6 Takeaways from the World Championships in Hamburg

Anyone who has been to any of the World Triathlon or Ironman events in Hamburg, Germany can attest to the huge crowds that take in the races, making it one of the sport’s most iconic race venues. The races, set in the heart of the city, routinely attract huge crowds, and this year the German fans were treated to a home-country win as the German team took Sunday’s mixed relay world championship.

This year Hamburg hosted the World Triathlon Super-Sprint Championships, which, for the first time ever, followed the “Eliminator” format that saw athletes qualify on Friday for Saturday’s individual final. Saturday’s action also included a U23/ Junior mixed relay, with the elite relay taking place on Sunday. That race offered four qualifying slots (two men and two women) to the winning team, making it an important event in Olympic qualifying.

So what was the big news coming out of the weekend’s racing? Here goes:

When she’s on, Cassandre Beaugrand can dominate

The Frenchwoman took her first WTCS win in Hamburg in 2018. On that day she simply floated away from the rest of the field on the run, making it look both smooth and effortless in the process. The next day she helped her country take the mixed relay world championship.

Hamburg will offer up more great memories to Beaugrand, who used her impressive swim skills to great effect for Saturday’s final, always putting herself in a good position, then finishing things off with impressive runs to ensure that she was never in danger of being eliminated and, in the final, allowed her to catch WTCS series leader Beth Potter and take the world title.

Mathis Beaulieu takes bronze medal at World Junior Championships

Hayden Wilde gets a much-needed win

Much needed? Here’s what made Wilde’s performance in Hamburg such a big deal: it was the first time he had beaten rival Alex Yee at a WTCS event. Yee took silver to Wilde’s bronze in Tokyo, gold to Wilde’s silver at the Commonwealth Games last year, and beat Wilde at WTCS Cagliari this year. Yee was outsprinted by Portugal’s Vasco Vilaca and would settle with the bronze in Hamburg, but, as you can see from the photo above, Wilde was well clear of both across the line. That will give the Kiwi some confidence as he tries to beat Yee, both through the remaining WTCS events of this year in pursuit of the world title, and in Paris next summer.

Speaking of Olympic champions

Recognize the guy in the centre of the pack above? Paris gold medalist Kristian Blummenfelt took fourth this weekend. That’s up one spot from the fifth he took at WTCS Montreal. A pair of top-five finishes over the sprint and super-sprint distances bode well for the Norwegian as he looks to round into short-distance form in order to defend his title in Paris next year.

Of course, with two PTO Open events and the Ironman 70.3 World Championship on his schedule for August, all this speed development could be for naught, but if anyone can figure out how to balance long and short-course racing, it’s Blummenfelt and his coaching team.

France has a frightening amount of depth

A strong swimmer, Ilona Hadhoum finally got to show her triathlon talent at the worlds (last year’s women’s junior world championship in Montreal was turned into a duathlon) to take the junior title in Hamburg. Her countrywoman Manon Laporte took the bronze. The country had another athlete in the top 10, too – Leonie Douche.

Nils Serre Ghri managed to outspent Canada’s Mathis Beaulieu in the men’s junior race to take silver behind Portugal’s Joao Nuno Batista, with France’s Thomas Hansmaennel finishing fourth. None of those athletes took part in the U23/ Junior mixed relay, but France still managed a fourth-place finish in that event.

While only Tom Richard was on hand to represent France in the individual elite men’s event (and Beaugrand was the only French woman in the elite field), the country is flush with elite talent. Emma Lombardi sits a couple of spots below Beaugrand in the WTCS rankings (sixth and ninth), with Leonie Pariault at 22nd. On the men’s side defending world champ Leo Bergere is one spot behind countryman Dorian Coninx (seventh and sixth), with Pierre Le Corre at 28th. Along with that crew, the injured Vincent Luis could end up being a favourite in Paris if he can get healthy.

The talent is there, for sure. The question will be how they handle the pressure of trying to win gold on home soil next year.

Tyler Mislawchuk remains Canada’s leading light

Remember all those years when it seemed like Triathlon Canada’s entire Olympic program centred around Simon Whitfield? These days Tyler Mislawchuk keeps coming up as the man to carry Canadian dreams at the big events. Mislawchuk couldn’t buy a break last year as he dealt with injury issues and some bad luck at various events (including a flat at the Commonwealth Games). This year he is steadily putting himself into the picture with a series of top-15 finishes at WTCS events (12th at Abu Dhabi, 15th in Yokohama, 15th again despite a fall on the bike in Montreal) and his best-ever world championship performance, his ninth in Hamburg.

“Today was another step forward,” Mislawchuk said after the race. “It’s always bittersweet knowing how close you are to the front but nice to be back in the top-10. In the last round, my hamstrings just tightened up but I am pleased with the effort.”

Charles Paquet took seventh in Montreal and made it to Saturday’s final, but was eliminated in the first of the three races, taking 25th, while Brock Hoel finished 37th.

On the women’s side, Dominika Jamnicky was the first alternate for the women’s final (31st), while Emy Legault didn’t start. Two-time Olympian Amelie Kretz had to sit out the worlds due to an injured back.

Mixed relay makes a difference

As mentioned, the winner from Sunday’s mixed relay guaranteed their country two mens and women’s spots for Paris. That means Germany has guaranteed itself a couple of spots in Paris next year. Right now, Canada sits at eighth in the mixed team rankings, which would be enough to guarantee a couple of spots each for our men and women, but a 17th-place finish in Hamburg won’t help that ranking, but hopefully some big results remain on the horizon through the final races of the WTCS season.