Catch up with all the latest in the sport after the blockbluster WTCS Finals
You know what happened at the weekend. We know what happened at the weekend. You know we know you know what happened at the weekend. And wasn’t it simply marvellous. Join us in the latest Monday Morning Mix as we recap everything that went down at the biggest week of the triathlon year with the WTCS Finals in Pontevedra, as well as everything else that took place on the international circuit around the world.
Pontevedra World Junior Championships
Kicking things off in Pontevedra we had the World Junior Championships, an event that started in the most explosive of manners as Fanni Szalai (HUN) blew the race apart with a huge solo attack. The Hungarian athlete was the top swimmer and then extended her advantage early on in the bike. The gap would stabilise and then drop, but a field-leading run split then proved more than enough for Szalai to take the win after two straight silver medals. Anouk Danna of Switzerland was the best of the rest and took the silver medal while her teammate Kimey Casanova (SUI) completed the podium in 3rd place.
Gold followed later in the day for another Swiss athlete as Thibault Rivier (SUI) out-kicked Dinis Ferreira (POR) with the finish line in sight to seal the World Junior title. After Henry Haag (GER) took the lead in the water, a pack of nine formed at the front of the race on the bike. That number would balloon out to over thirty with athletes such as Ferreira making up for time lost in the swim. Ferreira would even have the quickest run split of the day (14:42) yet that was not enough to deny Rivier when he pounced. Jelle Kaindl (AUT) crossed 12 seconds behind Rivier and 10 behind Ferreira to secure the bronze medal. View the full results here.
Pontevedra World U23 Championships
The following day, Team France took the first of a wave of elite medals they would pile up in Pontevedra. In the women’s U23 race, Ilona Hadhoum (FRA) utilised very similar tactics to Szalai, starting by ramping up the pressure on her rivals in the 1500m swim. Hadhoum did not completely escape the rest of the field, and teammate Léa Houart (FRA) was on her hip coming into T1. The French pair would then head up a small breakaway group that put over a minute into their chasers, putting several major players out of the medal conversation.
The big talking point, though, was what came next. Hadhoum was otherworldly on the run, ripping a 32:56 10km split to win by a landslide. For reference, only one woman beat that time in the women’s WTCS Final (more on that later). Houart had a strong run of her own, the World Junior champion holding on to take the silver medal, while Canada’s Sidney Clement timed her 10km run perfectly to grab the bronze medal from the lead pack.
Nils Serre Gehri (FRA) doubled the French gold tally hours later as he stormed away from a select group of rivals on the third of the four run laps. Carter Stuhlmacher (USA) and Zalán Hóbor (HUN) had set the early tempo in the water and successfully broken the field up, allowing a small pack to escape up the road. After a minor crash saw top seed Izan Edo Aguilar (ESP) drop back into the chase pack, the leaders lost a bit of momentum and soon were caught.
Serre had been safely at the front throughout and showed no signs of panic at the growth of the number of rivals around him. A field-leading 29:46 run split showed why as he cruised to the gold medal. Like Hadhoum, in doing so he added the World U23 title to a previous World Junior crown. Michael Gar (GBR) powered to the silver medal in a tight finish, beating out Hóbor who in turn held off Edo.
On Sunday, Serre would team up with Hadhoum, Houart and Pablo Isotton (FRA) in the U23-Junior Mixed Team Relay Championships. This was a team that on paper looked completely overpowered and it was no surprise that they won the race in convincing fashion. Hungary opened with Szalai and closed with Hóbor (with Gyula Kovács and Márta Kropkó in between) in a strong combination that took the silver medal. Spain then rounded out the podium. View the full results here.
Pontevedra World Para Championships
Friday morning saw the World Para Championships light up Pontevedra, with comebacks, close finishes, upset victories and a couple of dominant wins offering a little bit of everything.
Men’s winners
PTWC: Thomas Fruehwirth (AUT)
PTVI: Dave Ellis (GBR)
PTS2: Jules Ribstein (FRA)
PTS3: Henry Urand (GBR)
PTS4: Alexis Hanquinquant (FRA)
PTS5: Chris Hammer (USA)
Women’s winners
PTWC: Lauren Parker (AUS)
PTVI: Susana Rodriguez (ESP)
PTS2: Hailey Danz (USA)
PTS3: Serena Banzato (ITA)
PTS4: Camille Seneclauze (FRA)
PTS5: Grace Norman (USA)
On Sunday, the Para action returned with the Mixed Team Relay event as Team USA defended their crown after a tight battle with Team Australia. Kendall Gretsch, Carson Clough, Grace Norman and Owen Cravens combined for the former, while Parker, Matthew Engesser, Maggie Sandles and Jack Howell teamed up for the latter. Gretsch took the lead but the Australians made up time on the next two legs. Cravens reversed the tide, however, and managed to drop a huge anchor leg to hold off Howell by 6 seconds. In the fight for bronze, Team Brazil then pipped Team France by 3 seconds. View the full results here.
