Catch up with some of the top performers of the Beijing World Cup
On triathlon’s return to Beijing, 15 years after it hosted the WTCS Final and 18 after it helped lift the sport to new heights at the 2008 Olympic Games, the races brought the history the occasion demanded through the home team’s first ever World Cup medals and indeed first win. More than anything, the Beijing World Cup was the moment Team China really announced themselves as a new player on the world stage.
Having impressed at the Asian Games last month, look for Xirui Zhang (CHN) and Xinyu Lin (CHN) to continue their progress in the sport. Likewise, Anqi Huang (CHN) showed her 4th place at WTCS Weihai was no flash in the pan with another 4th place finish in Beijing.
Another athlete with a strong connection to China is men’s race winner Max Studer (SUI). Being based in the country for large parts of the year, he added a gold medal in Beijing to his win at WTCS Weihai. Keep an eye out for a deeper dive into Studer’s story in the coming days. One athlete that might just be able to match the Swiss in terms of affinity for racing in China, however, is Australia’s Brandon Copeland.
Copeland, a medallist at the Oceania Championships earlier this season, claimed 5th place to secure his best World Cup finish so far in 2026. In addition, he placed 11th in Weihai having claimed the bronze medal at last year’s Chengdu World Cup. What is it that seems to suit him so much?
“I definitely enjoy the racing in China,” said Copeland. “They always deliver a high-quality race here and I think the shorter travel from Australia as well as minimal change in time zone is a big factor in being able to perform consistently here.”
Of his season more broadly thus far, Copeland said, “This year has been a big year of change for me, changing training environments and coaches and going back to the drawing board in a sense. After a couple of strong results recently I’m excited to keep building into the back end of the season with a few races still to come.”
As strong as Copeland’s year has been, though, he faces the invidious task of qualifying for LA 2028 ahead of a stacked cohort of Australian triathletes. Last year’s world champion Matt Hauser (AUS) naturally leads the way, while WTCS medallist Luke Willian (AUS), World Cup winner Callum McClusky (AUS) and young up-and-coming World Cup medallists Brayden Mercer (AUS) and Toby Powers (AUS) are all ready to rumble with Copeland. Yet he is not daunted in the slightest.
“The Aussie men are all performing really well at the moment and I think to a degree it’s a ‘rising tide lifts all boats’ effect. We have a great culture and friendship amongst us all, so it is great to see everyone doing well. For me I just need to keep turning up and giving 100% every day on the road to LA and anything beyond that is out of my control - I love the pursuit of being my best.”
Meanwhile, Beijing saw the latest breakthrough in what has been a huge year for Márta Kropkó (HUN). From building upon the maiden World Cup medal she earned in Edmonton three months ago, to taking away a sense of redemption after a massive career best WTCS finish at the Pontevedra Final was lost to a disqualification, and to her ongoing pursuit of becoming triathlon’s style icon (this time with a fetching goggles look on the run), there was plenty to unpack from Kropkó’s 2nd place finish. One thing in particular, however, stood out above all else.
As has been her signature, Kropkó was in the breakaway that formed. The real head-turning moment would come later as she recorded the second fastest run split, beating out several renowned runners.
“This year I've been in quite a few breakaways, which is actually pretty new for me,” said Kropkó. “Even though swimming has always been my strength, in the past three or four years I was in exactly one breakaway. Honestly, it got a bit demotivating. I kept asking my coach and my family, ‘Why am I even swimming if it doesn't count?’”
“That's what pushed me to focus on my running. I told myself: ‘Okay, the swim isn't getting me to the finish at the front, so I really need to step up my run game’. Last spring I completely changed my running technique, and since then something just clicked. I've loved every running workout. I think falling in love with running changed my whole approach to the sport. And to be honest, I'm the most surprised person that I can run like this! Running was always my weakness, and now it's the part I enjoy most. It's definitely not my weak point anymore, it might equal my other two right now.”
“Beijing wasn't even in my plans,” she added when the matter of bouncing back from Pontevedra was put to her. “I don't like to race too much - I prefer to focus on quality - so I'd planned to do just a few World Cups at the end of the year. But after my disqualification I lost a lot of points and some prize money, so I had to do something. Beijing felt like the perfect opportunity: Olympic distance races I really enjoy, and just two weeks later, so I could hopefully put everything behind me quickly.”
“I knew my form was good, but I really wanted to prove, mostly to myself, that one mistake doesn't define me and that the result in Pontevedra wasn't a one-time thing. I'm so happy with how it went. It was a really honest performance: leading the swim, working hard on the bike, keeping the pressure on the chasers, and then running the second-fastest split with a 10km personal best. I don't think I could have done any better.”
“I won't lie, it's been an emotional rollercoaster. The day after Pontevedra, the biggest loss of my life, I wasn't sure I wanted to continue this journey. Those days were really, really hard. That's why I'm most proud that I could put the disappointment aside and come back so quickly. And here I am, still loving this sport so much.”
