Valentina Riasova and Dmitrii Karpeev delivered a commanding performance on Hudayriyat Island on Sunday to win the 2x2 Mixed Relay at the 2026 World Triathlon Duathlon Championships Abu Dhabi. The Russian pair broke clear midway through the opening leg and were never seen again, stopping the clock in 1:18:31. Jasmijn Bakker and Thomas Cremers took silver for the Netherlands, 59 seconds back, while Emma Wasser and Emile Blondel Hermant came out on top of a tight battle between three French teams to claim bronze.
The relay closed the duathlon programme on the second day of the World Triathlon Multisport Championships, 24 hours after Lisa Tertsch (GER) and Davide Menichelli (ITA) were crowned individual world champions. In the 2x2 format each team fields one woman and one man, who alternate across four legs of run, bike and run, so every athlete races twice. With the air temperature at 31 degrees, managing effort across both legs was as important as raw speed.
A solo ride to gold
Riasova set the tone from the start. By the midpoint of the first leg she had opened a gap on the rest of the field, and she handed over to Karpeev with Russia already alone at the front. Karpeev, seventh in Saturday's elite men's race, extended the advantage on his first outing, and from there the pair controlled the race with total authority, holding a steady rhythm through the final two legs to bring it home unchallenged.
Behind them, the Netherlands were just as settled in second. Bakker, bronze medallist in the elite women's race the day before, kept the Dutch firmly in the hunt through the first exchange, and Cremers made sure nobody closed in from behind. They crossed the line in 1:19:30, well clear of the chasing pack.
Three French teams, one bronze
The fight for the final podium place was where the race came alive. France started three teams and all three were in the mix for most of the afternoon. Wasser and Blondel Hermant, seventh and sixth respectively in Saturday's individual races, proved strongest when it mattered and secured bronze in 1:19:55.
Fiona Cornet and Benjamin Choquert finished fourth in 1:21:05. Meghan Bazire and Adrien Pilleux, the men's individual bronze medallist, crossed the line six seconds later in 1:21:11 but are listed as not classified in the official results since a maximum of two teams per nation can officially be classified.
Belgium's two teams followed. Camille Roman and Jonathan Wayaffe placed fifth in 1:21:18, with Jeanne Dupont and Martin Oldenhove, the men's individual silver medallist, sixth after serving a penalty. Ghizlane Assou and Mohamed Nemsi completed the classified field for Morocco in seventh place.
Russian double in the junior race
Russia's afternoon got even better in the 2x2 Mixed Junior Relay, raced alongside the elite event. Sofia Tikhonova and Aleksei Petrovskii took the junior world title, completing a clean sweep of the relay gold medals in Abu Dhabi.
For a pairing aged 19 and 17, it marks a significant early milestone and confirms the depth coming through behind the senior squad. Junior teams from Mexico, with Vivianne Cramer and Emilio Rendon, and Morocco, with Doaa Izem and Omar Othmane Goumghar, also lined up on Hudayriyat Island, giving the next generation valuable experience at world championship level, finishing in second and third place respectively.
What's next
The World Triathlon Multisport Championships continue in Abu Dhabi with the Cross Triathlon World Championships on 17 November, followed by Cross Duathlon on 19 November, Aquathlon on 20 November and the Long Distance and Long Distance Aquabike World Championships on 22 November.
