Emma Davis, has climbed to 83 in the world rankings after her impressive performance at the weekend, and her strong performances in the previous World Cups of 15th and 14th. This ranking brings Davis within striking distance of a Beijing qualification position; four places behind the last qualification spot as it stands today. However, there are only a handful of events left where Davis can accumulate the necessary ranking points to overtake her competitors for that Olympic qualification spot.
Davis will race next weekend (Sunday May 4th) in the next stage of the Triathlon World Cup in Richards Bay, South Africa, and will follow that up with the European Championships in Lisbon, Portugal on May 10th. The European Championships carry bonus ranking points so will be particularly important in the race for qualification. Following that Davis intends to race in the World Cup in Madrid, Spain on May 25th. Depending on how her bid for qualification is progressing she may also race at the ITU World Championships in Vancouver, Canada on the 8th June.
Gavin Noble is chasing Olympic qualification via a different route to Davis. Noble is hoping to secure the European Flag qualification slot which is awarded to the leading athlete in each Continent as per the Continental Cup rankings. Thanks to his 20th place in Spain Noble now occupies the slot ahead of his closest rivals; Tamas Liptak of Hungary, and Zvonko Cubric of Croatia.
Two tough races now lie between Noble and a place in Beijing and he must perform to the best of his ability in both races to secure his long held Olympic ambition. The first of those races is the European Championships in Lisbon, Portugal on May 10th which carries bonus ranking points. Noble’s Irish team mate Emma Davis will also be in action at those European Championships.
The final race that will count towards the flag qualification for Noble is the ITU European Cup in Brno in the Czech Republic on May 18th. No Irish triathlete has ever qualified for an Olympic Games so if Noble or Davis were to secure qualification for the Games is would be a remarkable achievement, and a wonderful boost for a sport growing in its popularity across the country.
