Photo: World Triathlon
In 2017 at the World Triathlon Edmonton, a young Taylor Knibb (she would win the world junior title later that year) joined Flora Duffy, the reigning world champion, for a breakaway on the bike. The pair rode clear of the rest of the field, with Duffy attacking on the last hill to gain a bit of breathing room on the young American, but the gap was still roughly 90 seconds to the chasers. Duffy would take the day, with Knibb holding off the rest of the field to take second. In 2021 Knibb would have another big day in Edmonton when she took the World Triathlon Championship Finals, once again riding away from the rest of the field and hanging on for the win.
This weekend Knibb returned to Edmonton and once again was part of a breakaway on the bike, this time following Duffy’s lead and helping a young 23-year-old from Hungary – Márta Kropkó – to her first World Cup podium. Kropkó led out of the water, with Knibb and Switzerland’s Anja Weber right behind. It didn’t take long before Weber found herself unable to keep with the other two, who worked together to create an insurmountable lead by the time they reached T2. The pair were two minutes up on the rest of the field, and while Kropkó was first out on to the run course, it wasn’t long before Knibb had taken control and was cruising to her first World Cup win.
Italians Paola Sacchi, Beatrice Mallozzi and Angelica Prestia, along with Mexico’s Ana Maria Valentina Torres Gomez, Bermuda’s Erica Hawley and Spain’s Noelia Juan all fought for the final spot on the podium, with Sacchi out sprinting Mallozzi for the medal.
“I’m kind of shocked today,” Knibb said after the race. “The first time I raced here was in 2016, ten years ago. (Ed. note – I can’t find any record of Knibb at the 2026 race in Edmonton, so not sure if she means the 2017 race.) All these years my goal was to win a World Cup, and I never did, until today. It is my first World Cup win, and it is very special. Thanks to everyone who got me here. It feels great to race and have fun, that’s what it is all about. Marta and I worked really well together today, and it helped that we came out of the water first and second. I had a better transition than I’ve been having, which is one of the things that comes from not racing short course so much. I love this place, even though the hill is new and I didn’t like it that much. But the roads are very wide, and my power is better than my technical skills, so I love this course.”
| Pos | Athlete | Nation | Total Time | Swim | T1 | Bike | T2 | Run |
| 1 | Taylor Knibb | USA | 00:58:35 | 00:09:54 | 00:01:02 | 00:29:47 | 00:00:29 | 00:17:24 |
| 2 | Marta Kropko | HUN | 00:59:39 | 00:09:53 | 00:01:00 | 00:29:50 | 00:00:24 | 00:18:33 |
| 3 | Paola Sacchi | ITA | 01:00:16 | 00:09:59 | 00:01:00 | 00:31:29 | 00:00:28 | 00:17:20 |
| 4 | Beatrice Mallozzi | ITA | 01:00:16 | 00:10:13 | 00:00:59 | 00:31:19 | 00:00:24 | 00:17:22 |
| 5 | Ana Maria Valentina Torres Gomez | MEX | 01:00:22 | 00:10:10 | 00:00:59 | 00:31:23 | 00:00:24 | 00:17:26 |
| 6 | Erica Hawley | BER | 01:00:23 | 00:10:05 | 00:01:04 | 00:31:22 | 00:00:24 | 00:17:28 |
| 7 | Angelica Prestia | ITA | 01:00:29 | 00:10:05 | 00:01:02 | 00:31:27 | 00:00:24 | 00:17:32 |
| 8 | Noelia Juan | ESP | 01:00:31 | 00:10:35 | 00:00:58 | 00:31:01 | 00:00:26 | 00:17:30 |
| 9 | Naomi Ruff | USA | 01:00:32 | 00:10:08 | 00:01:00 | 00:31:29 | 00:00:25 | 00:17:30 |
| 10 | Beatrice Filion | CAN | 01:00:33 | 00:10:14 | 00:00:59 | 00:31:25 | 00:00:25 | 00:17:30 |
You can see the full results here.
Photo: World Triathlon
The men’s race turned into a four-way sprint for the podium positions, with Great Britain’s Solomon Okrafo-Smart eking out the win over Canadian Tyler Mislawchuk. Reese Vannerson rounded out the podium.
Yeah ... I'd call that a photo finish! Photo: World Triathlon
New Zealand’s Dylan McCullough led the way out of the water, but it wasn’t long before there was a big group of 35 together on the bike. Things didn’t really start breaking up until the second loop of the run, at which point there were 13 still in the front group. By the final kilometre there were five men in the mix for the medals – Mislawchuk, Okrafo-Smart, Vannerson, France’s Nathan Grayel and Hungary’s Gergely Kiss. The Hungarian would get dropped by the other four with 500 m to go, setting up the dash down the carpet.
