Strap yourselves in, we’ve got a huge weekend of triathlon to get through. Three Continental Championships over three formats represented the tip of the iceberg for what was a crazy couple of days.
From a world champion adding a continental crown to their collection, to a stunning comeback Para triathlon victory and to a World U23 champion being hunted on a run, not to mention the guy that just cannot stop winning in Mexico, the triathlon world was bursting with action. Catch up with everything that happened in one place with your latest Monday Morning Mix.
Europe Championships Tarragona
World champion Lisa Tertsch (GER) prevailed in a rematch of her Tiszaujvaros World Cup tussle against the defending European champion Jolien Vermeylen (BEL) in a heavyweight bout that went down to the wire. A mere 2 seconds separated the two women after Tertsch had used the best T2 of the day to strike out from the massive main pack behind Finland’s Helena Knaapi onto the 10km run. Vermeylen’s field-leading split of 33:31, a full 11 seconds quicker than Tertsch, was ultimately not enough to haul back the German.
Nor were Tertsch and Vermeylen the only athletes in the hunt for the win. Valentina Riasova (RUS) held off an inspired run from Roksana Slupek (POL) to take the bronze medal, some 5 seconds behind Vermeylen. The day, however, belonged to Tertsch. After a bronze medal at her previous outing at WTCS Alghero she seems to be hitting her stride just in time for summer.
Over in the men’s race, Oliver Conway (GBR) continued his phenomenal start to his senior career by claiming the European crown. The World U23 champion did not win this race, however, quite how you might have imagined.
Hungary’s Márk Dévay led out the 1500m swim and tried to force the terms for an early breakaway. His time of 17:27 put him a full 45 seconds ahead of Conway who languished down the field. Yet an enormous turn on the bike alongside WTCS medallist Roberto Sanchez Mantecon (ESP) and Ian Pennekamp (NED) brought Conway up to the front before that trio broke clear with Dévay, Tjebbe Kaindl (AUT) and Zsombor Dévay (HUN).
The leading six had the best part of three quarters of a minute to play with coming into T2. With Conway’s running prowess no secret to the triathlon world at this point, the winner of this year’s Haikou World Cup promptly took control of proceedings. The top runner, though, was actually making his way through the ranks behind.
Michael Gar (GBR) had enjoyed a better swim than Conway but did not make the breakaway group. Once he finally passed Sanchez, only his compatriot remained ahead. Yet Gar’s field-best 29:38 10km was not enough to reel in Conway and he settled for the silver medal ahead of Sanchez. View the full results here.
Europe Para Championships Tarragona
Women’s results
- PTWC: Eva María Moral Pedrero (ESP)
- PTS2: Neele Ludwig (GER)
- PTS3: Serena Banzato (ITA)
- PTS4: Camille Seneclauze (FRA)
- PTS5: Lauren Steadman (GBR)
- PTVI: Susana Rodriguez (ESP)
There was a double success for the home Spanish team as Moral and Rodriguez defended the titles they won last year. Rodriguez renewed her rivalry with Italian talent Francesca Tarantello, who led out the 750m swim in the PTVI race. Rodriguez, however, came storming back on the bike to heap the pressure on Tarantello. The Italian still led going into the run, but as a B3 athlete to Rodriguez’s B1, she had to overcome the buffer the reigning champion possessed from their difference in classification. Despite running the 5km 58 seconds faster, Tarantello could not close the gap.
There was Italian joy elsewhere as Banzato defeated world champion Elise Marc (FRA) in the PTS3 class. In turn, Seneclauze took an impressive victory for France over 2024 European champion Megan Richter (GBR) in the PTS4 class. This domino effect continued as a British victory nonetheless came in the PTS5 event courtesy of Tokyo Paralympic champion Steadman’s gold medal.
