Victories for American Reese Vannerson and Russian Valentina Riasova: both athletes won the World Triathlon Cup in Chengdu today. Vannerspon won the race after a sprint, while Riasova had slightly more margin.
Still, the differences in the women’s race were also small: once in T2, a huge group of ladies was together, and so the race – where not the very strongest women appeared at the start anyway – was decided during the final ten kilometers of running. Riasova – in 2021 U23 European Sprint Triathlon Champion, but in that year also suspended for two years because she tested positive on doping – won the race in 1:53:22. Poland’s Roksana Slupek was second in 1:53:28 and Spain’s Sara Guerrero Manso third in 1:53:33.
Among the men, the battle for gold was even more exciting; the decision fell by a difference of just one second. American Reese Vannerson went all out and won the race after a final sprint in a time of 1:39:42. In doing so, he trumped Israeli Shachar Sagiv, who finished second in 1:39:43. Australian Brandon Copeland complemented the podium, finishing third in 1:39:47.
