On March 8-9, the 2019 World Triathlon Series and World Triathlon Mixed Relay Series officially kicked off. The Elites ended their preseason training and put it to the test in the first calendar stop on the 2019 tour, which for the fifth year in a row was in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
The Elite Men competed first and took on the sprint distance course, which travelled along the Yas Marina and Formula 1 circuit track for 750-metre swimming, 18.6-kilometre biking and 4.9-kilometre running. a total of 56 men toed the start line, but only 47 crossed the finish line as nine men collected a DNF. Spaniard Mario Mola walked away with the debut season gold, but was impressively joined on the podium by first-time WTS competitor Alex Yee (GBR) who earned the silver and Spanish compatriot Fernando Alarza who earned the bronze.
The women lined up immediately following the men’s race to take on the same short course. The roster tallied 57 women, with a total of 52 crossing the finish due to five DNFs during the race. Grabbing the winner’s tape for the first time since 2016 and only for the second time in her career was USA’s Katie Zaferes. She was joined by American compatriot Taylor Spivey in second place and third place going to Great Britain’s Jessica Learmonth.
After the individual race day, the Elites joined forces to compete in the first Mixed Relay event of the season. A total of 23 teams made up of four National team members would take turns completing a ‘mini’ triathlon comprised of a 300-metre swim, 7.74-kilometre bike and 1.5-kilometre run. Team Australia was the most successful team on the day, seizing the victory, followed by Team USA and Team New Zealand to make up the podium.
After such impressive and exciting performances across the board, take a look at a more in-depth look at the fastest times of the races. Take a look at Abu Dhabi by the Numbers!
2019 Daman World Triathlon Abu Dhabi
WINNER
M - Mario Mola (ESP) 00:52:00
F - Katie Zaferes (USA) 00:55:31
SWIM - 750M
M - Richard Varga (SVK) 00:08:38
F - Jessica Learmonth (GBR) 00:09:06
BIKE - 18.6KM
M - Richard Murray (RSA) 00:27:18
F - Taylor Knibb (USA) - 00:28:47
RUN - 4.9KM
M - Mario Mola (ESP) - 00:14:00
F - Katie Zaferes (USA) - 00:16:09
FASTEST T1
M - Alex Yee (GBR), Hayden Wilde (NZL), Tyler Mislawchuk (CAN), Ben Kanute (USA), Morgan Pearson (USA) - 50 seconds
F - Ainsley Thorpe NZL) & Nicole Van Der Kaay (NZL) - 54 seconds
FASTEST BIKE LAP
M - Adrien Briffod (SUI) - 00:05:17 - Lap 2
F - Taylor Knibb (USA) & Taylor Spivey (USA) - 00:05:41 - Lap 2
FASTEST T2
M - Hayden Wilde (NZL) - 19 seconds
F - Gillian Sanders (RSA) - 23 seconds
FASTEST RUN LAP
M - Mario Mola (ESP) - 00:06:58 - Lap 2
F - Katie Zaferes (USA) - 00:07:59 - Lap 2
HIGHEST RANKING CLIMB
M - Alex Yee (GBR) - 45 spots (unranked to #45)
F - India Lee (GBR) - 15 spots (#114 to #99)
2019 Daman World Triathlon Mixed Relay Series Abu Dhabi
WINNER
Team Australia - 01:24:16
Leg 1 - Ashleigh Gentle - 00:22:00
Leg 2 - Luke Willian - 00:20:12
Leg 3 - Emma Jeffcoat - 00:22:07
Leg 4 - Jacob Birtwhistle - 00:19:59
FASTEST LEG 1
F - Taylor Spivey (USA) - 00:21:56
FASTEST LEG 2
M - Bence Bicsak (HUN) - 00:20:02
FASTEST LEG 3
F - Katie Zaferes (USA) - 00:21:48
FASTEST LEG 4
M - Hayden Wilde (NZL) - 00:19:29
SWIM
M - Alois Knabl (AUT) - Leg 4 - 00:03:24
F - Julia Hauser (AUT) - Leg 1 - 00:03:36
BIKE
M - Hayden Wilde (NZL) - Leg 4 - 00:10:47
F - Taylor Spivey (USA) - Leg 1 - 00:11:52
RUN
M - Vicente Hernandez (ESP) - Lap 4 - 00:03:53
F - Katie Zaferes (USA) - Lap 3 & Laura Lindemann (GER) - Lap 1 - 00:4:53