Team France continued their outstanding week in Torremolinos as they nabbed the top spot in the World Mixed U23-Junior Relay Championships. A large field containing 22 teams lined up on the beach this morning with plenty sensing an opportunity to make a splash. Foremost among this group was Team Germany as they sought to defend the crown won on home soil last season. Across four legs of a 250m swim, 5km bike and 1.5km run, though, France came out on top in a tight finish that could have gone any of several ways.
Leg One
The opening leg of the relay contained a veritable who’s who of the brightest up and coming talents in men’s triathlon. The newly-crowned World U23 and World Junior champions, David Cantero del Campo (ESP) and Nils Serre Gehri (FRA), were raring to go, although they faced significant opposition in the likes of Mitch Kolkman (NED), the bronze medallist at the 2023 World U23 Championships, and Gergely Kiss (HUN), who struck bronze at the World U23 Championships earlier this week.
Jan Diener (GER) emerged to the fore in the water, giving the defending champions an ideal start. Much of the field, however, remained in touching distance of the front. As was the case in the men’s U23 race, Cantero was simply a cut above on the run. He cruised away from his rivals to hand over a handy lead. Kolkman and Andree Buc (CHI) headed up the chasers some 7 seconds back.
Leg Two
The damage inflicted by Cantero left the remaining teams scrambling to respond. María Casals Mojica built upon her Spanish teammate’s good work until a pack of five eventually formed around her. France, Hungary, Italy and the Netherlands made up this lead group. The Canadian and British teams lurked a little further behind on the bike. Some tireless work saw them latch onto the leaders’ rear wheels before T2.
Candice Denizot (FRA) assumed the lead on the run with Márta Kropkó (HUN) and Casals in pursuit. The French woman ultimately earned a 12 second advantage over her rivals. Meanwhile, Julia Bröcker (GER) made up ground lost earlier in the leg to insert the German team among the top chasers.
Leg Three
Jules Rethoret (FRA) maintained his lead in the swim although a slightly more conservative transition allowed Pelayo Gonzalez Turrez (ESP) to catch him early on in the bike. In the chase pack, the next five teams had work to do. Team Hungary, the nearest of the challengers, faced a 16 second deficit. It was then that Henry Graf (GER) struck. Having spearheaded the chase, he single-handedly rocketed up to the lead pair with an enormous effort. The rest of the chasers were unable to replicate the German athlete’s surge and a lead trio entered transition with a valuable lead.
After a slight stumble in T2, Graf claimed the lead on the run. However, he was unable to completely shake off Gonzalez or Rethoret. The Frenchman started to fade towards the end of the run but hung tough to give his anchor leg the best chance possible to still win. For his part, Gonzalez clung to Graf like a limpet and put the home team in a perfect position to dethrone last year’s champions.
Leg Four
And so, to the finale. Three teams dove into the sea with gold on the line. Or so it seemed. Spain led through the swim with Maria Teresa Jimenez-Orta Guerrero flourishing. Jule Behrens (GER), the 2021 World Junior champion, trailed by only a handful of seconds and then came Team France. However, Hungary, Britain and the Netherlands refused to go down quietly. On the bike, they caught the leaders and transformed the run into a six team showdown.
It was here, though, that Team France’s final trump card came into play. On the original start lists, Ilona Hadhoum, last year’s World Junior champion, was slated to bring the French team home. While Hadhoum is a major talent and impressed at the World U23 Championships earlier in the week, Team France elected for a late change. In Hadhoum’s place came none other than Emma Lombardi. The bronze medallist from the WTCS Final and 3rd place overall finisher in the Series charged into the lead on the run. Behrens found herself at the rear of the pack after a slow T2 while Fanni Szalai (HUN), the World Junior Championships silver medallist, took the fight to Lombardi.
Jimenez-Orta and Robin Dreijling (NED) battled to remain in podium contention but Lombardi was simply too strong. She crossed the line to bring home yet another gold medal for France at these championships, confirming that 2024 has certainly been the country’s year in triathlon. A huge split from Behrens saw her carve through the pack to earn the silver medal for Team Germany. Szalai then held off athletes several years her elder to secure the bronze medal for Team Hungary.
