přišel o srdce a, i přes mladý věk, lídra týmu Lukáše Červa, který zamířil na západ Čech. Velmi podobné vlastnosti má sparťan David Pavelka. Ten už pod Ještědem působil a není tajemstvím, že se na jeho služby modrobílý celek v zimě vyptával.

Reunited full-time with his coach Joel Filiol, back on extended training camps with nothing more to think about than form and focus, the enormous carrot of a home Olympics now just five months away, the two-time World Champion Vincent Luis is ready to pounce on every opportunity 2024 sends his way.

Dialling in at the end of four weeks in Lanzarote and ready for the season opener in Abu Dhabi, Luis is open about the likelihood of this being his last full season of short course racing. The blue carpet will undoubtedly miss one of the greats, but as the 34-year-old reflects on his career on the latest episode of the World Triathlon Podcast, the feeling will be mutual.

Before any discussion of retirement, there is a season for the ages ahead of him. Injury may have seen him a mere spectator as teammates Dorian Coninx, Leo Bergere and Pierre Le Corre hoovered up the prizes in 2023, but the experience has left him hungry. Three spots available, four world-class athletes competing for them, one huge decision ahead for the selectors. All Luis wants to do is produce the results that mean, purely based on form, he can still be one of them.

Listen to the latest episode of the World Triathlon Podcast on Apple, Spotify, Google and wherever you subscribe to your podcasts.

Paris is calling

“Obviously it is a home Games, if we don’t do it now we will never do it,” says Luis as he analyses what lies ahead not just for him and his teammates but for French triathlon as a whole. There is no doubt that this can be the year that the sport – already hugely popular across the country - goes stratospheric. It feels like the billboards are waiting, it is just a question of which of the six athletes on the final team sheet will be on there.

After feeling pain in his calf just a few days before last August’s Test Event, the almost inevitable came as Luis was forced to pull up on the run. An MRI scan revealed a tear, and the season was done. An onlooker as Alex Yee powered to gold, he took time out and went on holiday around the time of the Championship Finals, but couldn’t help but watch the drama that unfolded in Spain as Coninx took the title in a dramatic sprint finish with Le Corre.

“I was on holidays, in a beautiful destination, and I watched this race. That was really tough… but I think it fuelled me for this winter, in a good way… in a sense that, well, in Abu Dhabi (2023) I was beating the guys that were at the front in Pontevedra, so that means I can still do it.”

“The next day I actually had a call from the French high performance director. I was really transparent with him. I told him I’m not gonna sell you anything right now. I’m not running, I’m doing my rehab and doing everything I can, and if you make a pick today then I’m not part of the team and I know it. But I told him to count on me to be strong when it counts a couple months before the Olympics, leave a door open for me and I’ll be there. I won’t disappoint you.”

Powerful words from a man who has a remarkable hit rate of 18 Series medals in 51 finishes over the years, the kind of ratio that an Olympic selection team would find very difficult to ignore. 

“I’ve raced against every Olympic champion we have seen. I’ve won races that were foot races and I’ve won races that were breakaways. I’ve never been the best swimmer, biker or runner, but I’ve always been there and that’s what triathlon is all about.”

As far as tacit warnings to his rivals go, a clear-headed, single-minded Vincent Luis is undoubtedly something to worry about. With the ultimate target of producing his famous fireworks at a home Games in Paris, that prospect grows even stronger. He first it the podium at the highest level in 2012. His last podium? Ten years later, with gold on one of the toughest courses out there, WTCS Bermuda. All the ingredients are there for one more slice of magic.

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World Triathlon is proud to announce the Para triathlon support grants for 2024, to offer financial assistance to Para triathletes to prepare and attend World Triathlon sanctioned Para events in order to gain Olympic Qualification points on the way to 2024 Paris. 1 July 2024 marks the closure of the Paralympic Qualification period towards the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games. World Triathlon offers financial assistance to Para triathletes to maximise their potential to be on the blue carpet in Paris and beyond

The target group will be Para triathletes from National Federations who did not have medallists* at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Their National Federations belong to National Federation Group 2, 3B, 3A, 4 (As per National Federation Survey 2022, more details are here). Para triathletes who have already shown competence at a Continental and/or World level and are looking to step up to top-level training and racing need support. These Para athletes should be seen as Paralympic prospects (Paris 2024, LA 2028) by their National Federations. World Triathlon may consider direct applications from Para athletes with refugee status or from their host federation. TRI and the athlete will directly manage these cases after approving their refugee status.

The list of National Federations eligible for these Grants are:

Para triathletes must be registered and in good standing with their National Federations and have shown the ability to race at a high standard. The nominated Para triathletes should be committed to competing in the long term and have the Paralympic Games as an ultimate objective.

The following criteria will be considered in the selection process:

Current position on the World Triathlon Para Rankings
Completion of one World Triathlon-sanctioned Para event since 1 July 2023
Must meet the target group criteria above
PLEASE NOTE: All applications MUST be submitted and endorsed by the respective National Federation of the applicant. The National Federation must be in good standing with World Triathlon.

The online applications should be submitted no later than Friday, 15 March 2024 (CET). Successful applicants will be informed the following week.

Online Application Form

The World Triathlon Para Triathlete Support Grant is entitled to be used for the following.

Travel and accommodation in conjunction with the 2024 World Para Triathlon Events
Recovery services: Massage, Physiotherapy
Equipment
For more information on the World Para Triathlete Support Grant, please get in touch with Eric Angstadt, Sr. Manager Para triathlon at eric.angstadt@triathlon.org.

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: FRIDAY 15 MARCH 2024 (CET).

2023 Para Athlete Support Grant Recepients

Kirsty Weir (RSA) PTS3
Laydis Vega (PAN) PTS5
Shashruti Vinayak Nakade (IND) PTS2
Eslam Ali (EGY) PTWC
Rustamjan Satiboldiyev (UZB) PTS2
Gerasimos Lignos (GRE) PTVI
Bence Mocsari (HUN) PTS5
Lazar Filipovic (SRB) PTVI
Ibrahim Al Hussein (TRI) PTS3

In 2022, World Triathlon awarded an Athlete Support Grant to Para Triathletes in conjunction with the 2022 World Triathlon Championship Finals Abu Dhabi.

World Para Triathlon Championships | Para triathlete Support Grant Recipients | 2022 Abu Dhabi

Antonio Franko (CRO)
Bence Mocsári (HUN)
Fethi Zouinkhi (TUN)
Filipe Marques (POR)
Seyed Shooresh Delpasand (IRI)
Krushna Babasaheb Tanpure (IND)

To, že suverénně nejvyšší domácí návštěvnost mají ve fotbalové lize Slavia a Sparta, je notoricky známá věc. Oba pražské celky mívají své stadiony pravidelně plné až po strop. Na opačném pólu najdeme Jablonec a Karvinou. Ale co když se na návštěvnost podíváme jinou optikou?

To, že suverénně nejvyšší domácí návštěvnost mají ve fotbalové lize Slavia a Sparta, je notoricky známá věc. Oba pražské celky mívají své stadiony pravidelně plné až po strop. Na opačném pólu najdeme Jablonec a Karvinou. Ale co když se na návštěvnost podíváme jinou optikou?