It was neither Kate Waugh, Marta Kropko, Nina Eim, nor any of the other pre-race favorites who took the top step of the podium today. Instead, China’s Xinyu Lin produced a major upset to claim victory at the World Triathlon Cup in Beijing.
The race took a decisive turn early on during the bike leg, where a small breakaway group managed to establish a lead of over a minute heading into T2. Entering the run, Lin was positioned at the front alongside Brea Roderick, Manami Hayashi, Mathilde Gautier, and race favorites Kropko and Waugh. Nina Eim had already missed the key move, effectively putting her out of podium contention before the run even began.
Early into the 10k, Waugh was unable to match the surging pace set by Kropko and Lin. The duo broke away and ran together deep into the final stretch, stretching their lead over Waugh to roughly thirty seconds. With the rest of the field trailing by more than a minute, the podium positions looked set.
Lin saved her best for last, launching a decisive late surge to drop Kropko and seal a remarkable home victory in 2:00:33. Kropko crossed the line five seconds later to take second in 2:00:38, while Waugh rounded out the podium in third with a time of 2:01:28.
