Last weekend saw athletes test themselves over a remarkably tough 10k / 60k / 10k run / bike / run course for medals and European Titles. This weekend an entirely different challenge faces athletes as the annual celebration of Swim / Run at the 2017 Bratislava ETU Aquathlon European Championships.

Hans Peter Grünebach the German endurance specialist, has kindly allowed us to use some images of the city – oh, how we envy him the chance to be there!

For full details about the event, please click here for the Athletes’ Guide.

For the Elite athletes, there is the added incentive of Prize-Money.
Prize money distribution. Elite men and women:

• 1st. 900 EUR
• 2nd. 750 EUR
• 3rd. 600 EUR
• 4th. 450 EUR
• 5th. 300 EUR

For the Age Group athletes, it is the honour of racing for their nation and the glory of winning a medal and for some, the European title. Michael Varga, brother of the fast-swimming WTS and Olympic athlete, Richard Varga, is hosting the event this weekend in the beautiful location of Bratislava.

For the Elite Women, 9 athletes represent 9 federations. Top-ranked is Team GB’s Hannah Kitchen who went home with the bronze last year in Châteauroux. She faces stiff opposition from Ukraine’s Inna Ryzhykh.

A disappointing 9th last year for her, but she has been building up her racing this year including a tremendous battle in the water last weekend at the Dnipro Triathlon, one of Ukraine’s favourite events. They are the two favourites on paper for the top medals but traditionally, Aquathlon has given us some surprising results, so watch this space.

For the Elite Men, defending European Champion, Oleksiy Syutkin will wear number 1. The Ukrainian athletes snatched all places on the podium last year but with Martynenko side-lined through injury, Syutkin will be joined by bronze-medal winner, Dmytro Malyar. He won the Ukrainian Elite Championships, held in Dnipropetrovsk only last weekend and will be keen to push the pace. Syutkin, having won the European title in France last year and in 2014 in Germany, when the race was hosted in Köln, will face the incredible task of going head to head with the event organiser’s brother. Richard Varga four times World Champion will not only have the advantage of those world crowns but also the home crowds who will be thrilled to have the chance to see their hero race in Slovakia.

Ognjen Stojanović SRB, just missed a podium appearance last year and if he can hold off Sergiy Kurochkin UKR, who won bronze in Köln, then he might have a chance to chase down Malyar or Syutkin. Joining them and no doubt with the screaming hills of Sankt Wendel still echoing in his legs, is Poland’s Adam Kuśka. Can he possibly manage the transition from long and tough to short and fast? A special guest appearance will be made by Gaspar Riveros from Chile. He will join athletes from 11 European nations.

There is a big turn out from the U23 athletes, with names we see frequently on the ETU Triathlon European Cup circuit. Amongst the women, the reigning world champion is missing but bronze medal winner, Ivana Kuriačková is racing and from Slovakia and so will have the crowds cheering her around the course. Having won silver last year in Châteauroux, she will battle against the reigning European Champion, who has just returned from the USA, Tereza Zimovjanová CZE. Slovakia will be pinning further hopes on Romana Gajdošová. A top ten finish in Gran Canaria earlier this season shows that she has developed good pace and with the very short distances being raced, this could work to her advantage. The Turkish Federation has sent a large team. Amongst them and racing in this category, is Ipek Öztosun. Coming to this race as National Triathlon Champion, she will be hoping for a strong swim and a quick, clean transition. Hungary’s Zsannett Bragmayer has great pace in the water and if she can hold onto any advantage gained in the 1,000m swim, then her recent run pace suggests she could be a contender.

Amongst the men, we will see the silver and bronze medallists from Châteauroux. The defending champion, Jiří Kalus has moved up a category and does battle with the Elite. But here to see who is best, will be Team GB’s Nathan Tweedie and from Ukraine, Ivan Menshykov. Last year it was Tweedie’s strong swim that gave him the advantage over the faster runner from Ukraine. This could be the battle of the race but with Gültigin Er keen to make his mark, the Turk, with his speed in the water, might be on the podium. As Junior World Champion, Poland’s powerful swimmer, Michał Oliwa won his title by almost a minute. With the added distance now as an U23 athlete, there is a very good chance he will give full power in the water and establish an unassailable lead. In Quarteira this year, Hungary’s Márk Dévay had a great swim to be part of the leading group out of the water. All in all, it looks like the front end of this race will be incredibly exciting.

Amongst the Junior Women, the bronze medallist from 2016 will be racing. Katja Hočevar’s bronze for Slovenia will give her confidence but she us against some powerful athletes. Russia’s Tatiana Baskakova dominated the swim in Tiszaújváros last year and with improvements in her running, will be one to chase. Ukraine’s Sofiya Pryyma with her strength off road and all-round power will be a challenge to last year’s 4th placed athlete, also from Ukraine, Khrystyna Salkova. With the Turkish team is Ilayda Kara. A bronze to end the season in Alanya and winter training brings her to this race in good form.

The Junior Men will see a chance for new athletes to go for the medals and once again we will be treated to a huge line up. Race favourite has to be the Hungarian, Gergő Soós. With wins in Tiszaújváros, Tulcea and Alanya last year he will be coming with more confidence and more proven speed. Slovenia’s Mark Mandic placed 4th last year and will naturally be hoping for a podium position here in Bratislava but on home soil Matúš Verbovský with a stronger end of season showing could well be edging him out of contention. With Soós comes a second strong Hungarian junior, Balázs Kovács. This race is going to be big and this race is going to be exiting.

We have a number of Para Athletes racing and from Germany, to improve on his silver in the PT1 Category, comes Daniel Müller. For the men’s PTS5 category, Spain’s Juan Jesús Aguiar will also be going for gold and for the PTVI Category, Slovenia’s Alen Kobilica fresh from Yokohama, will race.

We also, of course, have a massive number of Age Group athletes who will turn this location into an International Festival of nations. No surprise that Team GB is the biggest group to head this way but they will be racing against some stiff opposition and as we saw in Chateauroux, the racing will be thrilling.

It all happens tomorrow and we hope to bring you updates on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and of course a full report early next week once the results have all been checked.