Now we are really up and running! A huge weekend of triathlon consisting of the opening World Triathlon Cup and World Para Series instalments, as well as Continental Championships in Oceania and Asia, gave fans plenty to feast upon. Find out all the big winners in this week’s Monday Morning Mix.
Lanzarote World Cup
We have to start with the electric debut of Lanzarote on the World Cup circuit. Nina Eim (GER) and David Cantero del Campo (ESP) were back atop the podium courtesy of brutal finishing kicks that burned off their rivals. If you did not catch the dramatic finales, be sure to check the full race replay on TriathlonLive.
Behind Eim, a pair of comeback stories completed the podium. After a season of experimentation last year, Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR) slotted back into short course racing with aplomb, finishing 2nd. Similarly, Laura Lindemann (GER) won the bronze in her first international start in ten months.
Over in the men’s race, Tim Hellwig (GER) was also on the comeback trial; the Olympic relay champion had not competed internationally since 2024. He showed few cobwebs as he pushed Cantero all the way, claiming the silver medal. Jawad Abdelmoula (MAR) then prevailed in the bunch sprint for bronze. View the full results here.
Devonport World Para Series
While Lanzarote was arguably the centrepiece of the weekend, further brilliant action came on the other side of the world with the opener of the World Para Series. Despite stern tests from the American and Japanese teams, the home Australian squad ended the day with the most gold medals.
Among their most notable victories were world champion Anu Francis bossing the PTS2 class, Maggie Sandles taking the widest winning margin of the day in the PTVI event, and Jack Howell knocking over Paralympic and world champion Chris Hammer in the PTS5 category. View the full results here and the race winners below.
Men:
- PTWC: Howie Sanborn (USA)
- PTS2: Mohamed Lahna (USA)
- PTS3: Stylianos Malakopoulos (GRE)
- PTS4: Carson Clough (USA)
- PTS5: Jack Howell (AUS)
- PTVI: Sam Harding (AUS)
Women:
- PTWC: Shiori Funamizu (JPN)
- PTS2: Anu Francis (AUS)
- PTS4: Mami Tani (JPN)
- PTS5: Grace Brimelow (AUS)
- PTVI: Maggie Sandles (AUS)
Devonport Oceania Championships
The World Para Series was not the only show playing in Devonport. After the Oceania sprint distance titles were decided recently, it was now the turn of the standard distance bouts.
The men’s race belonged entirely to Luke Willian (AUS). The WTCS medallist was in exceptional nick. In fact, he logged the fastest splits in each of the swim, bike and run, handing him a yawning winning margin of 69 seconds.
Willian was not alone, however, for much of the race. Among his fellow leaders was the 4th place finisher and U23 champion, Oscar Wootton (AUS). Crucially, Willian had distanced silver medallist Callum McClusky (AUS) and bronze medallist Brandon Copeland (AUS) across the swim and bike. He nonetheless applied the finishing touches to his bravura performance by out-splitting both medallists by over 25 seconds in the 10km run.
Tara Sosinski (AUS) left Devonport with both the senior and U23 titles after a massive performance that saw her win by 2:40. Sosinski had exited the swim a mere 2 seconds behind silver medallist Zoe Clarke (AUS). That pair would then put daylight between them and the rest of the field.
Prior to T2, Sosinski pulled away from Clarke although she only led by 18 seconds, leaving the race very much open. That was until she slammed the door shut with a field-leading run split. Behind Clarke, Ellie Hoitink (AUS) came through in 3rd place. View the full results here.
Devonport Oceania Junior Championships
The junior event saw a shift down to the sprint distance and here the gaps among the medallists became much finer. The men’s race saw the best part of twenty athletes make the front pack going into T2. From there, Zahn Spies (AUS) made no mistake, ripping a 15:01 5km to upgrade his silver from 2025 to gold. Kyle Mason (AUS) crossed 16 seconds later to take the silver, while Caleb Wagener (NZL) grabbed a medal for New Zealand, relegating former Oceania Junior champion Jack Woodberry (AUS) into 4th place.
