23rd WMC Triathlon - Águilas (ESP) - Day 3

ÁGUILAS (ESP) - The final day of the 23rd World Triathlon Championships took place on Friday, June 10, with the Para-Triathlon competition and the Team Relay, both held for the first time at a CISM competition, as well as the Closing Ceremony of the event.

The Paratriathlon competition was held in the following format: each para-athlete lined up in his or her own discipline and was accompanied by two able-bodied athletes who were responsible for the other two disciplines.

It was Abel Torreblanca, accompanied by José A. Hoyos, Ana Ramon and Victor Lopez, was the fastest, finishing more than 40 seconds ahead of the trio of Andrea Miguelez, Sergio Perez, and Rodrigo Lameira, who finished second, while Gustavo Molina Martinez, Victoria Munoz and Jan-Henrik Back finished in third place. This competition was a real success and had a particular craze. All the participants were delighted with this initiative!

The relay competition, also organized for the first time in the history of a CISM WMC, took place after the paratriathlon and each team, composed of four athletes, had to take turns in the three triathlon disciplines.

The French team proved to be the strongest in the elite competition. A. Raphaël, L. Bachet, N. Lessmann and J. Lehair won in the end with less than seven seconds of advance on their closest pursuer, Switzerland (S. Caterina, A. Koenig, M. Studer and J. Weber). Hungary (T. Toth, Z. Bragmayer, G. Faldum and A. Polonyine) took the bronze medal.

In the senior relay, Belgium, led by the legendary Frederik Van Lierde and his teammates W. Didier, V. Waelkens, M. Dammekens, won the title with 14 seconds ahead of the host country, represented by P. Gallego, P. Arias, S. Sobrino and L. Pastor, while France (J. Gonnet, M. Protat, A. Level and A. Bourgeoisat) finished third.

The Closing and Medal Ceremony took place at the end of the day, after the competitions, in the presence of Colonel Rodrigo Verônimo Lameira, Official CISM Representative for this event and member of the CISM Board of Directors; Colonel José Carlos Garcia Verdugo Sanchez, Chief of the Spanish Delegation to CISM and BoD Member; Marisol Casado Estupiñán, International Triathlon Union (ITU) President ; Ms. Maria del Carmen Moreno, Mayor of Águilas, Spain; Lieutenant Colonel Victor Lopez Antolin, PCSC Triathlon; Major Rodrigo Fontenla Cerezuela, President of the Local Organizing Committee; the Chiefs of Mission of the participating nations as well as high ranking local and international authorities.

Colonel Rodrigo Verônimo Lameira, Official CISM Representative for this event and member of the CISM Board of Directors, took the floor to close the event: "We witnessed great competitions and great moments of camaraderie. Thanks to the Spanish Delegation to CISM for organizing this event which took place in ideal conditions. As in Lanzarote in 2021, it was an exceptional event and it is clear that triathlon is a successful competition within CISM! Thank you to the organizers and to all the participants".

A page is turned with the end of this WMC, and an appointment is already made with the city of Brive-la-Gaillarde, France, which will host the 24th edition of the WMC Triathlon from May 4th to 9th 2023!

• Results of the Day: Paratriatlon - Elites Relay - Seniors Relay

(Source: CISM Media & Communication Department)