Britain has an embarrassment of triathlon riches, and there is another potential superstar now on the production line.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games once again showed that strength in depth as Alex Yee claimed an epic individual gold, Beth Potter claimed a brilliant bronze and the Mixed Relay team also claimed a superb medal.
But behind the superstars of today are some potential elite talents of tomorrow, including one Hugo Milner – the 26-year-old phenom with the incredible run prowess.
Hugo Milner showcasing potential
Milner really burst into the minds of most experts last year when he produced an incredible lung-bursting run to glory at World Triathlon Cup Miyazaki in Japan. Not bad for somebody who had only been in the sport for a couple of years.
Hugo continued his development in 2024, despite missing out on a place at Paris 2024, and topped his campaign with a spectacular top-10 finish at the WTCS Grand Final in Torremolinos. That eye-catching performance was completed by a sensational 28:47 run – some 30 seconds better than next fastest and eventual World Champion Yee.
The potential for Milner to be a special talent one day is there for all to see – particularly if he can improve on the bike, by far the weakest of his disciplines. And that potential has absolutely not gone unnoticed by his rivals.
Mislawchuk on potential superstars
Canadian ace Tyler Mislawchuk, a star of the WTCS circuit for many years and 9th in both Paris 2024 and the WTCS Grand Final, spoke about Milner’s potential on a recent episode of the excellent Talking Triathlon podcast (watch it in full at the bottom of this page).
He explained: “He ran the fastest Grand Final time ever run and I mean he’s running some crazy times. He’s a guy that already any race, those guys don’t wanna run against him, I don’t wanna run against him. Why would you want to run against a guy who can run 28:40 or 28:50 or whatever he ran.
“The last time we’ve seen that fast a run in a Grand Final was Mola and Gomez in 2015, I raced and they both ran just under 29 minutes in a duel and it was the fastest run ever. This guy [Milner] went from chase pack, or third pack as we were chase pack. Third pack ran solo that time, that’s even a crazier feat. It’s impressive to run a fast time when you’re running to win or in a big group but to do it solo is another thing too. Like no-one wants to run against that guy.
“He might be one of those guys in the next year or two that, he might win a WTCS and then come 50th the next weekend and then win a WTCS. Not because he’s not consistent but just because of the race dynamics and like him obviously being new to swimming and biking.
“At the Grand Final he came out ahead of me on the first lap of the swim and I went ‘oh s***, I gotta do some work here’. He’s brand new to it – next year he could come out and be similar, the same. Or he could podium at every WTCS he does. He’s like the biggest X factor I would say.”
Batista another exciting young talent
Mislawchuk is also high the talents of another young gun in the shape of Portugal’s Ricardo Batista, who produced a stunning performance to finish sixth at Paris 2024.
He said: “One guy that I’ve been watching is Ricardo Batista, he came right behind Vasco (Vilaca) at the Olympics – he came sixth. But he’s a young guy and he’s struggled a bit with injuries the last two years, one and off. But when that guy is on, he’s a crazy talent where he can swim, bike and run – all three of them – the house down.
“For him I think it’s more of a health thing, I think he’s been injured on and off for the past two years, but I mean when you come sixth at the Olympics and I think he’s probably 22 or 23 – like he was definitely the youngest guy in the top 20 by far.”
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