More than 350 triathletes from 17 different countries gathered this weekend in the Italian Altopiano di Asiago to compete at the 2019 ITU Winter Triathlon World Championships, with athletes from ages 16 to 85 racing over a 4km run, 7km on their mountain bikes and 7km of cross country, all the legs taking place in the snow.

And the fact of being at home played well for the azurri, collecting a total of 30 medals in the Age Group, including four podium sweeps: Female 16-19 years, Male 16-19 years, Female 25-29 and Female 45-49. Italian was also the youngest competitor -Ludovica Rossi, of only 16 years, winner of the gold medal in her category- and the oldest one -Antonio Tellarini, who also grabbed gold in the 85-59 category at 86 years old-.

The most successful team ever in the Winter Triathlon history, the Russians, also had a really strong squad competing in Asiago in the different Age Group categories, with a total of 59 athletes competing, grabbing 10 medals. Among their representants was Andrey Gudalov, coach of the strong Russian winter triathlon Elite team.

Another country that proved their skills in the snow was Austria. Being one of the strongest countries in Europe when it comes to winter sports, the Austrian squad claimed not only one medal in the Elite races, but also another 10 podium finishes in different Age-Group categories. With seven gold, two silver and one bronze medal in the tally, the red-white-red uniforms shone bright in Asiago, including father and son Eibensteiner, gold and bronze in their respective categories. Germany proved their skills when it comes to cross-country ski collecting 11 medals in Asiago.

Seven amateur athletes represented Team USA at the Winter Triathlon Worlds, with two of them claiming podium positions, as Sheri Schrock grabbed the silver medal in the women’s 65-69 division and Tracy DiSabato-Aust, competing in her first Winter Triathlon World Championships, claimed bronze in the women’s 60-64. Also two medals were grabbed by the British Team, with 17 athletes competing in Asiago.

Two paratriathletes competed in Asiago: Robert Timirjan (ROM), in the PTS4 category, and Rafael Solis Torres (ESO) in the PTS5 class, both claiming gold after competing all together on Sunday.

The Czech Republic, Norway, Slovenia, Slovakia and Estonia also left the World Championships with at least one medal under the belt, promising more winter action in the upcoming Cheile Gradistei European Championships in just a couple of weeks.