The closest race of the day came in the PTS2 class. While Seneclauze beat compatriot Zoé Reveillon by 11 seconds and Richter by 33 in a tight PTS4 class, Germany’s Neele Ludwig overhauled Belgium’s Gitte Welslau by a mere 4 seconds after a nail-biting come-from-behind victory on the run. Welslau had led out of T2 by almost 40 seconds, but she fell metres short of claiming the European title for herself.
Men’s results
- PTWC: Thomas Fruehwirth (AUT)
- PTS2: Jules Ribstein (FRA)
- PTS3: Henry Urand (GBR)
- PTS4: Alexis Hanquinquant (FRA)
- PTS5: Bence Mocsari (HUN)
- PTVI: Lazar Filipovic (SRB)
Last year’s world and European champion Fruehwirth maintained his exceptional run of form with another gold medal. Having won last time out at the Yokohama World Para Series stop, he put on a clinic to relegate his illustrious compatriot Florian Brungraber to the silver medal by almost 2 minutes. In this shape, it is hard to see Fruehwirth losing again this year.
Things were a little less cut-and-dry as Ribstein and 2024 world champion Wim De Paepe (BEL) locked horns once more in the PTS2 class. De Paepe got the better of his French rival at last year’s European Championships before Ribstein returned the favour at the world championships. In Tarragona, the two men logged identical swim times (10:35) before riding virtually in sync. Ultimately, Ribstein had the decisive final gear on the run that saw him home by 16 seconds.
There was a surprise defeat for world champion Dave Ellis (GBR) in the PTVI class. Equally, we should not have been too shocked at who defeated him, for Filipovic had already won the Yokohama World Para Series and Samarkand World Para Cup events this year. With his biggest win yet under his belt, the Serbian is continuing a season he will never forget.
Mocsari likewise built upon a Yokohama triumph with another victory, while world champions Hanquinquant and Urand were unstoppable in the PTS4 and PTS3 classes, respectively. As with Fruehwirth, it will take something truly extraordinary to beat either when this year’s World Para Championships head to Spain. View the full results here.
Africa Sprint Championships Blue Bay
Two Team World Triathlon alumni starred at the African Championships over the sprint distance in Mauritius with Shanae Williams (RSA) and Jawad Abdelmoula (MAR) taking the wins in the women’s and men’s events.
Williams was the first woman out of the water (10:47) and promptly converted her lead into a two-woman breakaway alongside teammate Hannah Newman (RSA). Their tireless work over 20km ensured they arrived in T2 with a lead of around 90 seconds. Williams was then a single second away from adding the best run of the day (17:49) as she roared to the win; the top split went to Australian Kelsey Mitchell as she passed Newman to finish 2nd. Newman earned the African Championships silver in 3rd place while Aimee Roux (RSA) was the next athlete to finish and took the continental bronze.
Over in the men’s race, Abdelmoula was pushed all the way by South African athlete Julian Birkel but the defending champion had enough left in the tank to power to the win. Abdelmoula’s fellow Moroccan Badr Siwane was actually the top swimmer (9:45) but he subsequently lost position as Abdelmoula, Birkel and Maximilian Betts (NAM) manufactured a three-man breakaway on the bike. While Abdelmoula’s brisk 13:27 5km saw him past Birkel, Siwane rallied on the run to claim the bronze medal. View the full results here.
Africa Para Championships Blue Bay
Men’s results
- PTWC: Fathi Zwoukhi (TUN)
- PTS2: Jeromius Rooi (NAM)
- PTS4: Mhlenga Gwaia (RSA)
- PTS5: Oscar Dennis (KEN)
There were smaller fields at the Africa Para Championships but the continental crown and valuable world ranking points drew some full-blooded racing. The best action came in the men’s PTWC class as Zwoukhi overturned a swim deficit to log the best bike and run segments of the day to defend the title he won last year. View the full results here.
