The past weekend was one in which several stars of the sport made their presence known as an Olympic champion, a WTCS race winner and the current World U23 gold medallist each scored victories on different continents. Not to be overlooked were some of the biggest prospects for the future as they likewise stepped up to the plate with wins of their own. Check out all the latest from the past few days in this week’s Monday Morning Mix.

Americas Cup Miami

The racing kicked off in Miami with two-time world champion Gwen Jorgensen (USA) playing a starring role. The Rio Olympic champion put together a composed performance over the sprint distance and held off a charge from Marcela Alvarez Solis (MEX) to win by 4 seconds. Having ended her 2024 campaign with a win at the Miyazaki World Cup, Jorgensen now has the first victory of the new season.

Alvarez’s medal was only the second of her career. Evidently, she seems to enjoy racing in Miami as her previous visit to an international podium came there last year with her bronze at the Americas U23 Championships. Danielle Orie (USA) took the bronze medal, knocking over several high-ranking compatriots, including World Cup medallist Gina Sereno.

Over in the men’s race, Reese Vannerson (USA) backed up his Americas Cup win in La Paz with another gold in Miami. He had to do it the hard way after losing ground to a breakaway group and ripped the fastest run of the day (14:53) to earn the win. In doing so, he beat domestic rivals Darr Smith and Seth Rider, the later of whom was a Paris Olympian. Silver went to Igor Dupuis (FRA) while Smith held on to claim the bronze medal. You can view the full results here.

Europe Cup Quarteira

A familiar stop on the international calendar returned with the first Europe Cup event of the season. Quarteira also represented one of the few standard distance races to have taken place before April this year and so promised uncertainty as athletes searched for their full race fitness.

Tilly Anema (GBR) starred in the women’s race, winning from a four-athlete breakaway. Her swim split of 18:16 made her the first woman onto the beach and she did not look back from there. After missing the 2024 season, Quarteira represented a bouncing back for Anema as she logged the first individual win of her international career.

Her fellow breakaway rider Melanie Santos (POR) battled home to take the silver, over a minute behind Anema. Santos also survived the late surge of Maria Tomé (POR) who made it two Portuguese women on the podium.

Meanwhile, at one point during the bike, the men’s race threatened to become a somewhat sleepy affair. That was until Ian Pennekamp (NED) and then Tjebbe Kaindl (AUT) launched a two-man breakaway that upended proceedings.

Kaindl had the better run of the two, however he was powerless to stop David Cantero del Campo (ESP). The World U23 champion had the best part of 90 seconds to make up over 10km but this was no cat and mouse game. Such was Cantero’s control and relentless pace, this was akin to watching big game hunt in a nature documentary.

Kaindl boldly tried to match Cantero’s pace as the Spanish athlete passed him, which may have burned a match too many. Oliver Conway (GBR) and Maxime Fluri (SUI) would later pass Kaindl to secure silver and bronze, knocking the Austrian off what would have been a much-deserved podium.

Conway’s medal was especially noteworthy. In his first year out of the junior ranks, this stood as the maiden senior international medal of his career. Moreover, he finished only 9 seconds behind a runner as fast as Cantero. Having raced at the European Cross Country Championships recently, Conway’s speed should come as little surprise though. View the full results from Quarteira here.

Europe Junior Cup Quarteira

There was more British success and further Portuguese medals at the Europe Junior Cup in Quarteira. Brandon Pye, the bronze medallist from the 2022 European Youth Championships, impressed on his first international appearance since the 2023 World Junior Championships as he won by 9 seconds. Jose Ferreira (POR) and Tomas Figueiredo (POR) followed in 2^nd and 3^rd, respectively.

Last year’s winner of the European Junior Championships, Fanni Szalai (HUN), had seemed perfectly placed to strike for gold in the women’s race. However, having arrived in T2 with a select group of leaders, she ultimately did not finish. In her place, Switzerland’s Anouk Danna soared to the win. Danna rode up to the leaders on the bike and then clocked the fastest run of the field (17:37) to add a second Europe Junior Cup win to her triumph in Zagreb from last year.

Cristina Jiminez-Orta Guerrero (ESP) took the silver medal having raced in the lead group. Yeva Soroka (UKR) then secured the bronze medal having been the best of the rest on the run. You can see the full results here.

Oceania Sprint Championships Mooloolaba

The Oceania Sprint Championships were marked by change in more ways than one. Having been moved to Mooloolaba in the build-up to the race, the conditions forced the event to be held as a duathlon. Completing the run of changes, the men’s and two-thirds of the women’s podiums were then completely different to those seen at the standard distance championships a few weeks earlier.

The men’s race belonged to Matthew Hauser (AUS). The silver medallist at WTCS Abu Dhabi back in February played it cool in the opening 2.5km run and throughout the 20km bike. He then dominated the final 5km run, recording a 14:58 split when no one else breached the 15:40 barrier. The Schofields – first Luke and then Jayden – followed in 2^nd and 3^rd with only 6 seconds separating them.

Nicole Van Der Kaay was the sole New Zealand medallist as she won the women’s race in the same manner as Hauser, albeit with a closer final winning margin. Van Der Kaay shared the fastest opening run split of the day (8:03) and then consolidated her position on the bike. A 17:17 second run split then added another gold medal to her collection. Ellie Hoitink (AUS) was the next athlete home, 13 seconds later, with Sophie Malowiecki (AUS) rounding out the podium. View the full results here.

Oceania Para Triathlon Championships Mooloolaba

Finally, there was another valuable hit-out for many of Oceania’s Para Triathlon stars in Mooloolaba. The event was also conducted as a duathlon due to the conditions and was dominated by the home Australian team.

One of the highlights of the day was the battle between David Bryant (AUS) and Jack Howell (AUS) in the men’s PTS5 class. The pair have had several tussles over the past few years, although the younger Howell seemed to have found his rival’s number, particularly since making the podium at the World Para Triathlon Championships last October. In the duathlon format, however, it was Bryant that struck a decisive blow. He passed Howell on the bike and then held on across a nervy final 5km run to win by a mere 9 seconds.

You can find the full list of race winners below:

Men

·        PTWC: Nic Beveridge (AUS)

·        PTS2: Thomas Goodman (AUS)

·        PTS4: Matthew Engesser (AUS)

·        PTS5: David Bryant (AUS)

·        PTVI: Sam Harding (AUS)

Women

·        PTS2: Anu Francis (AUS)

·        PTS4: Grace Brimelow (AUS)

·        PTS5: Andrea Crompton (AUS)

·        PTVI: Maggie Sandles (AUS)

View the full results from the Oceania Para Triathlon Championships here.