WTCS Finals Pontevedra
And then we came to the crowning moments of the 2026 season. The women were up first on Saturday and no matter what the field threw at Cassandre Beaugrand (FRA) the Olympic champion had an answer. Tilly Anema (GBR) and Bianca Seregni (ITA) earned a 24-second lead in the water. They were soon joined in the breakaway group by Beaugrand, WTCS Karlovy Vary winner Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR), 2023 world champion Beth Potter (GBR) and more.
The leaders put the best part of 2 minutes into the chase pack and once the run started Beaugrand put on a show. A 32:35 split, the only one under 33 minutes and the only 10km faster than Hadhoum’s, saw her take the gold medal by a commanding 65 seconds and win the world title with a perfect points total for the second time in three years.
Taylor-Brown maintained her brilliant form by placing 2nd; in doing so she vaulted herself up to 3rd overall in the Series. Kate Waugh (GBR) then won a second ever WTCS medal in 3rd place, ahead of Potter who would guarantee her hold on 2nd overall in the standings.
While Beaugrand regained her title, the men’s race saw the sixth different WTCS champion in the past years win his title. Vasco Vilaca (POR) did not need to win in Pontevedra to take the Series, but he came mighty close as he finished with the same time as 2025 world champion Matthew Hauser (AUS). Both had been part of the front pack that distanced key rivals like Alex Yee (GBR) and Hayden Wilde (NZL) in the chase pack and always looked in total control.
Yee, however, was never entirely out of the reckoning and managed to surge to 3rd place at the finish line thanks to a 28:46 10km split, a full 36 seconds faster than the next quickest man, Vilaca. That put Yee just ahead of Portuguese racer Ricardo Batista, who enjoyed a breakout season to take 3rd overall in the standings behind Vilaca and Hauser. View the full results here.
Bled Europe Junior Cup
Pontevedra was not the sole source of triathlon action, and the latest Europe Junior Cup took place across the continent in Bled. A multi-round super-sprint format was on offer, a challenge Laura Dugovičová of Slovakia took in her stride as she won the final. Lea-Marie Bellstedt (GER) had put 30 seconds into Dugovičová in the water but was part of a breakaway that was pegged back. She nonetheless took the fight to her Slovakian opponent on the run, but Dugovičová had another gear and won by 5 seconds. Grace Taylor (SUI) won the bronze medal.
No such comeback was required for Dániel Németh (HUN) in the men’s race as the Hungarian athlete positioned himself near the front throughout before striking to gold with a vicious burst. France’s Valentin Yvorra and Levente Szabó (HUN) put up the stiffest resistance to Németh, getting out onto the run ahead of their rival to dictate the pace, and were rewarded with the silver and bronze medals, respectively. View the full results here.
Skikda World Triathlon Development Regional Cup
In the men’s race, Zakaria Chtioui (TUN) starred as he whizzed to the gold medal by 1:28. Chtioui was the second man out of the water behind Algeria’s Naim Mokhfi (9:24 to Chtioui’s 9:41)
Finally, Dalia Aidouni (ALG) and Saleha nerddjes Berrached (ALG) renewed their budding rivalry in Algeria. After Aidouni won their recent contest in Tipaza, she was on top once more in Skikda with a composed performance over the sprint distance. The pair stuck together on the swim and bike, before Aidouni made her move on the run to win by 24 seconds. Lyna Benaceur (ALG) finished 3rd.
In the men’s race, Zakaria Chtioui (TUN) starred as he whizzed to the gold medal by 1:28. Chtioui was the second man out of the water behind Algeria’s Naim Mokhfi (9:24 to Chtioui’s 9:41) before the Tunisian turned the tables with a field-leading bike split (29:27). Already leading by over 30 seconds coming into T2, Chtioui made certain his victory with another chart-topping split on the run (16:03). Mokhfi kept his head and held on to 2nd place, while Remy Gerard (MRI) claimed the bronze medal. View the full results here.