‘I’m over the moon,” Okrafo-Smart said after the race. “I put a lot of pressure on myself this season to try to get the qualification for the world champs at domestic races, and I think that with this result I should be able to go to the world champs. I looked back (on the sprint finish) because I knew I wanted at least to be on the podium. I saw there was four of us, so I just looked to the line and gave it all. I really wasn’t expecting to get the win but I am really proud and happy.”
“I felt really bad during the run today, it was one of these days that I did everything I could to hang on with these guys,” Mislawchuk said. “I dug deeper than the whole year because I was at home and I was hearing the cheers and so many familiar faces. It doesn’t get much better than racing at home, so this podium is to all of them.”
| Pos | Athlete | Nation | Total Time | Swim | T1 | Bike | T2 | Run |
| 1 | Solomon Okrafo-Smart | GBR | 00:52:20 | 00:09:09 | 00:00:55 | 00:27:08 | 00:00:23 | 00:14:44 |
| 2 | Tyler Mislawchuk | CAN | 00:52:20 | 00:09:05 | 00:00:53 | 00:27:11 | 00:00:24 | 00:14:46 |
| 3 | Reese Vannerson | USA | 00:52:20 | 00:09:14 | 00:00:54 | 00:27:04 | 00:00:24 | 00:14:45 |
| 4 | Nathan Grayel | FRA | 00:52:20 | 00:09:32 | 00:00:55 | 00:26:41 | 00:00:21 | 00:14:51 |
| 5 | Gergely Kiss | HUN | 00:52:27 | 00:09:00 | 00:00:59 | 00:27:13 | 00:00:25 | 00:14:50 |
| 6 | Sullivan Middaugh | USA | 00:52:28 | 00:09:41 | 00:00:53 | 00:26:35 | 00:00:19 | 00:15:01 |
| 7 | Martin Sobey | CAN | 00:52:28 | 00:09:39 | 00:00:55 | 00:26:39 | 00:00:24 | 00:14:51 |
| 8 | Tjebbe Kaindl | AUT | 00:52:32 | 00:09:07 | 00:00:51 | 00:27:12 | 00:00:22 | 00:15:00 |
| 9 | Lukas Pertl | AUT | 00:52:36 | 00:09:26 | 00:00:53 | 00:26:51 | 00:00:20 | 00:15:06 |
| 10 | Andree Buc | CHI | 00:52:42 | 00:09:23 | 00:00:53 | 00:26:54 | 00:00:25 | 00:15:06 |
The weekend rounded out with a Mixed Relay, which was won by Italy. The team that included Paola Sacchi, Miguel Espuna, Beatrice Mallozzi and Euan De Nigro managed to hold off Team Canada, with France eking out the United States for the final spot on the podium.
| Pos | Team | Nation | Total Time | Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 |
| 1 | Italy | ITA | 01:22:17 | 00:21:17 | 00:19:41 | 00:21:56 | 00:19:23 |
| 2 | Canada | CAN | 01:22:24 | 00:21:30 | 00:19:07 | 00:22:18 | 00:19:29 |
| 3 | France | FRA | 01:22:34 | 00:21:29 | 00:19:52 | 00:21:33 | 00:19:40 |
| 4 | United States | USA | 01:22:40 | 00:21:19 | 00:19:19 | 00:22:13 | 00:19:49 |
| 5 | Netherlands | NED | 01:23:31 | 00:22:02 | 00:19:22 | 00:22:35 | 00:19:31 |
| 6 | Switzerland | SUI | 01:24:12 | 00:21:44 | 00:19:42 | 00:22:10 | 00:20:36 |
| 7 | Australia | AUS | 01:24:57 | 00:21:28 | 00:19:56 | 00:23:24 | 00:20:09 |
| 8 | Mexico | MEX | 01:25:21 | 00:21:30 | 00:19:57 | 00:22:59 | 00:20:55 |
| 9 | Japan | JPN | 01:26:13 | 00:21:55 | 00:20:20 | 00:23:51 | 00:20:07 |
| 10 | Israel | ISR | 01:26:15 | 00:21:28 | 00:19:58 | 00:24:13 | 00:20:36 |
You can find the full results from the weekend’s racing here.
Wilde Out for WTCS London
Hayden Wilde anchored New Zealand's Mixed Relay team in Hamburg. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon
He didn’t look quite himself at WTCS Hamburg (27th in the individual race and anchored the New Zealand Mixed Relay squad to eighth), so it’s not a complete surprise to learn that New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde won’t be on the start line in London next weekend. The Kiwi reported on Instagram that he’s dealing with “inflammation around the lungs which probably explains my inconsistencies in training.” The reigning T100 world champ says he’ll now “rest and prepare for my September block.”
Wilde’s absence means we won’t see the much anticipated four-way race between the Kiwi Paris silver medalist and reigning world champ Matt Hauser, Paris gold medalist Alex Yee and this year’s WTCS leader Vasco Vilaça. The other three are on deck to compete in London, though.