It was another day to remember for Italy at the 2022 World Triathlon Multisport Championships on Wednesday as Sandra Mairhofer rose to the challenge of the Targu Mures course to produce a golden display, the 2021 Winter Triathlon World Champion adding the World Cross Triathlon title to her growing collection of accolades.
It was far from straightforward for
the 29-year-old, who found herself 1m40s off the lead out of the water, fell
hard at the start of the bike and then again on lap two, but those incidents
seemed to simply fuel her determination as she motored her way to the front of
the bike with only compatriot Marta Menditto able to stay the pace. Menditto’s
challenge faded on the final lap, but she was able to secure second and the U23
World title ahead of French newcomer Solenne Billouin in third.
“I was born in the Italian mountains
so I love these races. It was hard and I fell twice and landed on my head, but
I liked this bike course challenge. Last year was difficult finishing in second
place so i’m just delighted with the win,” said Mairhofer.
It was a deep-water start for the
two-lap, 1km swim, Slovakia’s Zuzana Michalickova setting the early pace with a
blistering first 500m. As the athletes emerged onto dry land and dived back in
to the man-made lake, Samantha Kingsford (NZL) was going well along with USA’s
Amanda Felder, but neither could prevent the leader putting 40 seconds into
them by the time they emerged for the second and final time.
Defending champion Loanne Duvoisin
was more than a minute back, Solenne Billouin nearly two behind Mairhofer and
Menditto, Monday’s Cross Duathlon world champion Eleonora Peroncini already
over three minutes off the front.
It was pushing on the connecting bike
to the five-lap loop that Mairhofer took her first tumble. Emerging battered
and bruised but far from beaten, she quickly closed the gap along with
Menditto, Billouin and Kingsford, as Michalickova struggled to come to terms
with the short sharp climbs, finding herself two minutes adrift by the end of
the second lap.
Suddenly there were just four
athletes riding together out front and stretching away from the field, before
Kingsford was the next to be dropped, the bike proving one lap too many and
with the 7km run still to come.
Duvoisin was also finding the terrain
hard going and couldn’t make up any ground, and on the last lap Mairhofer
finally broke away from Menditto to find daylight ahead.
Knowing her only threat on the run,
Duvoisin, was out of contention, from the moment the Italian came through T2
the result never looked in any doubt, and she cruised a testing final 7km in an
impressive 32m33s.
Behind her, Menditto was also flying,
safe in the knowledge silver and the U23 world title were hers, before a
delighted Billouin crossed for the bronze on World Triathlon debut.
Kingsford held on for fourth ahead of
Alizee Paties (FRA), Duvoisin eventually crossing for sixth. Michalickova
finished with the U23 silver, fellow Slovakian Lydia Drahovska the bronze.
Earlier on Wednesday morning, Great
Britain’s Isla Hedley was crowned Junior World Cross Triathlon Champion after
an excellent bike and run, Chiara Porta (ITA) and Austria’s Junior Cross
Duathlon World Champion Katja Krenn with silver and bronze respectively.
Full results can be found here https://www.triathlon.org/results/result/2022_world_triathlon_cross_championships_targu_mures/550541?mc_cid=bad0b959d9&mc_eid=6139649918
ABOUT WORLD TRIATHLON
World Triathlon is the international
governing body for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of triathlon and all
related multisport disciplines around the world, including duathlon, aquathlon,
cross triathlon and winter triathlon. Triathlon made its Olympic debut in
Sydney 2000, with a third medal event, the Mixed Team Relay, added to the
programme at Tokyo 2020, while para triathlon was first added to the Paralympic
programme at Rio 2016. World Triathlon is proudly committed to the development
of the sport worldwide, with inclusion, equality, sustainability and
transparency at our core as we seek to help triathletes at all levels of the
sport to be extraordinary.
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