Hula’s Talks: World Triathlon President Marisol Casado says Tokyo Olympics “a tool to see the light at the end of the tunnel” for the world

On the heels of Bermuda’s first Olympic gold medal in the women’s triathlon and with the first ever Olympic mixed relay in the sport soon being contested, President of World Triathlon Marisol Casado tells Around the Rings founder Ed Hula that she believes it’s important the Tokyo Olympics went ahead this year given the current conditions.

In her interview with Hula on the “Tokyo Report” podcast, Casado emphasized the hard work of World Triathlon and other federations to make the Games possible, and the strong cooperation the IOC has had with local health authorities in Japan. She also sees the Olympics as a much-needed symbol of hope for a world ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic for the past year and a half.

“We were working day and night in order to give the opportunity to have events in different places. And this is what we have been doing here in Tokyo. The Olympics are working very closely with the health authorities, just to promote the sport as a real tool to get out of the pandemic”, Casado detailed.

“This is also the spirit of doing the Olympic Games here in Tokyo. Even after one year and still not in the condition that we were expecting one year before. But it’s a tool to see the light at the end of the tunnel for all parts of the world. Because at the end of the day in the Olympic Games, there is representation of the [206 countries], and I think that was very important.”

Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028

After Casado stated that triathlon would have a “very busy September and October” this year because of postponed events, Hula then asked her about what the qualification process or any other changes for the Paris 2024 Games might look like.

“We had planned just to fight a little bit more – I’m a fighter – for more athletes and some changes in the program, et cetera, but when we had to decide, we were in the middle of the pandemic. Everyone wanted to not move too much, just to do the basics”.

“We are not proposing big changes at all for Paris. We are preparing changes already for Los Angeles. But for Paris, I think we are very happy that we are, as in Tokyo, in the center of the city. This brings us so many challenges again, but I think in the end it’s fantastic [to be] as we were here in Tokyo, just in the center... I think all the venues in Paris are going to be gorgeous, and we have big expectations for them.”

Regarding changes World Triathlon is considering for Los Angeles 2028, Casado floated a couple of possibilities aimed at giving the sport more dynamism and youth appeal.

“We still feel like a very young sport and we really like to adapt ourselves to the new generations. Then I think we would like to have more events inside the Olympic Games. But, if not, at least to make some kind of change; to reduce the distances a little bit, or semifinals/finals, we are still working on it in this regard. We want to have more action, let’s say”.

Similar kinds of changes are currently being considered by a number of sports in line with the IOC’s Agenda 2020+5, which prioritizes youth and urban appeal in Olympic events. Another interdisciplinary sport, modern pentathlon, has already significantly evolved to this end for Paris 2024: scrapping its longstanding one-day format over multiple venues in favor of a made-for-TV 90-minute version at one central location.

Mixed relay debuts in Tokyo

Triathlon has already added a new format to its Olympic itinerary this year, the mixed relay, set to be contested in Tokyo on Friday. It will feature two men and two women per country. Casado believes that this is a golden opportunity to add a new dimension to a sport which has always been highly individualized.

“The most important thing for the moment with a mixed relay is that the athletes really love it. They really like to compete in this way. Triathlon is a very individual sport and just to give them the opportunity to have a team, to share the responsibilities as one of the [members] of the team, then I think it makes a very good competition.”

“I think it is very important – and I have to say because as you know I’ve been working very much on this – for attracting more women into the sport and facilitating a gender balance. I think it’s a fantastic tool”, Casado continued, drawing upon her work within World Triathlon to increase female involvement in the sport.

Reflecting what she had learned from this year’s unique Games experience, Casado says she was moved by how everyone in the sporting world worked together to make competitions happen despite immense pandemic-related obstacles.

“[The Games] are going to be remembered as a time of solidarity. This is very important because we were able to maintain the movement as such because of solidarity among us. The ones that were able to organize events were organizing events, others tried to open the doors for the athletes to move, the Olympics tried to help some NOCs and some federations who needed some help in finance, et cetera... I think the thing is solidarity not only within the system but also just within society”, Casado observed.

“I think in some cases, we learned that we need other people much more than we think.”

KEEP READING