It was a weekend for the Australian squad to cheer as the home team gobbled up gold medals in Devonport across the opening stop of the World Para Series and the Oceania Triathlon Championships. Find out all you need to know about the action, as well as other stories you might have missed, in this week’s edition of the World Triathlon Monday Morning Mix.
Oceania Championships
Although the men’s field was missing two of Oceania’s biggest stars, recent WTCS Abu Dhabi medallists Hayden Wilde and Matthew Hauser, there was no shortage of drama in Devonport. Fresh off his maiden World Cup silver medal in Napier, Brayden Mercer (AUS) was first out of the water in 16:37. His efforts managed to split the field, creating a pack of seven with a gap of 15 seconds to the next pack heading into T1.
Throughout the 40km bike, that lead only grew. Saxon Morgan (NZL) nabbed the top bike split with a time of 59:37 as the leaders broke the hour barrier, unlike the chasers. The question was who would then finish the job. In the end, Brandon Copeland could count upon his wealth of experience to see him to the line first. In a perfectly-paced effort, he clocked the best run of the day in 31:08 to strike gold. He therefore improved on his bronze medal from the 2024 edition of the event.
James Corbett (NZL) came through in 2nd place with Lachlan Jones next in 3rd. Corbett also took the U23 title, with Mercer 2nd and Henry McMecking (AUS) 3rd.
There was another breakaway-driven victory in the women’s race. Tara Sosinksi (AUS) led out in 19:31 with Brea Roderick (NZL) 2 seconds in arrears. From there, an initial pack of six, which would later become five, rode away from the field.
Richelle Hill (AUS), the World U23 champion in duathlon, had the best bike split (1:06:53). The recent Napier World Cup medallist Emma Jeffcoat (AUS) was right with her. Jeffcoat, however, did not finish on the run and a time of 35:00 from Hill was enough to seal the win, securing a maiden Oceania title.
A remarkable field-leading time of 33:51 from Lauren Kerwick (AUS) vaulted her up into silver while World Cup winner Nicole Van Der Kaay (NZL) also ran through from the chase pack to take the bronze medal. In the U23 category, Hill also came out on top, with Sosinksi taking 2nd and Roderick ending up with the bronze medal. You can see the full results here.
Oceania Junior Championships
Some of Oceania’s hopeful stars of the future were also on display with the junior titles up for grabs. Jack Caldwell (AUS) was the pick of the bunch in the men’s race as he cruised to an accomplished victory. Caldwell led out of the water in 9:26 (unlike the senior race, the juniors contested the sprint distance). Having ridden safely in the main pack, he then powered to a field-leading 15:15 5km split to earn a win on his international debut.
Zahn Spies (AUS) secured the silver medal while Finnley Oliver (NZL) grew New Zealand’s medal haul with the bronze. Last year’s champion Jack Woodberry (AUS) settled for 4th after spending the bike in the chase pack before dropping a swift 5km run.
Aspen Anderson (AUS) defended her crown in the junior women’s event. Her run split of 17:03 was 23 seconds better than her closest rival and handed her the win by a full half minute. Claire Spicknall and Ava Henville completed an Australian sweep of the podium in 2nd and 3rd, respectively. With qualification for the World Junior Championships later in the year essentially assured, look for Caldwell and Anderson to fly the flag for Australia in Wollongong this October. See the full junior results here.
World Para Series Devonport
With seven golds in total, the World Para Series was a similar parade of success for Team Australia. One of the talking points was the unexpected duel between Lauren Parker (AUS) and Howie Sanborn (USA). Parker claimed gold for Australia in the women’s PTWC race while Sanborn emerged victorious in the men’s PTWC category. In a rarely-seen feat, Parker had the faster overall time, clocking 1:08:45 to Sanborn’s 1:09:33.
“I think she might have beaten me. I’ve got to buy her a coffee now after this!” joked Sanborn at the finish line.
In addition to Parker, Anu Francis, Grace Brimelow, Thomas Goodman, Jack Howell, Jeremy Peacock and Sam Harding were the home stars to shine on their way to gold. Elsewhere, Paralympic and world champion Susana Rodriguez (ESP) won the women’s PTVI race as she got her 2025 campaign underway. You can read the full breakdown of the event here and see the full results here.
Around the world
Amid a somewhat Oceania-centric weekend, there were noteworthy performances by other top names around the world. Paris Olympian Djenyfer Arnold won the Triathlon Internacional de Santos in her native Brazil while WTCS medallist Csongor Lehmann (HUN) tested his legs with a victory at a local duathlon in Spain.
One of the weekend highlights came from Tereza Zimovjanova (CZE) as she ripped a 15:49 5km personal best in Leicester, UK. This makes her the second-fastest Czech woman ever over the distance and represents a bouncing back of sorts. Last year, Zimovjanova was a mere two ranking places shy of qualifying for the Paris Olympics. With her new personal best, though, the World Cup medallist looks to be coming back even stronger.
