With only three international events taking place at the weekend, there was a chance the world of triathlon might have settled down for a couple of days. Instead, a world champion suffered his first series defeat in over a year, a hunt on the run came down to a penalty, and a thrilling head-to-head yielded a photo finish of the kind we have never seen before. Find out all the latest in this week’s Monday Morning Mix.
Africa Junior Cup Yasmine Hammamet
There are races that go down to the wire, and then there is the showdown that took place between Mohamed Amine Khemais (TUN) and Youssef Slama (TUN) in Tunisia. The tone was set when the two men exited the sprint distance swim together in an identical time of 10:34. That put them at the head of the race, although a small pack would group around them, including Malta’s Liam Daly and the fastest rider of the day Makar Pinimasov (RUS). Khemais and Slama, meanwhile, remained locked side-by-side and recorded matching 20km splits of 35:25.
Then came the run and the two Tunisian talents were away. Daly was the best of the rest and took bronze, some 30 seconds behind. Nothing, however, could split Khemais and Slama, and once again they shared the top split (15:50 for 5km) to arrive at the line in unison. The final photo finish handed the win to Khemais in a gold and silver double act we have not seen in years.
By contrast, things were not quite so close in the junior women’s event as Hannah Kennedy (IRL) scored a win on her international debut. Kennedy was the second athlete out of the water behind Anastasiia Romanenko (RUS) with clear daylight to those behind. A field-leading split of 36:06 (when no one else broke 37 minutes) then turned the race comprehensively in Kennedy’s favour.
The fastest runner of the day, Morocco’s Chayma Biar, came charging through on the 5km (18:33) and passed Romanenko for 2nd place, but Kennedy had done more than enough to seal a comfortable win by well over 2 minutes. View the full results here.
Africa Cup Yasmine Hammamet
In the senior men’s race in Tunisia, Jarno Pousada Troitiño (ESP) mowed down France’s Nathan Lessmann with a comeback on the bike and a scorching 5km run split. Lessmann had been the top swimmer of the day over the 750m, clocking 8:19. In a stretched-out field, Pousada emerged on the back foot, but he had athletes with WTCS experience like Chris Ziehmer (GER) and Olympic experience like Tyler Smith (BER) for company as they compressed the field back together.
Although Pousada entered T2 slightly ahead of Lessmann, the Frenchman pulled back in front with a faster transition. Then the Spaniard’s hunt began. Lessmann ripped a 13:47 split for the 5km, itself an impressive time. But it was no match for Pousada’s 13:38. Bronze then went to Germany’s Eric Diener who finished 12 seconds away from the gold and 5 from the silver.
Over in the women’s race, Team Germany put seven athletes in the top-9 finishing spots. However, Therese Feuersinger (AUT) defied the German depth to secure the win in style. Feuersinger entered the event fresh off a strong 15th place finish at WTCS Alghero and her form showed no signs of slipping. A field-leading 10:48 split in the water (the best by 8 seconds) preceded an even more dominant bike split; over the 20km she clocked 32:14 when no one else dipped under 34 minutes.
Gold was therefore a formality when Feuersinger came into T2. She duly saw the job out with an assured 17:25 5km split. Over 3 minutes back, the intra-German battle was unfolding with Lara Thekla Ungewickell, Anna Busse, Josephine Seerig and Finja Schierl all in contention for a medal. Ungewickell powered to the top run split of the day (16:32) to earn the silver medal. Crossing in 3rd place was then Busse, who logged the only other sub-17-minute run split. View the full results here.
T100 San Francisco
There once was a time in the T100 when Hayden Wilde (NZL) did not win every race he showed up to, although such memories had faded in the light of the world champion’s sustained dominance over the past 18 months. He may have lost in the WTCS in 2025, but in this series, he has been an athlete par excellence. With Wilde still laid low by the illness that forced him out of WTCS Alghero, however, the field in San Francisco scented their chance to return to the old days of the T100. They did not need a second invitation to seize it.
WTCS gold medallists Morgan Pearson (USA) and Leo Bergere (FRA) piled on the pressure in the sea swim from Alcatraz Island to the mainland, their efforts over 2km putting 44 seconds into Wilde. Usually, Wilde would then make his move on the bike, yet the spark was not there. Instead, Rico Bogen (GER) and Lasse Nygaard Priester (GER) cruised into the lead as the only men to complete the 80km in under 2 hours.
Starting the run, Bogen led Priester by over 2 minutes, Wilde by more than 5. But the chase was on. Priester was gaining with every kilometre and an improbable catch seemed suddenly possible. That was until he served a 30 second penalty for an equipment infringement in T1. His momentum sapped, he could only look on as Bogen saw out a well-paced effort to win by 65 seconds and defend his San Francisco gold from last year. Wilde then put up a strong 58:44 18km run, the fourth best of the day, to seal 3rd place behind his German rivals. View the full results here.