Erica Hawley is set to get her new season under way as she continues to chase her dream of qualifying for the Paris Olympics.

The Bermudian triathlete will be among a field of 41 athletes taking to the start line of the World Triathlon Cup Napier, on New Zealand’s North Island, this afternoon and will compete over a sprint distance consisting of a 750-metre swim, 20km cycle and 5km run.

The 25-year-old heads into the new campaign aiming to build on a breakthrough year in 2023, which included a first professional victory in the Americas Triathlon Cup in Montreal, a third in a World Triathlon Cup race in South Korea and fourth in the Pan American Games in Chile.

Like all her counterparts in the professional ranks, it is the start of a crucial period with attention firmly set on battling to secure one of 110 places at the Olympics this year.

As things stand Hawley is 47th in the World Triathlon individual Olympic Simulation rankings, which gives her hope of earning one of two places per gender available to each National Olympic Committee after the cut-off period of May 27.

“In New Zealand I want to be at the level I finished last year.” Hawley said previously to The Royal Gazette. “I’m still in the Olympic qualification simulation as it is.

“There are still months for things to change, but I will get more of an idea of my chances as each races comes.”

Hawley is ranked seventeenth among the competitors in New Zealand and her main rival includes Gina Sereno, who heads into the new season on the back of an impressive past 12 months in which she secured silver medals in the World Triathlon Cup Vina del Mar in November and the Pan American Games Mixed Relay.

Also among the chief contenders is China’s Xinyu Lin, who produced a string of fantastic results last year, including winning silver in the Hangzhou Asian Games. She also finished fourth in the World Triathlon Cup Chengdu, fifth in the World Triathlon Cup Miyazaki and second in the Asia Triathlon Sprint Championships Al-Khobar.

Hungary’s Zsanett Kuttor-Bragmayer and Australia’s Natalie Van Coevorden are highly experienced on the World Triathlon Championship Series and Triathlon Cup scene, while Italy’s Ilaria Zane comes into the race on the back of winning gold last weekend in the Oceania Triathlon Wanaka (New Zealand). She also enjoyed a strong 2023, claiming bronze in the World Triathlon Cup Weihai.

Other notable entrants include Maria Carolina Velasquez, of Colombia, who finished two places in front of Hawley at the Pan Am Games, and Czech athlete Zuzana Michalivkova who just missed out on the podium in Wanaka last weekend.

There is also a strong crop of younger athletes, including Australia’s Sophie Linn, Spain’s Cecilia Santamaria Surroca, Great Britain’s Olivia Mathias and Ecuador’s Elizabeth Bravo, who will all be aiming to upset the odds and potentially challenge for the top five places.