No, it isn’t a trick. We really are in September already. Luckily the arrival of autumn has failed to put a dent into the momentum of the triathlon calendar and the past weekend had plenty to offer, from standout Para triathlon turns to duathlon world titles and to a WTCS medallist dazzling. Take a look at all that happened in your Monday Morning Mix.
Subic Bay Asia Para triathlon Championships
One of the highlights of the weekend came with Asia’s leading Para triathletes lighting up Subic Bay. Although the race was switched to a duathlon due to dangerous conditions (which was not the only time this happened at the weekend), the change did little to dampen the action.
Men’s winners
PTS2: Rustamjan Satiboldiyev (UZB)
PTS3: Masaki Fujita (JPN)
PTS4: Hideki Uda (JPN)
PTS5: Keiichi Sato (JPN)
PTVI: Ryota Kashiki (JPN)
Team Japan very nearly ran away with the weekend as they were denied a sweep of the men’s events only by the impressive performance of Satiboldiyev in the PTWC class. Among the top performers, Uda and Sato stood out as both rocketed to victory with the top splits across all three disciplines.
Uda defended the crown he claimed last year, adding another medal to the pair of World Para Series podiums he has already earned in 2026. Meanwhile, this was Sato’s sixth Asian title. His first dates back to 2015 while he was also the world champion in the old PT4 category back in 2014. The PTS5 class has become ferociously competitive in recent years, but it would be quite the story for Sato to turn back the clock again at this month’s World Para Championships.
Women’s winners
PTWC: Shiori Funamizu (JPN)
PTS2: Yukako Hata (JPN)
PTS5: Shokhsanam Sobirjonova (UZB)
PTVI: Gulnaz Zhuzbaeva (KGZ)
While Funamizu and Zhuzbaeva defended the titles they won in 2025, Hata and Sobirjonova upgraded the silver and bronze medals they respectively took home at last year’s Asia Championships. View the full results here.
Alhandra World Para Cup
The Para triathlon action continued with the final world-level race ahead of the Pontevedra World Para Championships at the end of the month. Several leading contenders for glory in Pontevedra made the most of the racing opportunity, with Spanish hopefuls, continental champions and a defending world champion among the many stories to follow.
Men’s winners
PTWC: Fathi Zwoukhi (TUN)
PTS2: Lionel Morales (ESP)
PTS3: Ryan Taylor (GBR)
PTS4: Nils Riudavets Victory (ESP)
PTS5: Filipe Marques (POR)
PTVI: Dave Ellis (GBR)
Reigning world and Paralympic champion Ellis was the headline act and duly bossed the PTVI event, recording the top split in each of the swim, bike and run. After a shock silver medal at the Europe Championships back in June, Ellis has now won three straight international races and is clicking into gear nicely ahead of Pontevedra. His latest win also saw him celebrate a 50th career victory and gold medal number 51 could be only weeks away. Ellis’ 5km run split of 15:22 in Alhandra will certainly have his rivals on notice.
Meanwhile, Marques earned a first international win in two years over in the PTS5 class. As it happens, Marques’ previous victory came in Alhandra in 2024. Already a World Para Series and Europe Championships medallist this season, Marques took the lead in the water (10:24 for 750m) and maintained his lead for the rest of the race.
Unlike Ellis, he came under a major challenge as Americas champion Ruiter Antonio Goncalves Silva (BRA) closed most of the gap on the bike before losing 21 seconds on the run to finish in 2nd by 31 seconds. In the ever-competitive PTS5 class, expect both to take a run at the World Championships podium this month.
Ellis’ compatriot Taylor, last year’s silver medallist at the World Championships, came through a real test in the PTS3 class to win by 14 seconds. A field-best 30:57 split on the bike put the Brit into T2 first, but Italy’s Luca Panciroli gained 19 seconds in transition and gave Taylor a real fight throughout the 5km.
Zwouhki, the African champion in the PTWC class, survived an even closer scare as he won by 13 seconds over France’s Julien Viot. A massive run split from the Tunisian reversed a deficit of over 50 seconds to seal the win. Finally, Spanish talents Morales and Ruidavets did their Pontevedra prep no harm as they took comfortable wins in the PTS2 and PTS4 classes, respectively.
