World Triathlon Cup Chengdu Comes Down to the Line

Whether you associate the phrase with football or curling, the World Triathlon Cup Chengdu was truly a game of inches.

In the men’s race, just two seconds separated the entire podium.

Luke Willian claimed the win in 50:14, holding off a charging Nils Serre Gehri, who crossed one second later to secure his first World Cup podium. Tyler Mislawchuk rounded out the podium in 50:16, earning the seventh World Cup podium of his career.

Inside the final kilometre, Willian hit the blue carpet with Serre Gehri and Mislawchuk chasing hard behind. He ultimately held on for the win while also posting the fastest run split of the day at 14:03, with Mislawchuk just one second slower at 14:04.

Willian will now head to WTCS Yokohama looking to carry that winning form into next weekend.

Meanwhile, in the women’s race, Laura Lindemann and Valentina Riasova crossed the line shoulder to shoulder in a sprint so close officials needed several minutes and a photo finish to separate them.

In the end, Lindemann got the verdict: gold.

Kate Waugh completed the podium in her return to short-course racing following her 2025 T100 world title season.

The race exploded over the final kilometre after Riasova appeared to have things under control entering the closing stages of the run. But through the final turn, five athletes stormed onto the finishing chute together before Lindemann and Riasova lunged across the line side by side.

Both athletes were credited with the same finishing time of 55:27, with Waugh just one second back in bronze.

Like the men, Lindemann and Waugh will now turn their attention toward Yokohama next weekend for the second WTCS race of the season.