The first ever edition of the World Para Triathlon Mixed Relay Championships took place in Torremolinos today as a stacked American team powered to victory. After being contested as a test race at the 2022 and 2023 WTCS Finals, today’s event was the first time the world title over the Mixed Relay was up for grabs. Each of the four legs consisted of a 125m swim, a single 3.4km bike lap and a run of 850m. In the event that a PTWC athlete was included, they were required to lead off their teams’ relay. Moreover, teams were allowed to consist of three athletes so long as the athlete doubling up on legs was the only team member of their gender. With multiple Paralympic and world champions onboard to contest the relay, a truly thrilling race unfolded.
Leg One
Team USA got off to a flying start courtesy of Kendall Gretsch H2, the newly-minted world champion in the women’s PTWC class. In a superb opening leg, with a total time of 14:16, Gretsch put almost 2 minutes into her great rival Lauren Parker H1, Team Australia’s Paralympic champion. Australia had proven to be a major force in the test editions of the relay in 2022 and 2023 and as such their deficit represented a significant early twist.
In a point of divergence from the classic Mixed Team Relay, athletes of different genders were able to race one another. Thus, Gretsch also had the challenge of racing the likes of European champion Louis Noel H2 (FRA). Noel raced as part of “Team World” alongisde three Dutch counterparts and was the quickest athlete on Leg One, clocking 13:15. Giuseppe Romele H1 (ITA) was another to go up against Gretsch. He finished with a time of 14:08 to narrowly hold off the American.
Leg Two
The second leg was where Team USA really asserted themselves. Paralympic silver medallist Carson Clough (USA) may have had a point to prove after finishing 4th in the individual PTS4 race. He tore into his split and opened up a handy lead. However, Antoine Perel B1 (FRA) and Jairo Ruiz Lopez (ESP) both managed to out-split Clough and pulled back some of the time their teams had lost to Gretsch. Ruiz’s effort of 13:00 was the best of the day, with Perel’s split of 13:04 close behind. Clough stopped the clock at 13:32 which was enough to keep his quartet around half a minute clear.
Meanwhile, Team Britain enjoyed a strong showing from Claire Cashmore as she battled some of the stars of the men’s field. Her total time of 14:13 would prove crucial in keeping the British squad breathing down the necks of Team France.
Leg Three
With the Americans out front, they needed a safe pair of hands to consolidate their advantage. Who better to turn to, then, than the reigning Paralympic, world and Americas champion: Grace Norman? Norman was a vision of serenity through her split, recording a time of 14:26 to continue to heap the pressure upon her rivals. Only fellow world and Paralympic champion, Susana Rodriguez B1 (ESP) managed to out-split Norman (14:19), although the Spanish team remained the best part of 90 seconds in arrears.
Megan Richter (GBR) stepped up for the British team after missing out on her individual event earlier this week. However, she could not do anything against Norman’s advance. Similarly, the best efforts of Camille Seneclauze went in vain as Team France fell further back from the leaders. Thus, at the end of Leg Three, the rest of the field were the best part of 90 seconds adrift of the American quartet and the race seemed over. Being the Mixed Relay, though, a final twist was yet in store.
Leg Four
Clough was back for more as the American team called on their Paralympic medallist to deliver a second leg. He had enjoyed a whole 14 minutes to recover during Norman’s efforts, yet the question remained: would it be enough?
Remarkably, Clough produced an identical swim split in his second dip in the sea (2:04). His second effort on the bike was also nearly identical to his split from his first leg (5:36 versus 5:35). It was on the run, however, that his exertions seemed to catch up with him a little. Problematically, he was now a hunted man.
Dave Ellis B3 has been nigh-on unbeatable in the men’s PTVI class lately and has hoovered up gold medals this season. As the anchor leg for Team Britain, he had a sizeable task to catch Clough but the heroics were by no means beyond him. First he out-split his American rival by 16 seconds in the water. He gained another 22 seconds on the bike. With transition thrown in, the lead had dropped further. And Ellis’ greatest strength was still to come.
Clough put everything he had into the final kilometre but the gap kept tumbling. Somehow, he summoned a final burst and drove for home. Ellis could see him as the blue carpet neared and also pushed harder. There was nothing between them. But there was simply not enough room. Clough hung on with everything he had to win by 4 seconds. His final leg time of 15:01 was comprehensively beaten by Ellis’ time of 13:34, but the numbers do not tell the full story of Clough’s massive performance across two legs. Nil Riudavets Victory anchored Team Spain to the bronze medal, denying Team France, bringing the curtain down on a fantastic race. If this is what the World Para Triathlon Mixed Relay Championships promise to be like, the sport might have unearthed a special race indeed.
