Hayden Wilde dropping heat in Tokyo. The final Oceania event of the year. Two young Japanese stars making a splash ahead of their WTCS debuts at home this month. There was plenty to unpack over the weekend with a short course invasion of Ironman 70.3 Venice-Jesolo not to be forgotten. Take in the latest stories from across the world of triathlon in this week’s Monday Morning Mix.
Oceania Super Sprint Championships Runaway Bay
The last Oceania title of 2025 to be decided was that of the super sprint distance and the action on the Gold Coast was a presage of sorts for when the T100 arrives in March next year. Amid a tight battle in the men’s final, Luke Schofield (AUS) came out on top, bumping up from his 2nd place finish 2024. Lachlan Jones (AUS) was next home, taking the silver medal, while Saxon Morgan (NZL) earned bronze.
In the sixteen-man final, the field broke up a little on the bike. The gap between the lead and chase packs stood at around 10 seconds, which normally would be insignificant but was decisive over such a short format. World Cup medallist Callum McClusky (AUS) was one prominent name relegated to the chase pack. Even if McClusky had been at the front, though, it may not have mattered. Schofield had the best run of the day by 3 seconds (clocking 3:55), giving him the win by 6 seconds.
In the women’s race, Nicole Van Der Kaay (NZL) won her second Oceania title of the season after taking the sprint distance crown in Mooloolaba. Kira Hedgeland was the sole Australian on the podium with Eva Goodisson making it two New Zealand women among the medals.
Five women broke away together on the bike, with Emma Jeffcoat (AUS) and Brea Roderick (NZL) joining the medallists at the front of the race. They held a considerable lead of 20 seconds for a large chunk of the bike, putting paid to any medal hopes from the chase group. Once through T2, Van Der Kaay dismantled her rivals on the run to win by 14 seconds. View the full results here.
Asia Cup Subic Bay
The sole standard distance international race of the weekend took place in the Philippines. Takuto Oshima (JPN) played a starring role in the men’s race as he notched his first senior international win. The 2024 Asia Junior champion recorded the fastest swim (18:18) and then broke away with Ryousuke Maeda (JPN) on the bike.
Together, the Japanese pair put over 90 seconds into the field, setting up a two-man fight for gold. From there, Oshima kept a cool head to make it home first. Look for him to try to sneak into any possible breakaway in Yokohama in two weeks. Daryn Konysbayev (KAZ) was the best runner of the chase pack and passed Maeda to claim the silver medal. In turn, Maeda settled for bronze.
In similar fashion to Oshima, Manami Hayashi (JPN) made an ideal final outing ahead of her WTCS debut in Yokohama with a comprehensive win of her own. Paris Olympian Manami Iijima (GUM) led the swim in a time of 21:02 with Hayashi a second back. Iijima and Hayashi then headed up an eight-woman lead group on the bike. It was on the run that Hayashi made her move. With a split of 36:26, the best of the field, she won in relative comfort.
Gayeon Park was part of a South Korean double on the podium as she finished 2nd ahead of compatriot Hye Rim Jeong in 3rd place. Both Park and Jeong had ridden in the lead group but had no answer to Hayashi’s attack. View the full results here.
Meanwhile, Iijima has been confirmed as part of the Team World Triathlon contingent set to take on the Samarkand World Cup later this month. Also joining her will be Alina Khakimova (UZB), Tjasa Vrtacic (SLO), Bridget Theunissen (RSA), Shanae Williams (RSA), Tzu I Pan (TPE) and Rashif Amila Yaqin (INA). The group will be led by Rolf Ebeling, with former Team member Ognjen Stojanovic acting as Team Manager for the first time.
World Triathlon Development Regional Cup Salinas
Salinas, Puerto Rico, played host to the latest Development Cup event of the year. A pre-competition training camp was held in addition to the race which brought together participants from eight different countries; in total 18 athletes and 5 coaches were involved.
Thomas Castañeda Maldonado (ARG) took the men’s race in Puerto Rico in commanding fashion. A split of 9:29 over the 750m sprint distance swim handed him a lead of 30 seconds going into T1. At the other end of the race, he reinforced his advantage over his rivals with a 5km run split of 16:35, which was also the best of the day. A comfortable winning margin of over a minute was thus a fair reflection of his dominance. Christiaan Jansen (ARU) and Alain Brian Fernández Pérez (CUB) were the next to finish, taking silver and bronze, respectively.
Gold in the women’s race was captured courtesy of a virtuoso performance by Isabella Fernandez (PUR). Born in 2008, this was a big win for the youngster who will still be racing in the junior category until the end of next year. Lke Castañeda Maldonado, Fernandez led in the water, putting 13 seconds into her closest rival. A double-team effort with Valentina Sofia Negron (PUR) on the bike then took them to T2 with a solid lead over their rivals. Rebecca Jansen (ARU) managed to overhaul Negron on the run but Fernandez had done enough to remain out of reach. View the full results here.
Around the world
It is becoming increasingly hard to shake the image of Alex Yee (GBR) and Hayden Wilde (NZL) as squabbling neighbours, caught in a cycle of trying to one-up one another. One wins Olympic gold, the other wins the WTCS Final. One finds a new side quest in the form of the marathon, the other finds a different side quest through the T100. Yee reinforces his status as the best runner in triathlon with his time of 2:11 at the London Marathon, Wilde goes and beats his 10km personal best.
It was in Tokyo this weekend that Wilde blasted a 27:39 over the 10km, which appears to be the fastest ever performance by a triathlete. After wins at WTCS Abu Dhabi and T100 Singapore, it gave a clear signal that he is at the peak of his powers and that his quest for twin world titles this season was eminently possible. But then came the crash.
Only a day later, Wilde suffered a bike crash. Having come away with broken ribs and a broken scapula, as well as lung damage, his season looks to be over. It is a horrible end to a year that promised so much and World Triathlon wishes him a speedy recovery and for all athletes to stay safe while training.
There was more positive news for Nina Eim (GER) in Spain. After being forced out of Ironman 70.3 Valencia, the newly-minted WTCS medallist took on the Traka, a 360km gravel bike race in Girona. Across a brutal day of racing, Eim completed the course in 15 hours 26 minutes.
Elsewhere, the short course invasion of middle distance racing continued at Ironman 70.3 Venice-Jesolo. The men’s race saw a short course sweep of the podium, led by Panagiotis Bitados (GRE). Triathlon’s answer to the other Greek Freak (Giannis Antetokounmpo) added his Venice scalp to his pair of Africa Cup wins earlier this year. Cameron Main (GBR) and Emil Holm (DEN) completed the podium, beating out Paris Olympians Jonas Schomburg (GER) and Pierre Le Corre (FRA).
There was another short course victory in the women’s race with 2023 European Games champion Solveig Løvseth (NOR) breaking the tape first ahead of WTCS medallist Lena Meißner (GER). Løvseth’s career trajectory seems to have taken her firmly into the middle distance realm, although it remains to be seen whether Meißner will stay in the longer format or drop back down to take on the incredibly deep roster of domestic rivals arrayed against her in the German women’s team.