Elite Triathletes, Juniors, Age Groupers to Compete for World Titles at World Triathlon Sprint & Relay Championships Montreal

MONTREAL — An action-packed weekend of racing featuring elite triathletes, Juniors and age group triathletes is ahead at the 2022 World Triathlon Sprint & Relay Championships Montreal and World Triathlon Championship Series Montreal.

The third stop in 2022 of the 2022 World Triathlon Championship Series, the World Triathlon Championship Series Montreal features super-sprint distance racing spanned over two days as seven U.S. elite triathletes will compete in the unique “eliminator” format that made its debut on the World Triathlon circuit last year.

On Sunday, the elite racing continues as countries will race for the world title in the 2022 Mixed Relay World Championships.

The world’s best Junior athletes will race for individual world titles on Friday, then on Sunday race for world titles in the Junior Mixed Relay World Championships.

In age group racing, nearly 300 U.S. age group athletes representing age group Team USA will race for world titles in the Age Group Sprint Draft Legal World Championships and in the debut of the Age Group Mixed Relay World Championships.

The action kicks off on Friday, June 24 and spans through Sunday, June 26.

Tune In

All races will be broadcast live at TriathlonLIVE.tv with subscriptions available for purchase.

The first qualification round in the World Triathlon Championship Series Montreal begins at noon ET on Friday for the elite women, with the elite men’s qualification round beginning at 2 p.m. The repechage rounds then begin at 4 p.m. ET for the elite women and 6 p.m. ET for the elite men.

The Junior women begin the racing at 8 a.m. ET on Friday, with the Junior men to follow at 10 a.m. ET.

Saturday’s World Triathlon Championship Series Montreal finals begin at 2:06 p.m. ET with the elite women, followed by the elite men at 4:46 p.m.

The Age Group Sprint Draft Legal World Championships begin at 7:15 a.m. ET on Saturday for the age 45 and older men, with the women racing at 8:35 a.m. ET. The age 45 and younger men race at 10:05 a.m. ET.

The Age Group Mixed Relay World Championships kick off the final day of racing on Sunday, with two waves at 7:15 and 10:45 a.m. ET. The Junior Mixed Relay World Championships begin at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday and the Elite Mixed Relay World Championship begins at 4:45 p.m. ET.

World Triathlon Championship Series Montreal & Mixed Relay World Championships

Seven elite U.S. triathletes will race in Montreal in the unique “eliminator” format that made its World Triathlon Championship Series debut last year. 

The individual competition is made up of several “super-sprint” races, which each cover a 300-meter swim, 7.2-kilometer bike and 2k run. Friday’s races, however, will be contested in a duathlon (run-bike-run) format due to heavy rainfall in the Montreal area that affected the water quality of the St. Lawrence River. Athletes will race a 1k run, 7.2k bike, 2k run.

Up to 60 athletes per gender will compete across two qualifying races (30 athletes per race) on Friday. The top-10 finishers from each qualifying race will progress through to the next day, along with 10 more athletes per gender in the repechage races. On Saturday, the 30 qualifiers per gender will line up for a three-race final. At the end of the first race, the last ten across the line will be eliminated. At the end of the second, ten more will be eliminated. The last race of the weekend will see the remaining 10 athletes battle it out for gold.

Taylor Spivey (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Kirsten Kasper (North Andover, Mass.) and Summer Rappaport (Thornton, Colo.) will represent the elite U.S. women. Spivey comes to Montreal ranked fourth in the World Triathlon Championship Rankings, boosted by her fourth-place finish at the World Triathlon Championship Series Leeds earlier this month. She earned the bronze in Montreal last year, proving the super-sprint format fits her skillset.

Kasper, ranked eighth in the World Triathlon Championship Rankings, finished 16th in Montreal last year. Rappaport comes to Montreal ranked 14th in the World Triathlon Championship Rankings.

Matt McElroy (Huntington Beach, Calif.), Seth Rider (Germantown, Tenn.), Austin Hindman (Wildwood, Mo.) and Brent Demarest (Charleston, S.C.) will race for the elite U.S. men. Of the four, only Rider raced the eliminator format in Montreal last year where he placed ninth. McElroy comes to Montreal off a 16th place finish in Leeds. Montreal will be Hindman’s second WTCS race; he made his WTCS debut last season in Hamburg. Demarest will make his WTCS debut in Montreal.

On Sunday, four U.S. elite triathletes will team up to race in the 2022 World Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships. The Mixed Relay made its Olympic debut last summer at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and the U.S. team won the silver medal, continuing a trend of strong international success in the event. The U.S. won silver at the 2020 Mixed Relay World Championships, bronze in 2019 and 2018, silver in 2017 and the world title in 2016.

The Mixed Relay is a fast, tactical and spectator-friendly race. In the Mixed Relay, each country’s team is made up of two women and two men, and each team member competes a super-sprint swim, bike, run triathlon before tagging their teammate. Until at least 2024, the order of the Mixed Relay will now follow the new order of man-woman-man-woman.

The four-person Mixed Relay rosters for all teams will be unveiled on race morning.

2022 Junior World Championships

The best rising triathlon talents from around the globe will compete for individual world titles on Friday, and a mixed relay title on Sunday, as part of the 2022 World Triathlon Junior World Championships Montreal, where seven young U.S. athletes are set to compete.

Due to heavy rain in Montreal, athletes will race a duathlon (run-bike-run) instead of the traditional triathlon format, running and biking a 2.5k run, 20k bike, 5k run course.

Britney Brown (O’Fallon, Ill.), Faith Dasso (New Braunfels, Texas), Freya McKinley (Centennial, Colo.) and Naomi Ruff (West Chicago, Ill.) represent the U.S. Junior women. Dasso, Ruff and Brown come to Montreal after racing at the 2022 Europe Triathlon Junior Cup Düsseldorf earlier this month, where Dasso placed second, Ruff fourth and Brown eighth. Dasso placed 23rd at last year’s World Triathlon Junior Championships Quarteira.

Luke Anthony (East Lyme, Conn.), Eli McWard (Prosper, Texas) and Reese Vannerson (Sugar Land, Texas) represent the U.S. Junior men. The Junior trio also raced at the 2022 Europe Triathlon Junior Cup Düsseldorf, with Vannerson taking the win. Anthony finished seventh and McWard took 11th.

World Triathlon Age Group Draft Legal Sprint Championships
After a two-year hiatus due to the impact of the worldwide pandemic, this Saturday nearly 300 age group Team USA athletes will compete at the World Triathlon Age Group Draft Legal Sprint Championships, and on Sunday teams from all over the world will race in the first edition of the World Triathlon Age Group Mixed Relay Championships.

Qualification was required, with competitors earning their spot on Team USA by finishing in the top 18 of their respective age groups at the 2021 Toyota USA Triathlon Age Group Sprint National Championships in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the 2021 USA Triathlon Age Group Draft Legal Sprint National Championships in Tempe, Arizona, or by placing near the top of the USA Triathlon year-end rankings for their respective age groups.

The Age Group World Triathlon Draft Legal Sprint Championships will feature a 750m swim, followed by a 20k bike and a 5k run. In the Mixed Relay, teams made up with four triathletes (two male, two female), will compete on a 300m swim, 5km bike and 1.6k run before tagging their teammate. USA Triathlon hosted the first Mixed Relay National Championship at this April’s USA Triathlon Multisport National Championships Festival Presented by Toyota.

For more information about Team USA, comprised of the amateur athletes who represent the United States in World Triathlon Age Group World Championship events, visit usatriathlon.org/teamusa.