Thus far in Townsville, there has been plenty of European success. France claimed gold medals in the elite women’s duathlon as well as the mixed 2x2 duathlon relay. Neighbouring Italy stands atop the leaderboard with double the number of elite golds after coming away with male and female triumphs in both the men’s and women’s cross triathlon and cross duathlon events. Meanwhile, Spain has taken a solitary elite gold through Javier Martin Morales in the men’s duathlon. With the arrival of the aquathlon, though, the Spanish team will be favourites to add another victory.
The aquathlon is scheduled to take place as a run-swim-run made up of distances of 2.5km, 1km and 2.5km, respectively. In the event that the water temperature drops below 22 degrees Celsius, an unlikely prospect given the sea in Townsville at this time of year, the format will change to a 1km swim followed by a 5km run. Read on to find out who could contend for the medals and in particular what to look out for from the male Spanish favourites.
Elite men
Kevin Tarek Viñuela Gonzalez (ESP) will be confident when he steps onto the Townsville beach for the man wearing the top number arrives at the reigning European aquathlon champion. In addition, Viñuela logged three top-15 World Cup finishes in 2023. He finished 13th in Karlovy Vary and Valencia and placed 11th in Tangier. As such, he is a well-credentialed competitor and will be one the favourites for the win.
However in Cristian Fernandez Nieto (ESP) he faces the defending world aquathlon champion. Five years ago, Fernandez won the age group world title in aquathlon in Pontevedra (25-29) and now he hopes to secure another gold medal in the elite event. One question mark lingering over him, though, is that he has no international results in 2024. Either way, with the double punch of Viñuela and Fernandez, chances are Spain will come out on top.
Nevertheless, it is no guarantee that Spain will win. Luke Bate (AUS) goes again after competing in the duathlon event last week. Moreover, Šimon Koblížek (CZE) will be another to keep an eye on.
Elite women
The women’s aquathlon field will be a little on the thin side. There are only three senior women scheduled to contest the elite race: Maryna Kyryk (UKR), Louisa Marie Middleditch (SIG) and Chloe Dooley (GBR). As a result, there will be an opportunity for one of the junior athletes starting to spring a surprise on their more senior counterparts.
Of the more established starters, Kyryk is possibly the favourite. She finished 9th at the European Aquathlon Championships earlier this year but came away with the silver medal at the 2023 iteration of that race. To go with that, she won bronze at the 2022 World Aquathlon Championships and also has experience at the World Cup level in triathlon. For example, she competed at the indoor event in Lievin back in March of this year. On balance, then, Kyryk looks to be the woman to beat.
Stay up to date with all the stories of the aquathlon events in Townsville, from elite to age group, across all World Triathlon channels.
