Updated on July 12, 2026 at 09:10 PM
WTCS Men’s Race
With temperatures reaching 30 degrees Celsius in the men’s WTCS race, athletes were likely happy to tackle the sprint race, starting with a wetsuit-less 750m swim that plunged them straight into chaos.
Hungarian Mark Defay was the first out of the water, with Hauser at his heels. A narrow swim path can create a huge mess, which makes early positioning crucial. At the back of the field was Hayden Wylde, returning after weeks of setbacks, but he was too off the pace from the start to challenge for the win.
The front group of 26 eventually settled into a rhythm on the bike, while big names including Tyler Mislawchuk, Luke Willian and Morgan Pearson missed the split and arrived at T2 too far out to challenge.
After getting off the bike, Tiszaujvaros winner Csongor Lehmann (HUN) fell to the ground as he descended into the large group. Alberto Gonzalez Garcia (Spain) got off to a fast start, while another sharp transition from last year’s champion Matt Hauser pushed the Australian towards the front and ahead of series leader Vasco Vilasa (Portugal), who had a slow transition.
Ten athletes were able to maintain their pace at the front of the race as the bell rang for the final lap, and it was still anyone’s race. This group was quickly reduced to seven as Vilasa and Hauser began to increase the tempo before Hauser struck the hammer with about 800 meters remaining.
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Initially, Henry Graf remained closest before Vilasa came in and made a final attempt to catch the Australian, but there was no contact for Hauser. As he has done so often in the sprints, he was simply too strong and now looks determined to defend his world title this year.
Velacca remains at the top of the series standings at the moment, while Graf continued his rise to the top of the short track world with a third-place finish.
WTCS Women’s Race
Temperatures were two degrees warmer in the women’s race, with Bianca Serini leading the way out of the water and flying off the bike to an early lead.
Youngster Fanny Szalai (HUN), racing in her first WTCS event after taking her first World Cup win, followed by Lisa Tertsch (GER) as they applied early pressure. Rising Swedish star Tilda Mansson emerged from the watering hole far from where she had hoped to be.
The gap was eventually closed on lap three, bringing together a huge group on the streets of the coastal town and setting up what would effectively become a 5km sprint for all the glory.
Four Germans, including Tanja Neubert, Laura Lindemann and Annika Koch, were positioned near the front and looked ready to defend home turf in front of the usually impressive Hamburg crowd.
The race could not have started worse for Manson. A bad shift cost the young Swede 18 places and left her with an 18-second deficit to recover early.
Perio, as she had done the previous year, produced a brilliant turnaround and rose to the front of the large pack before immediately applying a relentless pace to break things up. By the second lap, it was just her and 2025 world champion Tertsch in the battle for victory.
In the end, Perrault showed her running speed over this distance, pulling away from Tertch with relative ease and with time to spare. She raised two fingers to indicate her successive victories in Hamburg, thus putting herself firmly in contention for the world championship.
Speaking of competing for the championship, Manson recovered admirably to finish third and secure a third podium finish at this year’s WTCS Championship, despite the frustration that could have come after her move to T2.
London then hosts the WTCS for the first time since 2015 as the countdown to the Grand Final in Pontevedra begins.
2026 World Mixed Relay Championships
The first triathlon qualification spots for the Los Angeles Olympics were on display at the World Mixed Relay Championships the following day, with 20 nations competing across four stages of 300m swimming, 6.6km cycling and 1,600m running.
The United States automatically gets two spots as the Olympic host, but still wants to show whether it will maintain the medal-winning form shown at Paris 2024.
Also making an appearance again was New Zealander Hayden Wilde, who made use of his new dog, Lexi, during the team’s introduction.
Straight from the gun, there was early drama as the women started the action. A collision in the water forced Australia to withdraw within the opening minutes after Rochelle Hill was unable to continue.
By the end of the first leg, Tertsch, in contrast to the previous day’s result, led the way for Germany ahead of Perrault. However, by the end of the second swim in the men’s round, Max Stapley had put Great Britain back in the lead.
From there, USA’s Seth Ryder produced the fastest all-around relay leg of the day of any competitor. This pulled him into the front group of six people on the bike and eventually led the group to escape.
Teammate Taylor Spivey carried that momentum into her leg, sending her out of the swim and into a fast four-man cycling group that would ultimately decide the race. They have separated themselves from teams like Germany and Spain, which are no longer in contention for medals.
That left it all until the end, where the four leading nations began to compete.
Dorian Coninx (FRA) took the tag from Emma Lombardi (FRA) as the last of the four men to dive into the water. He quickly made his way onto the feet of the front three swimmers, jumped on the bike after a sharp transition, and attempted to break away for victory.
Although he was eventually caught on the second lap, the move foreshadowed the confidence and form he was carrying.
Coninex was on the run in the blink of an eye, with another masterful move instantly giving him daylight. In contrast, Morgan Pearson of the United States lost contact almost immediately while struggling with his boots, eventually succumbing to a podium finish to Britain’s Oliver Conway.
The final race was down to Leman and Koninckx, but the Frenchman was simply too strong. He crossed the finish line to secure France’s ticket to the Los Angeles Olympics and be crowned mixed relay world champion once again.
WTPS Hamburg debut
Hamburg hosted the Para Triathlon World Championships for the first time, providing a glimpse into next year’s world championships, which are also scheduled to be held in the city. The race lived up to the hype.
Following Kendall Grech’s stunning win in the women’s PTWC sprint in Montreal, she once again faced off against old rival Lauren Parker. In the end, it was Parker’s strong swimming that sealed her victory, as she built enough of a buffer to withstand the fast challenge from Gretsch. The American set the fastest bike and sprint races but ran off the road to finish just 14 seconds behind Parker.
The women’s PTS3, PTS4, PTS5 and PTVI categories also produced outstanding performances.
Former gymnast Serena Panzato made one of the biggest comebacks of the day in the women’s PTS3, running 20:44 to chase down swimmers’ leader Elise Mark and take gold.
In the PTS4 race, Camille Sineclos also came from behind while running. The French athlete overturned the two British positions in front, using the fastest split to pass Megan Richter and Hannah Moore to take victory.
Two-time Paralympic champion Grace Norman produced the most dominant performance today in the women’s PTS5 category. The American recorded the fastest split in each discipline to win by more than two-and-a-half minutes, although she admitted she was more nervous entering the race than she expected.
In the women’s PTVI category, Susana Rodriguez showed her superiority once again. She backed up her win in Montreal, taking the 58th win of her career, holding off Anja Renner who recorded the fastest bike and separate race, but could only close the gap enough to earn silver.
In the PTVI men’s race, Dave Ellis, ridden by Luke Pollard, took gold on his 40th birthday. Ellis engaged closely with Australian Sam Harding and his guide Aaron Royle before escaping.
The men’s PTS2 race saw Wim De Paepe survive the fastest race in the category from Jules Ribstein to win by just five seconds in one of the closest finishes of the day.
Martin Schulz then stunned the home crowd in the men’s PTS5 by holding off Canadian Stefan Daniel in another of the day’s toughest competitions.
Henri Aurand erased Daniel Molina’s significant swimming advantage with a brilliant bike-to-bike split before running 18:36 to win the men’s PTS3 race by a minute and a half. The British young man, who is less than half Molina’s age, continues to raise his level after the Spaniard beat him to the gold medal at the Paralympic Games in Paris.
Alexis Hanquinquant once again produced an impressive performance in the men’s PTS4 cycling race, building an unassailable lead before Pierre-Antoine Belle took the top two places for France.
