Bled brought the 2026 Europe Triathlon Junior Cup season to a thrilling close, with a dramatic day of racing in Slovenia producing a strong spread of medals across both the Junior Women’s and Junior Men’s races.
Junior Women
Laura Dugovičová of Slovakia claimed gold in the Junior Women’s race despite finishing lowest of the three eventual medalists in the morning’s semifinals. Seventh in semifinal two, Dugovičová finished 23 seconds behind the leaders, but her performance appeared to be a tactical one as she conserved energy for the afternoon final.
That strategy paid off.
Dugovičová posted the fastest bike and run splits of the final. Despite coming out of T2 in sixth, she worked her way through the field on the fast run course to claim the first gold medal of her career, crossing the line five seconds ahead of second place.
That second-place finish went to Germany’s Lea-Marie Bellstedt, who improved on her semifinal result and, like Dugovičová, may have benefited from conserving energy during what proved to be a demanding day of racing, with both the semifinals and finals taking place on the same day.
Bellstedt posted the fastest swim in semifinal one and followed it up with the second-fastest swim of the final, ensuring she was in a strong position out of the water. She then recorded the second-fastest run split of the final, beaten only by Dugovičová.
Grace Taylor of Switzerland entered the final as the highest-placed of the three eventual medalists after finishing second in semifinal one. Nine seconds behind Germany’s Malu Zewe in the semifinal, Taylor did not record the fastest split in any discipline but delivered a consistently strong performance to secure her place in the final.
For Taylor, the result marked her first international podium after a strong performance in Derry just a few weeks earlier. She matched Dugovičová’s bike split and posted the third-fastest run of the day, but was unable to close the gap to the two athletes ahead of her, eventually finishing 12 seconds behind Dugovičová.
The podium also marked a maiden international medal for Bellstedt, who closed out her Junior Cup season with her first appearance this season and her first podium.
Junior Men
Two Hungarian athletes claimed gold and bronze in the Junior Men’s race, with France’s Valentin Yvorra taking silver.
After what has been a breakthrough year for Dániel Németh, the Hungarian added another piece of silverware to his collection with a dominant performance in the Junior Men’s final, claiming his first-ever Europe Triathlon Junior Cup gold medal.
The victory builds on the bronze medals he secured earlier in the season in Carole and Zagreb.
Németh had set the tone in the morning semifinals, winning semifinal one. Despite taking the victory, he did not record the fastest split in any discipline. His 5:19 run split, however, proved decisive, giving him the edge over Yvorra, who finished just behind him in the semifinal.
Németh found another gear in the final, again producing the fastest run split of the day. He crossed the line four seconds ahead of Yvorra, having got the better of the Frenchman twice in the space of a few hours.
For Yvorra, the silver medal marked the first international podium of his career. In just his third Europe Triathlon Junior Cup start, the French athlete showed plenty of promise, taking the lead on the bike before being caught by Németh’s rapid run.
Yvorra was, however, able to split the two Hungarians, with Levente Szabó taking bronze.
Szabó had finished lowest of the three eventual medalists in the morning semifinals, placing fifth in semifinal two. After claiming silver in Tábor earlier in the year, he was looking to close out a busy season with another medal, and delivered with a commanding performance in the final.
He crossed the line just three seconds behind Yvorra while holding a five-second advantage over fourth-place finisher Rube Claus.
View full results here.
