It was championship weekend for half of the triathlon world as continental titles in Africa, Asia and South America were up for grabs, as were the Supertri E World Championships. There was also the small matter of the T100 season opener in Singapore, an event that saw racing as sizzling as the conditions. With so much to keep track of, check out the rundown of all the weekend headlines below.
Africa Championships Nelson Mandela Bay
The Africa Championships stood as the second standard distance continental championships of the year after the Oceania equivalent took place last month. In the men’s race, Jawad Abdelmoula (MAR) struck gold, winning back the title he claimed in 2022.
Abdelmoula came into the race in solid form having opened his season with a 14th place finish at the Lievin Indoor World Cup. He swam on the heels of Jamie Riddle (RSA) throughout the opening 1500m swim before the pair extended their lead at the front over the 40km bike. Riddle did not finish the race as Abdelmoula’s 32:26 10km run split made the win a certainty. Coming home over 3 minutes later, Julian Birkel (RSA) took the silver medal while Badr Siwane (MAR) nabbed the bronze.
Birkel also took the U23 title ahead of the Tunisian duo of Mohamed Aziz Hamdi and Zakaria Chtioui.
The women’s race initially threatened to be a solo escape as Shanae Williams (RSA) opened up a 45 second lead out of T1. Her compatriot Bridget Theunissen bridged the gap on the bike and the two women arrived in T2 with no one else in sight. From there, Williams cantered to a comfortable victory, out-splitting Theunissen by over 2 minutes on the run. Marit Van Den Berg (NED) took 3rd place on the day, with the bronze medal in the African classification going to South Africa’s Jordan Tissink (4th overall).
In the U23 category, Andie Kuipers (ZIM) was the first woman over the line; Megan Irungu (KEN) was the only other finisher.
Africa Junior Championships
In light of the recent Africa Junior Cup results in Zimbabwe and Namibia, there was a clear favourite heading into the men’s race at these championships. Nicholas Horne (RSA) had claimed two wins from two and looked to be the man to beat, but it was Antony Clayton (RSA) that came out on top in Nelson Mandela Bay.
The 750m sea swim shook up the field with Horne losing contact with the leaders. Clayton and Adrien Toulet (MRI) then stepped up on the bike to blast clear, putting over 30 seconds into their nearest chasers and over a minute into Horne. Horne came charging back with a field-leading 16:03 5km split, but it was not enough to reel in Clayton. Rounding out the podium in 3rd place behind the two South Africans was Nathan Max Centlivres Chase (NAM).
The women’s race pitted Kadence Ribbink (RSA), the winner of the Africa Junior Cup in Troutbeck, against Lomé Gouws (RSA), who came out on top in their previous duel in Swakopmund. This time, it was Ribbink that got the job done.
She led the swim (10:25) before a select group made up of Gouws and Maja Jeanne Brinkman (NAM) gathered around her on the bike. Ribbink then pulled out a 20 second lead on two wheels. For good measure, Ribbink completed her sweep of fastest splits by logging the top 5km run of the field (19:28). Gouws would ultimately settle for silver with Brinkman coming away with the bronze medal.
You can see the full results from Nelson Mandela Bay here.
Asia Sprint Championships Hong Kong
China and Japan split the medals at the sprint distance championships in Hong Kong with each country ending the weekend with a gold, silver and bronze apiece.
Xinyu Lin (CHN) was the star of the women’s race after escaping from the field as part of a three-woman breakaway. Her teammate Yifan Yang had led through the 750m swim (10:00) with Japan’s Yuko Takahashi (JPN) closing in on them early on in the bike. The experienced Takahashi actually had the fastest T2 of the field, but her Chinese rivals would not be denied, with Lin beating Yang into silver by 12 seconds and Takashi taking the bronze.
In a reversal of positions, Japan secured the gold and silver in the men’s race, albeit in different circumstances. World Cup gold medallist Takumi Hojo (JPN) nailed his swim to set up a small breakaway group at the front of the field. He had the fastest swimmer of the day, Yegor Krupyakov (KAZ); his teammate, Ryosuke Maeda; and home favourite Jason Tai Long Ng (HKG) for company, and together the pack stayed away from the chase pack. Once on the run, Hojo surged into the lead.
Further back, Aoba Yasumatsu (JPN) and defending champion Junjie Fan (CHN) ripped the fastest run splits of the day to close in on the lead pack. In the end, they passed all except Hojo as he held on to take the win. Yasumatsu took the silver medal with Fan completing China’s set of individual medals for the weekend. View the full results here.
