It was a successful first outing for Team World Triathlon as it made its bow for 2025 at the Samarkand World Cup. Six athletes made up the Team and each came away with good results that will hopefully act as early stepping stones on the way to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. With former Team member Ognjen Stojanovic (SRB) at the helm as Team Manager, the trip to Samarkand was a chance to share insights and experiences as well as race against top quality opposition. 

Shanae Williams (RSA) was the top finisher of the Team, taking 11^th in the women’s race. Williams spent the bike safely within the primary chase pack. “The bike was pretty hard with a lot of people coming down,” she said afterwards, “so all in all I’m happy to get around the course safely.” Moreover, she was happy with a run split that carried her to just outside the top-10. Williams was also close to matching her 10^th place finish from the Brasilia World Cup at the end of 2024, indicating an improving level of consistency.

Bridget Theunissen (RSA) made it two South African athletes in the top-15 as she scored 14^th place, her first result inside the top-20 at a World Cup event. Theunissen lost time in water but made it up on the bike with the third fastest split of the day (1:02:08, only 2 seconds behind the best split). She did so in the same pack as eventual medallists Lea Coninx (FRA) and Costanza Arpinelli (ITA) which joined the main group behind breakaway leader Mathilde Gautier (FRA) late on.

“It’s my best World Cup result so far, so I’m really happy with how it went. I gave everything out there today. I couldn’t have done anymore, so really happy and really excited to race my second World Triathlon Championship Series event next week in Alghero.”

Only a few places behind was Tjasa Vrtacic (SLO) who finished 17^th. Like Williams, Vrtacic spent the bike encamped in the main chase pack and pulled a couple of turns on the front in the quest to hunt down Gautier. Samarkand was only her second appearance on the World Cup circuit and represented an improvement on her 19^th place finish at the 2023 Rome World Cup.

“The race was really hard. The swim was good, felt good on the bike as well, and then I struggled with some cramps on the run, but overall I’m happy with how the race went.”

Vrtacic’s performance came after her at the Africa Cup in Tipaza earlier in month. As such, it is fair to say that the Slovenian athlete has had a successful month.

Alina Khakimova (UZB) was the fourth and final member of the Team in the women’s race and drew plenty of support from a home crowd on her way to 24^th place. As with several of her teammates, this stood as another best World Cup finish, improving upon her 26^th from 2023 Chengdu World Cup.

In the men’s race, Tzu I Pan (TPE) matched Khakimova’s placing with his finish of 24^th. Like Theunissen, Pan spent much of the bike rubbing shoulders with an athlete that would go on to make the podium; in his case, he rode alongside race winner Maxime Hueber-Moosbrugger (FRA) in the group that eventually became part of the main chase pack. He also finished in good company, crossing the line between World Cup winner Reese Vannerson (USA) and world aquathlon champion Kevin Tarek Viñuela Gonzalez (ESP).

Rashif Amila Yaqin (INA) ensured that Team World Triathlon left Samarkand with a perfect record of race finishes by taking 52^nd place. That was a slight improvement on his finish at the Hong Kong World Cup last year which was his last outing at this level. He also finished 9^th at the Subic Bay Asia Cup at the start of May.

“It’s very brutal, it’s very hard,” he said at the finish line, “but it’s a great opportunity to learn. My race was good in the swimming part but it was very hard on the bike. I got dropped on the fourth lap from the second pack and then I rode solo until T2 and then I just tried to finish.”

Next up, the Team will be tackling the Huatulco World Cup in June. Applications for this race have already closed and the members racing will be publicly confirmed in due course.

WTCS Yokohama

Earlier in the month, three of Team World Triathlon’s 2024 Paris Olympians took on WTCS Yokohama. Maria Carolina Velasquez Soto (COL) was the best finisher of the trio as she claimed 16^th place with a strong all-round display. Erica Hawley (BER) followed home shortly after in 28^th. Diego Moya (CHI) was the sole Team representative in the men’s race and ended his day in 38^th.