The winner of last year’s Tiszaujvaros Europe Junior Cup, Addison Houslip (AUS), was too good in the junior women’s race, winning by 26 seconds thanks to a field-best 16:54 run split. A smaller front pack came together, with the home team dominating proceedings. The Australians would go on to lock out the podium with Piper Anderson in 2nd and Hannah Pollock in 3rd.
Anderson follows in the footsteps of her older sister, Aspen, who took the Oceania Junior title in the previous two seasons. As one of the youngest women in the field (being born in 2010), she will have plenty of time to match her sister’s gold. View the full results here.
Hong Kong Asia U23 and Junior Championships
Further continental crowns were up for grabs in Hong Kong. Having opened his account for the season with a win in Putrajaya, Takuto Oshima (JPN) kept the golds flowing. His victory, however, was a fraught matter with dangers lurking in every discipline.
Yunkang Luo (CHN) had led the sprint distance swim in 8:55, some 28 seconds ahead of Oshima. A larger front pack would then swallow up both athletes, with South Korea’s Taegi Kim powering to the fore. Kim and Luo were then right on Oshima’s shoulder at the start of the run, as was Kazuna Asanuma (JPN). Luo cracked first but the other two proved tough to shake. Indeed, it was not until the last gasps of the race that Oshima managed to slip their attentions and beat Kim into 2nd by 2 seconds. Asanuma took 3rd place a further 5 seconds later.
Things were more comfortable for Gayeon Park (KOR) in the women’s U23 race. After coming into T1 in 3rd place, Park broke clear on the bike with the top split of the day in a three-woman breakaway with swim leader Ziqing Lu (CHN) and Hinaka Masuda (JPN). Park then added the fastest run split (17:27) to win by 87 seconds. Ayame Hayashi (JPN) ran through from the chase pack to snare silver, while Masuda claimed the bronze.
Konosuke Uchida (JPN) and Diana Yerzhanova (KAZ) earned gold in the junior men and junior women’s races, respectively. In Uchida’s case, his run split of 16:21 (the best of the field) proved the difference, helping him beat Daiki Nishizaki (JPN) and Ramazan Aigenov (KAZ) in 2nd and 3rd. For Yerzhanova, the bike was critical as her 20km split of 30:32 was the joint-fastest of the day. She then added the second quickest run split to see off her breakaway partners Kanade Sugiura (JPN) – who took the silver medal – and bronze medallist Seoeun Park (KOR). View the full results here.
Africa Cup Troutbeck
While German athletes turned heads in Lanzarote, WTCS medallist and Paris relay champion Lasse Lührs (GER) quietly launched his season with a win in Zimbabwe. Internationally, we have only seen Lührs fleetingly since Paris. The WTCS medallist was in fine form at the weekend, though, winning the sprint distance race in Troutbeck by 43 seconds.
His win was built on the back of a two-man breakaway with silver medallist Martin Demuth (CZE). Justus Töpper (GER) clocked the best run of the day (16:03) to secure the bronze medal.
Jule Behrens (GER) brought home another German medal in the women’s race. In a very small field, Behrens rode away on the bike then added the fastest run of the day (19:01). Himeka Sato (JPN) was the next athlete home while Zimbabwe’s Rachel O’Donoghue completed the podium. View the full results here.
Africa Junior Cup Troutbeck
There was more Zimbabwean success at the concomitant Africa Junior Cup as Zander Botha (ZIM) and Callum Smith (ZIM) came away with the gold and silver medals, respectively. Smith had the slight edge over Botha in the swim and bike, but Botha comprehensively out-ran his compatriot to end the day over 2 minutes ahead. Philip Theron (RSA) later crossed in 3rd place. View the full results here.
Around the world
The German team was not done there. WTCS medallist Tanja Neubert (GER) dusted off her running shoes at the Saarbrücken half marathon, finishing with a time of 1:13:34. That is sub-35 minute 10km pace for back-to-back 10kms, as sure a sign as any the German is building nicely towards her opening triathlon events of 2026.