Women’s winners
PTS2: Emma Juaisca Rodriguez Rodriguez (VEN)
PTS3: Kassandra Case (USA)
PTS4: Danielle Cummings (USA)
PTS5: Erica Da Rosa Rodrigues (BRA)
PTVI: Francesca Tarantello (ITA)
Italy’s 2023 world champion Tarantello returned to winning ways with a commanding victory in Alhandra. With her next duel with defending world champion Susana Rodriguez (ESP) to come, the 12-minute winning margin as enjoyed here is unlikely to be on the cards in Pontevedra. That being said, Tarantello won her world title in Pontevedra and is clearly in the kind of form that could see history repeat itself.
Da Rosa is in a similar position. The Brazilian athlete claimed a first international win of the season after a string of World Para Series silver medals. In each of the Yokohama, Montreal and Hamburg stops, however, she came up against the irrepressible force that is world champion Grace Norman (USA). At this point in time, beating Norman is a Para triathlon challenge comparable to beating Cassandre Beaugrand (FRA) in the WTCS. Da Rosa will therefore need everything to go right in Pontevedra, just as it did in Alhandra as she took the top splits in all three disciplines. View the full results here.
Zofingen World Triathlon Powerman Long Distance Duathlon Championships
One of the most gruelling events on the international calendar was also on the menu at the weekend with the World Long Distance Duathlon Championships in Zofingen. With athletes competing over 10.8km run, 148.2km bike and another 26.7km run, this was not an event for the faint-hearted. A virtuoso performance from the defending champion, Emile Blondel Hermant (FRA), duly gave the field and all those watching a perfect template on how to dominate over the distance.
The Frenchman shared the lead with silver medallist Jonathan Wayaffe (BEL) into T1. Both clocked 33:33 for the opening run. Wayaffe would sneak ahead through transition and clung on to Blondel Hermant on the bike, restricting the champion to a 9 second lead into T2. It was on the run, though, that Blondel Hermant’s class shone through as he made his move.
A 1:33:57 run split, the only one under 1:45, saw him to gold by a massive 12 minutes and his final time of 5:50:30 was almost 8 minutes better than last year. Baptiste Domanico (FRA) then made it two French athletes on the podium as he took bronze behind Wayaffe.
After doing the middle distance-long distance duathlon double in 2025, Merle Brunnée (GER) repeated the trick in 2026 by adding gold in Zofingen to her the Alsdorf title she won back in April. Unlike Blondel Hermant, Brunnée arrived in T1 with a slight deficit to the initial leader, Britain’s Rachel Brown (38:56). However, the German athlete promptly counter-attacked on the bike and gained over 8 minutes on Brown.
Although Brown would pull back some time on the second run, it never looked like being enough and Brunnée won by 6:38. Hana Kolarova (CZE) was the next athlete home, taking bronze on her first international start having stepped up from the age-group ranks. View the full results here.
Beline World Triathlon Development Regional Cup
Paris Olympians Eloi Adjavon (TOG) and Jean Gael Laurent L’entete (MRI) were a cut above the field in Mozambique, but their presence gave real life examples of what could be through potential LA 2028 New Flag or Universality slots for those on the Regional Cup scene. Adjavon would lead out the swim, but Algeria’s Naim Mokhfi was only 1 second back alongside L’entente. The two Olympians would eventually pull away from Mohkfi on the run, who held on for the bronze medal. Up ahead, it took a decisive kick on the run from Adjavon to escape L’entente’s clutches – he won by only 4 seconds – to take a first win of the season.
The women’s race saw only two athletes start, both from Benin, as Mahounan Conforte Hounga (BEN) prevailed over Vignon Edwige Etoile Agbodjogbe (BEN) by 12 minutes. View the full results here.
Ilheus Americas Cup
On home soil, Manoel Messias (BRA) bided his time before striking to a first international win of the season. There was little to shake up the field in the sprint distance event, with Joshua Bird’s early lead in the water (10:35 for 750m) soon erased on the bike by a large front pack. With Messias in the front pack, the triple WTCS medallist simply floated along, a barracuda surrounded by a school of smaller fish.
Although Gabriel Lacheta (BRA) would lead Messias by 12 seconds out of T2, it did not ultimately matter. Messias’ turn of speed was simply too great and a 15:46 5km split – the best of the day by 34 seconds – soon saw him home. Lacheta held on to take the silver medal while Tiago Muñoz (ARG) crossed in 3rd place.
