This was a weekend in which the WTCS showed just how unpredictable it can be. With a first time winner, misfortune for an Olympic champion and a 10km run that threatened to turn on its head, there was plenty to dissect. And that was only the women’s race. This was also a weekend in which triathletes dazzled across all levels of the sport, with Paralympic champions out in full force, European multisport titles being duelled over, continental races going down to the wire and the latest Development Regional Cup unearthing new prospects. Find out everything that went down in this week’s Monday Morning Mix.
Europe Aquathlon Championships Navarra-Pamplona
The weekend started before the weekend with the European Aquathlon Championships on Thursday. Reigning men’s world champion Kevin Tarek Viñuela Gonzalez brought home the gold medal for the Spanish team. The World Triathlon Cup medallist led the 1km swim in 11:13 and added a field-leading 5km run of 15:39 to sew up a comprehensive victory. Christopher Perham (GBR) and Julen Andueza Valencia (ESP) rounded out the podium.
Zuzana Michalickova (SVK) added the European Aquathlon title to the World U23 Winter Triathlon and Duathlon crowns she claimed earlier in the year. Michalickova was second out of the water behind Jázmin Kropkó (HUN) but caught her Hungarian rival on the run. A tense battle followed on the run but the Slovakian athlete had enough left in the tank to win by 2 seconds. Gemma Valentina Llabrés Busch (ESP) then crossed after Kropkó to claim the bronze medal. View the full results here.
European Middle Distance Championships Navarra-Pamplona
The action continued in Navarra-Pamplona with the European Middle Distance Triathlon Championships as Marta Lagownik (POL) defended her title from 2024 in style. With a winning margin of over 5 minutes, this was a dominant display by the Polish athlete.
Lagownik was only 10 seconds off the front with her 1.9km swim split of 27:46. She subsequently charged into the lead on the bike, although her 2:18:26 for the 85km was actually 2 seconds slower than the top split. To complete her day, she covered the 21km run in 1:22:59; again, she was denied the top split but hers was a classy all-round performance for the win. Marta Bernardi (ITA) finished 2nd with Maria Varo Zubiri (ESP) taking 3rd.
Guillem Montiel Moreno (ESP) won the men’s race on the back of a phenomenal display of power on the bike. He destroyed the field on two wheels, clocking 1:57:25 when no one else broke 2 hours. Ognjen Stojanovic (SRB) out-split Montiel by over 6 minutes on the run with a field-leading 1:14:13 but not enough to draw close. As such, the Serbian athlete settled for silver with Fernando Zorrilla Medrano (ESP) making it two Spanish men on the podium. View the full results here.
World Para Series Yokohama
Men’s race winners:
- PTWC: Geert Schipper (NED)
- PTS2: Wim De Paepe (BEL)
- PTS3: Max Gelhaar (GER)
- PTS4: Alexis Hanquinquant (FRA)
- PTS5: Martin Schulz (GER)
- PTVI: Antoine Perel (FRA)
The second World Para Series stop of the season attracted a star-studded field with numerous Paralympic champions present. It came as no surprise that world and Paralympic champion Alexis Hanquinquant cruised to victory in the men’s PTS4 class. The 2024 world champion Wim De Paepe was another to impress in his first outing since striking gold in Torremolinos.
In tricky conditions, there were few close battles for the gold as experience told. The exception, however, came in the stacked men’s PTS5 class. There, Tokyo Paralympic champion Martin Schulz pipped Jack Howell (AUS) by 1 second after an epic tussle, with world champion Stefan Daniel (CAN) only a handful of seconds back in 3rd place. Howell won the World Para Series opener in Devonport, but such is the depth of the class it is entirely possible that each round will see a different victor.
Women’s race winners:
- PTWC: Lauren Parker (AUS)
- PTS2: Anu Francis (AUS)
- PTS3: Anna Plotnikova (AIN)
- PTS4: Kelly Elmlinger (USA)
- PTS5: Lauren Steadman (GBR)
- PTVI: Francesca Tarantello (ITA)
Yokohama proved a happy hunting ground for athletes like Francesca Tarantello and Kelly Elmlinger as they matched the gold medals they won at the race last year. Similarly, Lauren Steadman also re-lived happy memories in Japan as the Tokyo Paralympic champion came out on top in the women’s PTS5 class. View the full results here.
