Germany underlined its dominance in sweltering conditions in Kitzbühel, claiming three medals during the Super Sprint weekend, with Julia Bröcker returning to the top step of the podium.

Friday's action featured three men's semifinals and two women's semifinals as athletes battled temperatures exceeding 32°C while attempting to secure places in Saturday's finals without expending too much energy.

In the opening women's semifinal, Bröcker posted the second-fastest swim, the quickest times through both transitions, and the joint second-fastest run to take victory. Close behind was Poland's Matylda Wojakiewicz, who recorded the fastest bike and run splits of the race. France's Celia Merle finished third to comfortably qualify for Saturday's final.

The challenging conditions forced athletes to carefully manage their efforts, balancing qualification ambitions with the need to preserve energy for the medal race.

Germany continued its strong showing in the second women's semifinal as Jule Behrens crossed the line first ahead of Italy's Beatrice Mallozzi. Anabel Knoll secured third place, five seconds behind the Italian. Mallozzi had competed at the European Championships in Tarragona just a week earlier but adapted seamlessly to the Super Sprint format.

Germany's strength in depth was evident throughout the day, with 11 athletes advancing to Saturday's finals. Italy also impressed, qualifying six athletes across the men's and women's competitions.

When the women's final arrived, Germany once again came out on top. Bröcker claimed gold after another exceptional performance, recording the fastest transitions and the quickest run split to cross the finish line 23 seconds ahead of silver medallist Wojakiewicz. Knoll completed the podium, finishing six seconds behind the Polish athlete to secure bronze.

The victory marked an impressive turnaround for Bröcker, who rebounded from a DNF in Tarragona the previous weekend to claim the sixth international win of her career and her first podium finish of 2026.

In the men's competition, New Zealand's Caleb Wagener topped the opening semifinal after posting the fastest bike split and quickest T2. He comfortably held off Italy's Davide Menichelli as both athletes secured their places in Saturday's final.

Home favourite Thomas Windischbauer delighted the Austrian crowd by leading out of the water in the first semifinal before finishing sixth to progress.

Justus Töpper delivered a composed and consistent performance to win the second semifinal. Although his only fastest split came in T1, a strong all-round display and the second-fastest run of the race saw him cross the line eight seconds ahead of Great Britain's Hamish Reilly.

Austria enjoyed further success when Jelle Kaindl finished third, ensuring another home representative would feature in Saturday's final.

American Carter Stuhlmacher rounded out the day's racing with a commanding victory in the third semifinal. He crossed the line 11 seconds clear of Eric Diener, creating the decisive gap during the run leg.

Six Austrians lined up for Saturday's men's final, with Kaindl and Windischbauer remaining in the main chase group on the bike. The group successfully bridged to the leaders by T2, setting up a tightly contested finish.

After finishing second in his semifinal, Diener produced a superb performance to claim victory in the final. The German edged out Great Britain's Fynn Batkin, who had finished sixth in the opening semifinal.

Stuhlmacher recorded the joint-fastest run split but was unable to repeat his semifinal success, crossing the line in sixth place just behind Batkin. Competing in his first race of 2026, Batkin held off a late challenge from the American but could not stay with Diener in the closing stages.

Full results can be viewed here.