As families all over the world gather around the table to celebrate the holidays, few will have a sporting year to look back on like the Kropkós. Triathlon has long had a history with siblings, the Brownlee brothers’ consecutive Olympic podiums standing as the most obvious instance. WTCS Wollongong 2025, though, may just prove the start of a new family dynasty.
Having both entered the World U23 Championships as the top seeds, Márta Kropkó powered to women’s bronze while younger brother Márton went one better with a silver in the men’s race. With World Cup medals, WTCS debuts and breakthrough Series results also neatly wrapped up, this has been a season to remember for the dynamic sibling duo.
Prior to Wollongong, neither Kropkó had worn the number 1 at an international race. “At first I was really nervous,” said Márta. “My first goal is always to beat my start number. It's always my goal. But it's impossible to beat number one. After a while, I just told myself that this kind of pressure is truly a privilege. And then I was actually trying to remind myself that I kind of earned it by being consistent all season.”
When it came to the races, however, the similarities in start number gave way to wildly different narratives. Whereas Márta was locked in a blockbuster finale in which the lead changed multiple times, sure-fire gold medals were won and then lost, and the medals were only settled with a sprint on the blue carpet with empty legs, Márton’s challenge was one of maintaining his composure behind runaway champion Oliver Conway.
“We actually watched back both of the races, and we agreed that the men’s race was really interesting until the run started,” said Márta. “And for us, it was not so interesting on the bike as it was. Nothing really was happening. It was really uneventful. But then the run was crazy. So many things were happening, so many girls were on the front. It was even crazy from the inside. I can't imagine my mother watching! She's always super nervous for me.”
For Márton, the challenge of hunting for a podium was complicated by the fact that he was sick in the weeks leading up to the race. “It was pretty bad,” he said. “A week before I was still taking antibiotics. The swim came back quite fast and then the bike did too. But on the run I didn't have a single good session while I was in Australia, so I was not as confident as usual.”
Like his sister, he led out of the water. “I was focused on making the swim hard and we managed to get a pretty good pack. We didn’t have too many passengers and we managed to gap the whole field. And yeah, obviously Conway was already a champion in like 500m on the run. I think that even if I was healthy, he still would have destroyed me, so I can't really complain about silver. I was coughing the whole race. The best I could have done on the day is still 2nd and I'm really happy and I was surprised that I could still perform, especially on the run.”
The Kropkós’ Wollongong successes capped a long year in which plenty went right for them. Among their earlier highlights were WTCS debuts.
“Our plan for this year was not to get used to WTCS racing as it is such a high level, but to learn a lot. Starting from next year it's Olympic qualification, and we wanted to have as much experience as possible to be able to start next year with a little more confidence and a little more knowledge of this level. And it's brutal.”
“All the girls, they have such a high level, and most of them, they are good in all of the three sports. It's crazy, and honestly, for me, it was already a huge step to compete with the girls who I was watching when I was growing up and who I would normally ask for autographs. So, the first time I was sharing the start line with these girls, I was like, ‘oh, my God, this is crazy. I'm living my childhood dream’.”
“You can't really have any weaknesses,” agreed Márton. “On the World Cup, if you have a weakness in one of the disciplines, you still can achieve something, but on the WTCS, if you have just one weakness, you can’t perform. Everyone was telling me last year in junior racing that the bike is going to be really, really crazy. And I would say that I did not really feel a big jump on the World Cup, but when I did Fréjus (WTCS French Riviera, his debut) I was really digging deep to compete. The positioning especially was really, really tight for a single turn.”
Evidently, Márton proved a quick learner. At his next Series appearance, in Weihai, he produced a fantastic display to claim 7th place. At the same race, Márta likewise recorded a personal best finish of 13th. On the one hand they stand out as great results. At the same time, they feed into the constant hint of competitiveness between the pair, particularly when coupled with what happened in Wollongong.
“We have had a crazy competition between us since we started,” laughed Márton. “Not just sports, but in everything. We can't have a friendly board game at home because it's crazy competitive. Always.”
“It's always a big advantage when she starts later,” he added, only half-joking, “so she knows what to do to beat me.”
“Well, it was really hard to beat your last two achievements!” came the quick reply. “In Weihai I went second after he finished 7th. I was thinking to myself, ‘there is no way I'm going to be up there’. But I had to be close. My weakness is the run and it was basically one big group and I was actually really happy with 13th place. So I was happy. I mean, obviously, he beat me by a lot of places, but come on, it's not so bad for me for a running race. And then, in Wollongong, when he finished 2nd, I told myself, ‘oh, Márti, he’s going to win again. It's impossible to beat 2nd place!’. And then I finished 3rd. He didn't say anything that I lost, though, because I guess we both finished on the podium.”
“I actually think that it helped us to grow as athletes,” added Márton. “I think at first when I was a kid she was still faster than me. And I was catching up to her and it was crazy.”
“It was actually really hard to take for me, at least,” quipped Márta, again seemingly half-joking. “The oldest always just has to be that bit better. Faster, cleverer, better. That part was really hard to take for me, him catching up. And obviously now I understand that he's a boy and he has to be a lot faster, but even today, I do feel like we're both competing with each other when we are training.”
“At home, it's only him, my sister, my other brother and me, so it's only the four of us training. And then we are trying to compete with each other in training sessions. Like when we are swimming, I'm trying to lose the least possible time or metres, and then he's trying to beat me by more. For example, on an 800, he is always trying to lap me and I'm always trying to not let him. But lately he's winning. He's lapping me.”
Currently the Kropkós are based in Zurich. Elite sport was never planned for them initially, however. “Our parents never really wanted to make us pro athletes because they know how much time it takes and how much suffering you need to take,” noted Márta.
Far from international aspirations, their early steps in the sport began with two far more important things: Christmas and chocolate.
“Well, the plan was just to learn to swim, and we just went for a Christmas swimming race and the goal was to win chocolate,” said Márta. “Obviously, over the years, it started to get more and more serious.”
And now the brother and sister find themselves as two of the brightest prospects in the sport with Olympic qualification on their horizons. Such has been their form this year, with Márton also scoring a maiden World Cup podium in Samarkand, they have rocketed up the world rankings. At the time of writing, Márta sits in 41st while her brother is even higher in 31st. On the surface, that is already Olympic-qualifying quality.
Making it to LA 2028 is only one part of the wider goal, though. After the sport saw the married Rachel Klamer and Richard Murray race in the same Mixed Team Relay for the Netherlands in Paris, the dream is to be the first siblings to race in the same triathlon relay quartet in Los Angeles.
“For me, it would be so cool,” admitted Márta. “I think I'm more emotional about these things than him. He has to act tough. So he's not going to say this, but I think it would be really special for him as well.”
A teasing glance from his sister was not enough to make Márton break his cool demeanour, but his grin at the prospect said plenty. History is there for the making and even higher finishes are there for the taking, but both will have to hurry lest the other sibling gets there first. For when the Kropkós come together for the end of a superlative 2025, Christmas and chocolate will be back on the cards, but so too will Olympic dreams that seem set to only grow bigger and shine brighter.