Whereas Messias’ win was the latest in a long line of international success (he was World Junior champion all the way back in 2015 and has been on major podiums ever since), the women’s race saw a first-time gold medallist take the top spot. Katie McCune (USA) is part of an ever-growing American cohort looking to press their case for LA 2028, and she enjoyed a breakout showing in Ilheus.
McCune led the swim in 10:28 (faster even than the top men’s time) before consolidating her lead as part of a seven-woman breakaway group. She then sealed a massive 43-second victory by logging a 17:32 run split, comfortably the best of the day. Brazil’s Giovanna Lacerda was on hand to claim the silver medal from the breakaway, while Catalina Torres Espinoza (CRC) likewise made the podium from the lead pack. View the full results here.
Derry Europe Cup
In Ireland, unfavourable weather conditions saw another event switched from a triathlon to a duathlon with the athletes kicking off the sprint distance race with a 2.5km run instead of the customary 750m swim. This played into the hands of World U23 Championships medallist Hamish Reilly (GBR) who led the opening discipline in 7:13 alongside teammate Ben Cumberland (GBR). Swiss athlete Maxime Fluri was not far behind, but then again most weren’t as twenty-five men were within 5 seconds of the leaders.
The 20km bike only saw the lead group bloat, setting the stage for a decisive final run. Reilly and Cumberland again moved to the front with Fluri while Etienne Le Roux (FRA) positioned himself alongside them. Fluri and Reilly would pull clear late on, and it took a final surge from Fluri to settle things, the Swiss athlete taking the win by 2 seconds. Le Roux then secured the bronze.
Things were rather different in the women’s race as Katie Rodda (GBR) went gung-ho on the opening run, clocking 10:49 to lead into transition. Only Sarah Walter (GER) managed to stay within 10 seconds of the Brit and a speedy T1 helped her extend her lead. The likes of Hungarian veteran Zsanett Kuttor-Bragmayer eventually caught Rodda in a slimmed-down lead pack that held all the cards as they came into T2.
Lurking in the chase pack, however, almost half a minute down was María López Faraudo (MEX). And when López hit the second run, everything changed. Rodda and Carlotta Bülck (GER) established themselves as the best runners of the lead group but neither could match the speed of López. Suddenly, the Mexican was at the front and, such was her momentum, she pipped Rodda to the gold by 2 seconds.
Encapsulating the difference between the two athletes, López’s final 5km time of 16:35 was exactly 30 seconds better than Rodda’s. Bülck, still a junior athlete, then crossed 3 seconds behind Rodda to claim the first senior international medal of her career. View the full results here.
Derry Europe Junior Cup
The Junior Cup in Derry was likewise run as a duathlon and a tense race saw Caleb Wagener (NZL) edge out American rivals Aiden Monistere and Brice Allen. As the 2025 World Junior champion in duathlon, Wagener was heavily favoured by the switch of format in Derry. He promptly produced a smart race to take the win.
Wagener did not panic when Oscar Chirnside (GBR) raced into the lead on the first run. The New Zealander was 14 seconds behind heading into T1 but was the third athlete on the road and made sure to put himself in the lead pack of twenty that formed. He was then the first out of T2 and had the composure to see off the attacks of Monistere and Allen to win by 7 seconds.
The biggest win in Derry came in the junior women’s race as Korinna Katona (HUN) destroyed the field on the second run. Like Wagener, Katona conceded time to the fastest runner in the first discipline; Hayley Cornwall (NZL) led the way, clocking 11:57 as Katona mustered a time of 12:23. A strong effort on the bike nonetheless saw Katona join the select lead pack that emerged around Cornwall.
A devastating final run split of 16:54 (when no one else went quicker than 18:20) then handed Katona her first ever international win. Only López in the senior women’s race ran quicker. Anna Patterson (GBR), the top cyclist of the day and second quickest runner, crossed in 2nd place while Cornwall held on to take 3rd. View the full results here.
Around the world
The supertri final attracted a stellar cast of athletes to Jersey with Matthew Hauser (AUS) bouncing back from a tough day out at WTCS Weihai to take the win in the men’s race. Hayden Wilde (NZL) settled for silver while Mitch Kolkman (NED) claimed the bronze.
In the women’s race, Cassandre Beaugrand (FRA) maintained her imperious form by notching another victory. After beating 2023 and 2025 world champions Beth Potter (GBR) and Lisa Tertsch (GER) in Weihai, this time she got the better of 2020 world champion Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR) who placed 2nd. Completing the podium in Jersey was WTCS race winner Jeanne Lehair (LUX).