France wins the Mixed Relay World Championships and secures the first places for Los Angeles 2028
Spain finishes seventh
France has been crowned world champion in mixed relays in Hamburg and has secured two men's and two women's triathlon places for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The team formed by Léonie Périault, Tom Richard, Emma Lombardi and Dorian Coninx He won with a time of 1:18:37just four seconds ahead of Hungary. Great Britain completed the podium and Spain finished in seventh position.
The World Mixed Relay Championships in Hamburg opened the Olympic qualification process for Los Angeles 2028. France thus becomes the first team to secure two individual male and two female spots through competition, in addition to guaranteeing its presence in the mixed relay.
France wins the world title again
France faced the World Cup without Cassandre Beaugrand, individual Olympic champion, but presented a team with enough experience to always stay in the fight for victory.
Leonie Periault, winner of the individual event held on Saturday in Hamburg, opened the French relay with a leg of 20:12Lisa Tertsch delivered the lead for Germany, while France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Hungary remained close to the top positions.
In the second leg, Tom Richard He completed his relay in 18:39Max Stapley was the fastest on this leg and allowed Great Britain to take the lead before handing it over to Jessica Fullagar.
The third leg of the relay ultimately decided the fight for the medals. Emma lombiJessica Fullagar, Taylor Spivey and Fanni Szalai formed the leading group and opened up a significant gap over Germany and the rest of the chasing teams.
Dorian Coninx decides the World Championship in the footrace
The final leg brought together four triathletes with a chance of winning: Dorian Coninx Csongor Lehmann for Hungary, Oliver Conway for the United Kingdom, and Morgan Pearson for the United States.
Coninx tried to break away during the cycling segment and managed to open up a small gap. Lehmann closed the gap before the second transition, and the four leaders arrived together at T2.
The Frenchman was fastest in the transition, while Morgan Pearson lost contact during the first few meters of the run. Lehmann caught Coninx and increased his pace on the final lap, leaving Oliver Conway in third.
Coninx responded before the final bend and opened up the decisive gap. The 2023 individual world champion completed his leg in 19:10, with a final running segment of 4:36.
Csongor Lehmann clocked 4:37 in the race, leading Hungary to the silver medal. The final difference between the first two teams was just four seconds.
Spain achieves its second-best historical result
Spain competed with Ana Carballo, Alberto González, Marta Pintanel and Antonio SerratThe national team finished seventh with a total time of 1:20:51, 2:14 from France.
The seventh place represents Spain's second best result in a Mixed Relay World Championship, only behind the sixth position achieved in 2019.
Ana Carballo She completed the first leg in 20:34. The Spaniard came out of the water well positioned and kept the national team close to the leading group before handing the baton to Alberto González.
González signed a post of 18:45 He tried to close the gap alongside Portugal's Vasco Vilaça. The leading group maintained its advantage, and Spain reached the third leg in seventh position.
Marta Pintanel He lost ground mainly during the swimming and cycling portions, but completed the running portion in 5:16, the same split as Fanni Szalai. The Spaniard finished her leg in 21:29.
Antonio Serrat completed the final relay in 20:03The Galician driver managed to put Spain in contention for sixth place, although Ricardo Batista allowed Portugal to retain that position.
Spain crossed the finish line 32 seconds for Portugal and with a six-second advantage over New Zealand, who finished eighth after Hayden Wilde's final leg.
Results of the 2026 World Mixed Relay Championships
| Position | Strategic | Time | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 1:18:37 | |
| 2 | Hungary | 1:18:41 | + 0: 04 |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 1:18:50 | + 0: 13 |
| 4 | United States | 1:19:03 | + 0: 26 |
| 5 | Germany, | 1:19:55 | + 1: 18 |
| 6 | Portugal | 1:20:19 | + 1: 42 |
| 7 | Spain | 1:20:51 | + 2: 14 |
| 8 | New Zealand | 1:20:57 | + 2: 20 |
| 9 | to Canada | 1:21:10 | + 2: 33 |
| 10 | Poland | 1:21:28 | + 2: 51 |
Podium composition
| Strategic | First post | Second post | Third station | Fourth relay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | Leonie Periault | Tom Richard | Emma lombi | Dorian Coninx |
| Hungary | Marta Kropko | Márk Dévay | Fanni Szalai | Csongor Lehmann |
| United Kingdom | Beth Potter | max-stapley | Jessica Fullagar | Oliver Conway |
France reclaimed the mixed relay world title they hadn't won since 2022 and took the first step towards defending their Olympic gold medal won in Paris. Spain will have to secure their spots for Los Angeles 2028 in the remaining qualifying events.
This content has been created with the support of AI tools and reviewed by the Triathlon News editorial team.
