Mikel Arrasate and Marta Bernardi, European Middle Distance Champions in Banyoles

Mikel Arrasate and Marta Bernardi have been proclaimed European Middle Distance Triathlon Champions 2026 in Banyoles, on a day with silver for Guillem Montiel and bronze for Helene Alberdi.

The competition concluded this Sunday, July 19, the Banyoles 2026 European Multisport Triathlon Championship , held over nine days in the area around l'Estany and with more than 3.000 participating athletes.

The Middle Distance race consisted of a 1,9-kilometer swim, an 83-kilometer non-drafting cycling leg, and a 14-kilometer run . The final segment was shortened from the initially planned 21 kilometers as a precaution against the high temperatures.

Mikel Arrasate decides the title in the footrace

Mikel Arrasate was crowned European champion with a time of 3:10:38 , after maintaining a very close duel with Guillem Montiel during the swimming and cycling segment.

Montiel exited the water ten seconds ahead, with a split of 24:03 compared to Arrasate's 24:13. The differences remained minimal on the bike: Arrasate completed the leg in 1:57:30 and Montiel in 1:57:41.

The race was decided in the final 14 kilometers. Arrasate posted a split of 46:07 , 47 seconds faster than Montiel, and crossed the finish line with a 57-second advantage.

Guillem Montiel won the silver medal with a time of 3:11:35, while Belgian Tom Vaelen completed the podium in 3:16:12. Joran Driesen finished fourth and José Ignacio Gálvez was fifth, as the third Spanish finisher.

Men's results from the European Middle Distance Championships

Marta Bernardi sets the fastest running split.

Italian Marta Bernardi , continental runner-up in 2025, won the women's title with a time of 3:45:12.

Sara Sandrini and Helene Alberdi got ahead of Bernardi in the swimming leg, but the future champion stayed close to her main rivals before making the difference in the final segment.

Bernardi completed the run in 53:36 , the fastest split of the women's competition. The Italian was 2:46 faster than Sandrini and 3:31 faster than Alberdi in the final 14 kilometers.

Sara Sandrini won the silver medal with a time of 3:48:48, 3:36 behind the winner. Helene Alberdi secured the bronze in 3:52:05, holding off María Vilas, who finished fourth with 3:55:21.

Sofía Aguayo completed the Spanish representation within the top ten positions by finishing seventh with 4:07:13.

Women's results from the European Middle Distance Championships

Spain leads the elite medal table at Banyoles 2026

The final day also included the European Aquabike Championship for age groups , contested over 1,9 kilometers of swimming and 83 kilometers of non-drafting cycling.

After the elite, under-23, and junior competitions held in Banyoles, Spain finished at the top of the medal table with 36 medals . Italy came in second with eight, and Belgium was third with seven.

In the age group categories, Great Britain was the delegation with the most medals, followed by Spain.

Sònia Canals and Albert García win the Triatló de Catalunya

The Triatló de Catalunya was held in parallel over the Olympic distance and brought together more than 400 participants.

The victories went to Sònia Canals Oliver , from Club Natació Barcelona, ​​and Albert García Serra , representing Katoa Barcelona.

The Middle Distance and Aquabike events brought to a close a European Multisport Championship that brought together in Banyoles the continental championships of duathlon, cross triathlon, cross duathlon, aquathlon and middle distance triathlon.

This content has been created with the support of AI tools and reviewed by the Triathlon News editorial team.

Do you regularly read Triathlon News?

Add TN as a preferred source on Google to see more of our news in your search results.