Africa Junior Cup Blue Bay
Rachel O’Donoghue (ZIM) had won her previous Africa Junior Cup in Mossel Bay and she doubled up with a dominant win in Blue Bay. The Zimbabwean youngster was the fastest athlete in all three disciplines and won by a comprehensive 5:43. Keira Rajabalee (MRI) brought some joy for home fans by claiming the silver medal, while Melinda Dippenaar (RSA) completed the podium
Having been pipped in an insanely close sprint finish a week earlier in Yasmine Hammamet, Youssef Slama (TUN) was not willing to leave anything to chance in Blue Bay. A man on a mission, he hit the swim hard, building a 37 second lead going into T1, before piling on field-leading bike and run splits to secure a resounding victory (by 2:58). Aurelien Ciceron (MRI) was the next man home while Arvin AbdelMassih (MOZ) secured 3rd place. View the full results here.
Asia Super Sprint Championships Xuzhou
At the third and final Continental Championships of the weekend, the home Chinese team came away with both elite gold medals over the super sprint distance. The women’s field went directly to a final heat in which Anqi Huang (CHN) came out on top. Huang was prolific on the Asia Cup circuit last year, winning three events in a row, and she blew the field away on the run in Xuzhou.
After emerging 27th out of the water in a 29-woman field, Huang had plenty of work to do on the bike, but the second-best split of the day saved her race. At the front, Xinyu Lin (CHN) and Manami Hayashi (JPN) were among the best-placed to exploit Huang’s slow start and both had swift T2s to start the run with a 5 second lead. Huang, however, was on a different level over the 2km run, clocking 6:20 to win by 10 seconds. Lin then fended off Hayashi to seal the silver medal.
Meanwhile, the men’s event saw a multi-round format whittle down the field ahead of a tense final. Less than 15 seconds would ultimately separate the top-8. Ren Sato (JPN), the winner of the first semi-final was always in the mix, but the standout performer was Mingxu Li (CHN), winner of the second heat.
Li was always near the front after a speedy swim and T1 helped him start the bike right on the heels of initial leader Takuto Oshima (JPN). Like Huang, Li then primarily inflicted damage with a flying 5:30 run split. Crossing 5 seconds after in 2nd place was Japan’s Kazushi Jozuka while Hong Kong’s Oscar Coggins rounded out the podium after winning a mad dash in the final few hundred metres. View the full results here.
World Triathlon Development Regional Cup Kampar
It was hot and it was humid at the latest Development Regional Cup of the year, but that did not stop Long Hoi (MAC) from delivering a classy win in brutal conditions. The race winner was the second athlete out of the water behind home hopeful Cindy Yea Zhen Sui (MAS). The arrival of the bike section was when she made her move.
A 34:08 split for 20km was simply unanswerable. For context, Zhen Sui was the next quickest cyclist and hit a time of 35:37. It therefore did not matter when Zhen Sui out-split Hoi by 3 seconds to also claim the top run time; the damage had been done. Adding another medal for the home team in 3rd place was Esther Joy Hong Li Chen.
Earlier in the day, Omar Abdulla Hamza Ali (BRN) proved too good on the run as he notched another international win. The 2025 West Asian champion had spent the swim and bike in a select group at the head of the race. Among his closest rivals were South Korean duo Seongsik Kim and Jaejin Jung. A swift T2 put Hamza Ali within 2 seconds of the lead and from there, he surged ahead over the 5km run.
His time of 17:25 saw him narrowly miss out on the top split of the race, but it was nonetheless enough for a comfortable 30 second victory. In a frenetic sprint for silver, Kim edged out Jung after both men produced identical 5km splits. View the full results here.
Asia Junior Cup Kampar
Elizaveta Polianskaia (RUS) was the star of the show in the junior women’s event in Kampar, logging the top splits in all three disciplines. Despite her efforts, she could not fully break clear of Indonesia’s Maurizka Nur Azizah and Russia’s Anastasiia Romanenko until well into the 5km run. Both had exited the water within 6 seconds of Polianskaia and thereafter never lost more than 3 seconds in a single discipline by the time the run started. Neither, though, had an answer to the race winner’s 19:23 run split, with Nur Azizah coming closest but still settling for silver, 28 seconds behind the winner.
