You could hardly have asked for more different conditions from the first race of the 2025 World Triathlon Championship Series as the rain poured down in Yokohama. Nevertheless, it set the stage perfectly for Jeanne Lehair (LUX) and Matthew Hauser (AUS) as the champagne likewise poured in celebration of their career firsts. For the former, it was a first ever Series win and indeed a first ever medal at this level while the latter enjoyed a maiden standard distance victory in the WTCS.
Between those thrilling highs, there were spills, with Olympic and world champion Cassandre Beaugrand (FRA) crashing out amid a miserable day out (luckily coming away uninjured); cavalier solo attacks on the bike, such as the effort by Márk Dévay (HUN) that put him in T2 with no one else in sight; and a collection of noteworthy finishes outside the podiums. Find out five of the leading stories from all the action below.
Advantage Hauser
With a silver from Abu Dhabi and now a gold in Yokohama, Hauser has assumed the leadership of the men’s Series and is calling the shots at the top of the table. The man that beat him in Abu Dhabi, Hayden Wilde (NZL), is out for the season realistically following a recent bike crash. Sitting 127 points behind Hauser’s total of 1693.75 is Vasco Vilaca (POR), an athlete Hauser has already twice gotten the better of this year.
Of course there is the chance that Alex Yee (GBR) returns to defend his world title, although his next challenge will be the British Championships over the 10,000m, suggesting his running sojourn still has legs. As such, Hauser is now in an enviable position. The season has a long way to go, but the Australian’s flying start has made him the man to beat. When the Series Final in Wollongong rolls around, the signs are increasingly promising that there may be a home world champion.
By the scruff of the neck
It may seem a little boring to focus on another of the race winners from Yokohama but there was nothing boring about Jeanne Lehair’s barnstorming performance. Her first win in the Series was not claimed by chance or with any real decorum. This was a race that she grabbed by the scruff of the neck and forced to bend to her will.
Lehair was the second fastest athlete in the water before riding as an initial three-woman breakaway, giving WTCS Abu Dhabi winner Lisa Tertsch (GER) an earful between turns. The field eventually came back together but that did not matter. Having pushed the swim and then the bike, it made sense that Lehair blasted out onto the 10km run at a pace no one could live with. She may have been denied the fastest run split as her lead dwindled, but she held on to win after daring the field to go after her.
The constituent pieces of her race have been there in the making. A fast swim at WTCS Hamburg last summer stands out, as do the numerous impressive run splits from recent years. Yet Lehair has never put it together quite like this. This was an across-the-board performance usually reserved for the truly elite. Indeed, it was the kind of authoritative showing that lifts her into the world title conversation.
Hello there
Sniffing around the podium in each race were two athletes that have not been seen so close to the front for quite some time. Gwen Jorgensen (USA) powered to 4th place in the women’s event, her best finish since returning to the sport. After winning multiple times in Yokohama back in her first stint in triathlon, this was the latest in a long line of fond memories in Japan for the 2016 Olympic champion.
Similarly, the men’s race saw Tyler Mislawchuk (CAN) settle for 6th place after being pipped at the line by 2023 world champion Dorian Coninx (FRA). The last time he finished so high at a WTCS race was in Abu Dhabi in 2021, where he also finished 6th. As such, it has been a minute since the WTCS medallist has mixed it within striking distance of the front. Results of 9th place at both the Paris Olympic Games and 2024 WTCS Final indicated that Mislawchuk was building back to his best shape. In Yokohama, though, the veteran showed up in a way that hinted his WTCS medal-winning days may not be completely behind him.
Undaunted by the stage
With the rain hammering down and the course adapted at the last moment to remove the more dangerous aspects, Yokohama was not an easy place to make a Series debut. Still, Andree Buc (CHI) came through his baptism of fire to take a strong 19th place. His swim and bike were rock-solid as he made it into the front pack on a day when plenty of big names missed out, such as last year’s winner Morgan Pearson (USA). Buc suffered a little towards the end, as would be expected from a young athlete, but signed off what was otherwise a very composed first outing on a high.
Home talent Manami Hayashi also put together a good race on debut in the women’s event. Like Buc, she made it into the front pack (once the Lehair-led trio had been caught) and then came through the run to finish 25th. That made her the second Japanese athlete home after Yuko Takahashi and put ahead of WTCS Abu Dhabi bronze medallist Laura Lindemann (GER) and last year’s Yokohama winner Leonie Periault (FRA).
A hat-trick of personal bests
In the women’s top-10, there were three athletes beyond Lehair that achieved their best ever finishes at a WTCS race. Diana Isakova (AIN) took 6th place to improve upon the 9th place she nailed in Abu Dhabi at the season opener. Two places behind her was Tilda Månsson (SWE) who breached the top-10 for the first time in her career. It feels like the Swedish star has been around for ages (partly because it is almost three years since she first won a World Cup as a junior athlete), but this was only her fifth ever Series start.
Another two places back, World U23 Championships medallist Maria Tomé (POR) was another to secure the highest finish of her career; her 10th place represented the first time she had crossed within the top-30 of a Series race. However, that is a little misleading given she finished 11th at the Paris Olympics. Tomé’s Yokohama performance was thus clearly within her capabilities and, as with Isakova and Månsson, there is likely more to come.