This past weekend, there was one triathlete in particular that sent shockwaves around the world. It would have been impossible to start this article by talking about anything other than Alex Yee’s remarkable performance in Valencia. 2:06:38 was the time. The second fastest marathon ever by a Brit. In only his second bite at the distance. Mind-boggling is the only way to describe it.
The Paris Olympic champion therefore made the world sit up and take notice of the extraordinary running levels the sport’s best are capable of reaching. Yee will be back in the WTCS next year to do battle with the new world champion, Matt Hauser, a clash we cannot wait to see.
Meanwhile, Yee’s sensational showing was not the sole triathlon news over the weekend as the Bolivarian Games took place in Peru and a milestone event took place in Dubai. Find out all that happened at the races in this week’s Monday Morning Mix.
Bolivarian Games Ayacucho and Lima
Team World Triathlon athlete Gabriel Terán Carvajal (ECU) took home the win in a tight sprint distance affair. A pack of ten separated themselves from the field with Terán near its head. Over the 5km run, the Ecuadorian athlete was pushed all the way by Mateo Mendoza Burgos (CHI) and Carlos Javier Quinchara Forero (COL), but a speedy 15:41 split saw him home by 7 seconds. Mendoza then held off Quinchara to secure the bronze medal.
Newly-minted World Cup medallist Rosa Elena Martinez Melchor (VEN) came out on top in the women’s race. She broke away on the bike with youngster Dominga Elena Jacome Espinoza (CHI), the pair putting considerable time into the field. World Cup medallist Maria Carolina Velasquez Soto (COL) headed up the chase but faced an almighty task to catch the leaders with only 5km of running.
In the end, the chasers did not get close. By contrast, the margins at the front were incredibly tight. Martinez could not shake Jacome and it took a sprint at the death to settle matters. A mere 2 seconds were all that separated gold from silver. Velasquez then took bronze, crossing 49 seconds later after clocking the best run of the day (17:26). View the full results here.
Americas Cup and Iberoamerican Championships Maldonado
Zach Leachman impressed on his way to gold in Uruguay, beating out the experienced Vicente Hernandez (ESP) by 11 seconds over the sprint distance. This was a first podium of the year for the American and a first international win since 2023. Although he could not match Leachman’s speed over 5km, Hernandez could nonetheless be satisfied with a second Continental Cup medal of the season; he also finished 2nd at the Europe Cup in Ceuta.
The 5km proved key in breaking up the contenders but the top-2 were in a different league to the rest of the field, a fact highlighted by their gap to 3rd place. Erwin Vanderplancke (BEL) was the man to take bronze, 28 seconds back from Hernandez.
There was nothing to separate the women’s medallists as Giovanni Lacerda (BRA) rocketed to a first senior international win by 4 seconds. As with the men’s race, the decisive attacks came on the run as Lacerda went up against Natalia Castro Santos (ESP) and Natalia Casas (MEX) in the closing stages. Of the trio, only Casas had won at this level before, but it was Lacerda that had the presence of mind to time her sprint to perfection. Castro then managed to pip Casas to silver by 2 seconds. View the full results here.
World Triathlon Women’s Cup Dubai
The inaugural Women’s Cup took place in Dubai at the weekend with double 2025 World Cup winner Valentina Riasova (AIN) prevailing over an elite field. It was not until the run where the true cracks in the field emerged. Here, Riasova’s class shone through as the winner in Miyazaki and Chengdu took a 13 second victory. Hanna Maksimava (AIN) was the next woman home while Dominika Peszleg (HUN) rounded out the podium. View the full results here.
Asia Youth Triathlon Championships Jeddah
Elsewhere in the Middle East, Asia’s future triathlon stars were out in force in Saudi Arabia. Based on the results, if there is one country that can be licking its lips at the talent coming through, it is Iran. That was after the country locked out the men’s podium with Sadra Ebrahimi (IRI) beating out Parsa Rasouli Jazi (IRI) and Borna Naghieh (IRI) in the super sprint distance contest. The margins were fine with one second splitting gold and silver and a further second separating silver and bronze.
Gold in the women’s race went to Sarah Modiano (HKG). The Hong Kong athlete was forced onto the back foot in the water by some lightning-quick splits (bronze medallist Diana Biktimirova (UZB) led the way), but made her way back to the front on the bike. From there, Modiano rattled off the best run split to earn her title. Finishing between Modiano and Biktimirova was Indonesia’s Maurizka Nur Azizah. View the full results here.
