We Noticed: IRONMAN Cairns and Austria Results and More

There were a pair of first-time IRONMAN champions in Cairns this weekend as Penny Slater and Nick Thompson took the wins.

In the women’s race it was Kiwi Rebecca Clarke who led the way out of the water, but pre-race favourite Regan Hollioake blasted to a huge lead by the end of the bike, only to have her day come to an abrupt end during the run thanks to a torn hamstring. Slater had moved into second during the bike and cruised to a solid win over countrywoman Skye Wallace and Clarke.

“I’m pretty tired, but I don’t think the adrenaline’s worn off yet so I’m just so excited,” Slater said after the race. “I feel like this win’s been a long time coming, I’ve had a lot of podiums, a lot of fourth places, so it means so much to win here in Cairns. It’s kind of a home race for me, that’s what it feels like anyway.” 

There were two Kona slots up for grabs, which should go to Slater and Wallace.

In the men’s race it was Japan’s Jumpei Furuya who led out of the water, but Thompson was only a minute down and was in front by the 20 km point of the bike and never looked back. Thompson was just under seven minutes ahead by the end of the bike and held off countryman Ben Hill and Furuya for the win.

“I knew my swim was a bit better than previous years, but I really didn’t feel good, and I didn’t really want to be in the lead when I ended up being in the lead, quite early,” Thompson said. “I knew if I was having a bad day, I just stick to a pretty conservative intensity and if anyone was to bridge up and then just let them set a tempo and save some energy. I was surprised no one got up to me, so I’m pretty happy.”

As Thompson, Furuya and Moody have already qualified for Kona, the two slots should go to Hill and Jarrod Osborne.

Ceccarelli Takes IRONMAN Austria

Italy’s Mattia Ceccarelli eked out a close win over Norway’s Jon Breivold, losing time once the pair got on dry land, but holding on for the win.

Ceccarelli was third out of the water behind Austria’s Alois Knabl and Germany’s Florian Angert, but was able to put his stamp on the race during the bike, hitting T2 five minutes ahead of Angert. Once on the run he remained in control and cruised to the win in 7:48:07, with Breivold running past Angert to take second.

There were two Kona slots available at the race, which we believe were taken by Ceccarelli and Breivold.

Conway and Tertsch Take European Championships

Last year’s world champion Lisa Tertsch (GER) took the day over the defending European champion Jolien Vermeylen (BEL) at the European Championships in Tarragona, Spain. Tertsch scorched through T2 to put herself in a perfect position starting the run, which meant that even though Vermeylen would run 11 seconds quicker, it wasn’t enough to take the win. Russian Valentina Riasova would cross the line five seconds behind to round out the podium.

Last year’s U23 world champion, Oliver Conway, continued his impressive year with the men’s win, despite trailing swim leader Márk Dévay by 45 seconds. Eventually the speedy Brit would work his way to the front of the race as part of a six-man breakaway group, which hit T2 with a 45-second lead. That was more than enough for Conway, who surged to the win. His countryman Michael Gar used the day’s fastest run to work his way through the rest of the breakaway to take second, with Spain’s Roberto Sanchez Mantecon grabbing the last spot on the podium.

Mislawchuk and Torres Tops in Huatulco

Tyler Mislawchuk sure knows how to excel on the Triathlon World Cup Huatulco course. He won there in 2019 and 2021, then took second in 2022 and 2023. He returned to the top of the podium this year, outrunning American Sullivan Middaugh for the win after coming out of the water in fourth, then running away from the large pack that formed on the bike. The silver was Middaugh’s first World Cup medal.

The women’s race also came down to the run as Mexico’s Ana Maria Valentina Torres Gomez also ran to the win ahead of American Kelly Wetteland.

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