A fearless solo breakaway from Keannan Fathir Arrashy Rolland (INA) proved the key to unlocking the top prize in the junior men’s race. From the first strokes of the swim, Arrashy Rolland moved like a man possessed, putting over a half a minute into his closest competitor over the 750m. He was not done yet, though, and a chart-topping 20km bike split extended his advantage.
As was to be expected, Arrashy Rolland’s efforts came back to bite him on the run and there was not to be another top-3 split here. He nonetheless had enough of a buffer to withstand the electrifying charge of Darell Bada (PHI) and Feher Moussa (RSA) – the day’s top runner in 17:18 – by 18 and 22 seconds, respectively. View the full results here.
Europe Triathlon Balkan Championships Ohrid
The best of the Balkans battled for bragging rights in very different conditions to those seen in Kampar. What the weather lacked in heat, though, the racing more than made up for. The women’s race came down to a contest between Alice Perjoiu (ROU) and Mira Ivanova Georgieva (BUL) after their speed in the latter stages of the sprint distance run burned off the four remaining contenders that had clung to them.
Both Perjoiu and Georgieva had been forced to recoup position after being put on the back foot in the swim, but the run was their time to shine. A late surge from the Bulgarian athlete proved the difference between the two as Georgieva won by 11 seconds. Tinkara Stres (SLO) then bested a pair of Serbian rivals to seal the bronze medal.
Carol Popa (ROU) came into the men’s race with a point to prove; the Romanian had recently been denied a medal on home soil at the Development Regional Cup in Mamaia. Two of the men that beat him that day, Gabriel Barac (CRO) and Alexander Bozhilov (BUL), were on the start line again and looked to deal another defeat to Popa.
Neither, though, could shake Popa in the swim or the bike. And when the 5km run came around, the Romanian struck. A 15:29 split, the best of the day, saw Popa fly to victory by 11 seconds, the same as Georgieva, over Greece’s Nicolaos Keramidas. The fight for bronze then came down to a shoot-out between Bozhilov and Barac, one which the former won. View the full results here.
World Cup Huatulco
Wrapping up the weekend was the return of the Huatulco World Cup, a race that saw a host of breakthrough performances. In the women’s event, Kelly Wetteland (USA) was the first athlete out of the water, clocking 9:55 for the 750m swim. The initial hints that a small group might pull away, however, proved illusory.
From the large pack that came together on the bike, Ana Maria Valentina Torres Gomez (MEX) struck out early on the run. And the field had no answer. Only Noelia Juan (ESP) could hang with the home athlete at first. Slowly but surely, Torres glided away her rival. It seemed that would render the win cut-and-dry, but Wetteland came charging through the pack on the final run lap, closing the gap.
In the end, she ran out of road and Torres held on for a famous maiden World Cup win by 5 seconds. Juan then followed Wetteland home to seal a return to the World Cup podium in 3rd place.
And finally (kudos to those that have made it this far), there must be something in the Huatulco water that turns Tyler Mislawchuk (CAN) into a winning machine at the venue. After wins in 2019 and 2021, and two subsequent silver medals, the Canadian was back on top with a flawless performance on the Mexican coast.
A strong swim ensured Mislawchuk left the water in 4th place. His rapid T1 then saw him first out onto the bike. As is fairly typical for Huatulco, a massive lead pack then formed, however Mislawchuk kept his smarts about him and was the first into and then out of T2 having once again had the best transition.
He faced opposition from Sullivan Middaugh (USA) and a host of rising stars over the 5km run, but Mislawchuk knew Huatulco’s course too well and picked his moment with aplomb. Behind, Middaugh came away with a first ever World Cup medal in 2nd place while Vinicius Avi Santana (BRA) blasted through for a maiden medal of his own in 3rd place. View the full results here.