Todd Buckingham of Big Rapids, Michigan won his 25-29 age group and his time of 1:52:02 placed him as the first overall male at the 2018 ITU Age Group standard distance World Championship on the Gold Coast of Australia on Sunday.

Buckingham edged male 30-34 winner Edward Castro of Great Britain by 22 seconds and third overall and 25-29 runner-up Malcolm King of New Zealand by 40 seconds.

Buckingham won the men’s 25-29 age group category but did not crack the top 5 overall in the ITU Age Group Sprint Distance World Championship event Thursday.

“I definitely felt like I had a chance to win both (the sprint and standard titles), but you never know,” Buckingham told USA Triathlon media. “I’m just glad that all the hard work I’ve put in this year and the previous year amounted to a couple of world titles. I’m still in disbelief — it doesn’t feel real.”

Kristelle Congi of France won the women’s 25-29 category and her time of 2:04:07 won the Age Group women’s overall title by 1:12 over women’s 25-29 and overall runner-up Gabrielle Bunten of
Forest Lake, Minnesota and 1:23 over Women’s 30-34 winner and 3rd place overall Laura Armstrong of New Zealand.

“I lost some ground on the bike, which was a little frustrating, but I just tried to believe in myself and know that I could reel people in on the run,” Bunten told USA Triathlon media. Bunten ran a women’s 25-29 third-best 37:20 for the 10k run which was 7 seconds better than Congi but not enough to win the day. “Not quite good enough for first, but I’m happy.”

Team USA won six gold medals on the day, including Matthew Murray (M20-24, Pearland Texas), Buckingham (M25-29, Big Rapids, Michigan), Steph Popelar (W50-54, Elizabeth, Colorado), Kelly Dippold (W55-59, Olathe, Kansas), Missy LeStrange (W65-69, Visalia, California), Sibyl Jacobson (W75-79, New York, N.Y.) and Robert Plant (M75-79, Woodside, California.

Men’s 20-24 winner Matthew Murray dedicated his win to a dear friend. “When the hurt became unbearable, I thought of my friend Geoffrey who passed away this year,” Murray told USA Triathlon media. “He was a good friend of mine, and we raced track together in college and as recently as this May. I wrote his name on my race shoes in honor of him, and every time I would think, ‘Let’s get it, Geoffrey,’ during that run, the pain would subside and my pace would quicken. I didn’t realize how fast I was running until after when my brother told me I ran a 31:24, which is the fastest 10k I’ve ever run by a long shot.”

ITU AG World Championship Olympic distance
Gold Coast, Australia
September 16, 2018
S 1.5k / B 40k / R 10k

Results

Men

Top 5 Overall

1. Todd Buckingham (USA) 1:52:02 * M25-29
2. Edward Castro (GBR) 1:52:24 * M30-34
3. Malcolm King (NZL) 1:52:42 * M25-29
4. Vant Lammers (USA) 1:53:03 * M30-34
5. Owain Matthews (GBR) 1:53:08 * M35-39

18-19
1. Daniel Paddison (AUS) 1:55:45
3. Mitchell Platt (USA) 1:59:02

20-24
1. Matthew Murray (USA) 1:53:25

25-29
1. Todd Buckingham (USA) 1:52:02

30-34
1. Edward Castro (GBR) 1:52:24
2. Vant Lammers (USA) 1:53:03

40-44
1. Owain Matthews (GBR) 1:53:08

45-49
1. Frederic Tate (TAH) 1:56:54

50-54
1. Jeremy Critchett (AUS) 1:59:06
3. Barry Phelps (USA) 2:03:39

55-59
1. Danilo Palmucci (ITA) 2:00:58
2. Lee Walter (USA) 2:02:31

60-64
1. Phil Davies (AUS) 2:10:45

65-69
1. Greg Bush (AUS) 2:14:`19

70-74
1. Klaus Kübler (AUT) 2:22:35

75-79
1. Robert Plant (USA) 2:38:05

80-84
1. Boris Kirillov (RUS) 3:26:31

Women

Top 5 Overall

1. Kristelle Congi (FRA) 2:04:07 * W 25-29
2. Gabrielle Bunten (USA) 2:05:19 * W25-28
3. Laura Armstrong (NZL) 2:05:30 * W30-34
4. Samantha Bradley (NZL) 2:05:54 * W45-49
5. Rachel Mensch (USA) 2:05:56 * W 25-29

18-19
1. Fatima Alanis Miñarro (MEX) 2:16:59
3. Katelyn Elliott (USA) 2:18:46

20-24
1. Chloe Hartnett (AUS) 2:08:45

25-29
1. Kristelle Congi (FRA) 2:04:07
2. Gabrielle Bunten (USA) 2:05:19
3. Rachel Mensch (USA) 2:05:56

30-34
1. Laura Armstrong (NZL) 2:05:30

35-39
1. Fiona Crombie (NZL) 2:06:10
3. Kirsten Sass (USA) 2:08:57

40-44
1. Rosie McGeoch (AUS) 2:08:00
3. Jessica Holmes (USA) 2:11:24

45-49
1. Samantha Bradley (NZL) 2:05:54
3. Adrienne LeBlanc (USA) 2:11:46

50-54
1. Steph Popelar (USA) 2:11:06

55-59
1. Kelly Dippold (USA) 2:13:49

60-64
1. Margie Ritchie (CAN) 2:19:44
3. Sharon Johnson (USA) 2:23:05

65-69
1. Missy LeStrange (USA) 2:34:37

70-74
1. Sarah Barrett (GBR) 2:41:25
3. Nancy Avitabile (USA) 2:52:15

75-79
1. Sibyl Jacobson (USA) 3:22:33
3. Peggy McDowell-Cramer (USA) 3:42:30