“Now the goal for my brother and I is to collect as many Olympic qualification points as possible. This was the first of the four races we've planned, and I think we both did really well. I wasn't planning to race this much towards the end of the year, but my brother’s injury requires him to race a lot of competitions now. And travelling alone isn't great, so I told him, ‘I'll come with you and race too!’ That's the best part of being siblings and a team: we get to travel together.”
And on a final note, we simply had to ask about the goggles.
“I might be the biggest joker in triathlon right now, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not! People have started calling me the girl with strange habits. I race in a sleeveless suit, which almost nobody was doing when I started. Now I see a few more people wearing one and I'm like, ‘wow, I'm actually having some influence!’”
“Then there are the socks for the 10km, which is also pretty new. Now there are two of us, because I convinced my brother too. I'm quite happy I turned him around and showed him it's worth it and you barely lose any time putting them on.”
“And the glasses! Whenever it rains on bike training, I have to stop after a few minutes, because water and especially oil get in my eyes and wash my contact lenses out. It's really painful. So when we saw heavy rain in the forecast a few days before the race (in Beijing), we went to Decathlon looking for big, clear, comfortable glasses. Luckily, we found a pair, and they were so comfortable.”
“Even the night before, I wasn't sure I'd finish the race. I talked with my team, my mom and my coach about whether it was worth the risk, since I already have good points and three more races coming up. So, I made a deal: if there were more than six people in my group, I'd pull out to stay safe. There were exactly six of us, which was perfect!”
It would be remiss not to mention the other terrific Kropkó result in Beijing as Márton Kropkó (HUN) powered to 4th place as part of ongoing return from injury. To rewind six months, Kropkó was leading WTCS Samarkand back in April before injury forced him to drop out in the run while in 1st place. He did not return to the international circuit until WTCS Pontevedra last month as a stress fracture slammed the brakes on his season.
“It’s been a really hard few months behind me,” he said. “I had a double fracture on my same leg. One stress fracture and one from later when I crashed. I lost confidence over the months I was out and it was not easy mentally. My first race in Pontevedra was obviously not the best. I collapsed on the run which wasn’t surprising after missing more than 4.5 months on the run. But after this weekend, I’m really happy that I’m starting to feel like I did before Samarkand and it gives me confidence for the rest of the races left.”
One remarkable statistic Kropkó has to his name is that he has yet to finish outside the top-10 in any of his World Cup appearances. Indeed, since finishing 9th on his World Cup debut in Chengdu last year, he has not finished lower than 4th.
“I’m really proud of this stat that I always finish in the top-10 and it gives me confidence for next year. Next year hopefully I will be able to do more WTCS races because I feel like it suits my skills better. I can’t wait to show myself when I’m 100% on the biggest stage of the sport because I didn’t have the chance this year.”
Finally, two athletes made impressive debuts in Beijing as Adam Fouchal (FRA) and Jan Scheffold (GER) finished just behind Kropkó in 7th and 8th, respectively.
“I am very happy with my 7th place for my first World Cup,” said Fouchal. “It was a superb experience to run so far from home with new things to anticipate, such as travel and time difference.”
Fouchal is part of a rising crop of French youngsters that seem destined to make a big splash on the international circuit in the coming years. Indeed, his teammates Martin Hubner (FRA) and Tristan Douche (FRA) medalled on their World Cup debuts in Rome a fortnight ago. All three and more will have the enviable task of filling the boots of former WTCS champion and newly crowned Ironman world champion Vincent Luis (FRA).
“We have a very large density of talent in France in the current U23 generation,” acknowledged Fouchal. “It is super encouraging and motivating to see such a level and it shows the success of the French triathlon project.”
For his part, Scheffold was no less effusive about his performance in Beijing. “I am really proud of this result. I came into the race trying to see how it differs from the Europe Cups. I knew the bike could be tough and I therefore tried to stay with the group but keep some speed for the run. In the end it was one of the toughest bike rides but after the race I heard I wasn’t the only one to think that. On the run I wanted to run as long with the pack as possible and stayed with them to the finish line. In total I would say I am proud to get such a performance out of my body under these circumstances.”
Scheffold came into Beijing on a real upswing, having medalled at the World University Championships in Nyon, placed 13th at the World U23 Championships in Pontevedra, and then struck gold at the Ceuta Europe Cup. What has been the key to this late season form?
“I started the season with a couple of illnesses. The second half of the season was a lot more consistent in training and after the European Champs (in Poland) I probably collected more confidence which only got more with each race.”
“I also could go into a lot of races without any pressure. Here in Beijing for example I already secured a spot in the national team and didn’t have any pressure and could just focus on gaining experience. Together everything just clicked and I could just stay on a high for many races.”
As the frantic final World Cup swing of 2026 unfolds over the coming weeks, stay up to date with all the latest across all World Triathlon channels and be sure to catch every minute of racing live on TriathlonLive.