Americas Cup Ixtapa
On the other side of the world, there was a home Mexican sweep of both men’s and women’s podiums in Ixtapa. The men’s race bunched up on the bike after Blake Bullard (USA) led out the sprint distance 750m swim. From there, a cagey 5km run saw the medals settled in a nervy finish with Eduardo Nuñez Gomez beating out Osvaldo Darell Zuñiga Fierro and David Nuñez Gomez thanks to a 15:15 5km split that no one bettered.
Marcela Alvarez Solis prevailed over Ana Maria Valentina Torres Gomez in the women’s race. Both had been part of a three-woman breakaway that escaped early on in the bike, putting a healthy gap into the chase pack. From that chase pack, Maria Lopez Faraudo managed to fight her way to the podium, beating out World Cup winner Anahi Alvarez Corral (MEX) among others. View the full results here.
Asia Cup Lianyungang
Anqi Huang (CHN) etched another victory into her ledger with a cool showing on home soil in China. Australia’s Tara Sosinski had led Yifan Yang (CHN) and Xinyu Lin (CHN) out of the 1500m swim (clocking 19:42). That trio carried a big gap to the rest of the field onto the bike, but a group containing Huang and Sinem Francisca Tous Servera (TUR) managed to bridge to the front. A multiple Asia Cup winner, Huang had arrived as the obvious contender for gold in Lianyungang and she duly restated her credentials with a field-leading run split of 35:11 to beat Sosinski into silver. Tous had the next best run to take bronze.
Grigory Antipov (AIN) won the men’s race after being put under immense pressure by a breakaway containing the silver and bronze medallists. The swim spread the field but did not truly break it up. That came on the bike when Bradley Course (AUS) and Yunxiang Ma (CHN) broke away along with Mingxu Li (CHN). Course, a former Oceania champion, really showcased his strength on the bike before hitting the front out of T2. Yet Antipov would ultimately deny him with a 31:13 10km. Ma was the third man home to secure the bronze medal. View the full results here.
World Triathlon Development Regional Cup Amatique Bay
Camila Victoria Alcala Rosales (HON) came out on top in Amatique Bay ahead of Salamah Mahroos Diez (CUB) and Victoria Arce Nuñez (CRC). After the bulk of the field mostly stayed together through the first two disciplines, the crucial moves played out over the 5km run. Alcala had speed to burn at the end with the 2023 Americas junior champion taking a second international win of her fledgling career.
In the men’s race, Tiago Muñoz (ARG) overcame the Guatemalan pair of Jorge Raul Cabinal Gramajo and Diego Pellecer. A breakaway had threatened to upend the race on the bike, with none of the eventual medallists part of the escape group. However, the running speed of Muñoz and his fellow medallists proved too much for the field. View the full results here.
WTCS Yokohama
Naturally, we have to talk about Yokohama. In case you missed it, Matthew Hauser (AUS) and Jeanne Lehair (LUX) triumphed in the rain and you can catch the action back on TriathlonLive. With Cassandre Beaugrand (FRA) crashing out after losing control of her rear wheel, the stage was set for Lehair to impose herself on the race in a way she never has before. Beaugrand will still have plenty of time this year to make up the ground to Lehair and Series leader Lisa Tertsch (GER), however the lesson of the first two rounds of the Series is that there will be challengers aplenty ready to deny Beaugrand a second world title.
Hauser’s situation is a little different. With two medals from two races, he is in the driving seat in the men’s Series. Yet there is recent history to consider. Only Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) has won the world title in the same year as winning in Yokohama this decade. It therefore remains to be seen whether Hauser has peaked too early in 2025 or if he can buck the Yokohama trend of the 2020s.
Around the world
On the note of Blummenfelt, the Tokyo Olympic champion was in action as he won Ironman 70.3 Aix-en-Provence ahead of compatriot and fellow WTCS medallist Casper Stornes. At the time of writing, Blummenfelt remains on the start lists for WTCS Alghero at the end of this month indicating that, despite his current long distance focus, he may be keeping his hand in the short distance game with an eye on the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
WTCS medallist Lena Meißner (GER) was another to impress in Aix-en-Provence as she claimed the bronze medal in the women’s race. Finally, Olympic silver medallist Julie Derron (SUI) won the Yangtze River Delta International Triathlon in China. Derron has been largely based in China over the past year and will look to use her win as a launchpad into T100 success.