Supertri E World Championships London
In London, the men’s Supertri E World Championship went down to the wire as Maxime Hueber-Moosbrugger (FRA) pipped last year’s winner Chase McQueen (USA) in the final seconds of the run. McQueen’s victory had seemed a foregone conclusion at the start of the last virtual 1km, but Hueber-Moosbrugger summoned an extraordinary turn of speed to close a double-digit gap. Maciej Bruzdziak (POL) then held off 2023 WTCS champion Dorian Coninx (FRA) to also put himself on the podium.
The women’s race, as has so often been the case over the past year, was all about Cassandre Beaugrand (FRA). The Olympic and world champion squeezed the life from her rivals in the final as she extended her lead bit by bit over the multi-round format. A minor technical glitch on the first bike notwithstanding, Beaugrand was never troubled as she defeated Beth Potter (GBR) by 35 seconds. Next home was Julia Bröcker (GER) as she held off the rest of the ten-woman final to take the bronze medal. View the full results here.
South Americas Championships and Americas Cup Santiago
Over in Chile, WTCS medallist Manoel Messias (BRA) held off a charging home pair to win the South American title. Diego Moya (CHI) had dominated the sprint distance swim, leading into T1 by 10 seconds, before a lead pack containing Messias and Andree Buc (CHI) came together. Throughout the 20km bike segment, the front group ballooned, making a running race seem inevitable.
This looked like it would play into Messias, who won the Brasilia World Cup in similar circumstances at the end of 2024. Neither Moya nor Buc, though, were willing to let him have it his own way. It took a huge late push from Messias to finally break Moya’s resistance as he took the win by 7 seconds. Buc then crossed to take 3rd place.
The margin of victory was even finer in the women’s race as gold and silver were decided by a single second. Rafaela Capó (CHI) matched Moya’s swim by putting 15 seconds into the field. Eight women would then coalesce at the front across the bike, with Maria Carolina Velasquez Soto (COL) particularly prominent.
Velasquez took the lead on the 5km run, but soon had Joy Gill (USA) breathing down her neck. This was a race in which small margins seemed to have cost Gill. She lost 2 seconds to Velasquez in each of the swim and bike, plus a second in T1. A slower T2 then really put her on the back foot. But she was running faster. Gill would eventually catch Velasquez, leaving a final sprint to settle things, however the Colombian athlete had the wherewithal to secure a 1 second victory. Rosa Elena Martinez Melchor (VEN) took 3rd place and you can see the full results here.
South Americas Para Triathlon Championships Santiago
Santiago also played host to the South Americas Para Triathlon Championships with the home team notching multiple gold medals. Alberto Almeida Arciniegas (COL) was actually the only non-Chilean winner as he struck gold in the men’s PTS2 class. Pavel Quezada Espinoza (men’s PTS3), Bastian Berrios Valdivia (men’s PTS4), Jose Soto Soto (men’s PTS5) and Genesis Gonzalez Venegas (women’s PTS4) were the other race winners. View the full results here.
T100 Singapore
Last, but by no means least, was the T100 season opener in Singapore. The men’s and women’s races here attracted the strongest fields of the weekend with an influx of Olympic and WTCS medallists elevating the racing to new levels.
Hayden Wilde (NZL) and Kate Waugh (GBR) showed that this year’s Hot Shots are not messing around as they knocked down the field in their first swings. Both of their victories were built upon blistering bike splits before they shut the door on their rivals by clocking the top 18km run splits of each race (1:01:46 and 1:10:37).
Short course stars then followed on the podium. 2022 WTCS champion and 2025 Hot Shot Leo Bergere secured silver in the men’s race while World Cup medallist and known lover of brutal racing conditions Lisa Perterer (AUT) stunned a strong field to earn a silver of her own. Last year’s men’s T100 world champion (and former short course star) Marten Van Riel (BEL) rounded out the men’s podium. Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) took the same slot in the women’s race. See the full results here.
Around the world
As if that was not enough, there were more noteworthy stories to take away around the world. Olivia Mathias (GBR) crushed a 10km personal best of 32:55 in Lincoln, UK, suggesting that the multiple World Cup medallist will be a real threat on the world stage this year. Over in Germany, Lasse Nygaard Priester (GER) won the Freiburg half marathon in 1:07:13, signalling that the heart issues that threatened his career last year are behind him.
In triathlons elsewhere, WTCS medallist Csongor Lehmann (HUN) took a silver medal at Challenge Sir Bani Yas. Look for him to hunt further Series medals this season. Meanwhile, World Cup winner Anahi Alvarez Corral (MEX) built upon her recent Americas Cup victory with another win, this time at the Cancun triathlon.