The newly restructured Supertri Pro Series officially launched over the Memorial Day weekend at Supertri Austin. Featuring a draft-legal, sprint-distance format, the race integrated elite short-course action directly into Austin’s mass participation festival.
While the event marked a progressive step forward for Supertri’s unified racing model, the professional fields in Texas were arguably overshadowed and diluted. The race shared a highly congested weekend on the global triathlon calendar, competing directly for athlete presence and media attention against major long-course and middle-distance events, including Challenge Family’s The Championship in Samorin, Ironman Lanzarote, and the T100 Triathlon World Tour stop in Spain.
Despite the smaller elite start lists, the racing at the front delivered nice battles, ultimately crowned by dominant performances from two Olympic gold medalists.
Women’s Race: Jorgensen Overcomes Swim Deficit with Blistering Run
In the women’s field, Rio 2016 Olympic gold medalist Gwen Jorgensen (USA) showcased her trademark run speed to secure a definitive victory.
The race began with a highly disruptive deep-water swim start in Lady Bird Lake, causing a scattered field early on. Jorgensen encountered difficulties in the water, exiting Transition 1 (T1) in sixth place. However, the American veteran utilized the technical 20km bike course through downtown Austin to bridge the gap before dismantling the field on the 5km run. Jorgensen comfortably crossed the line first in 58:14.
Behind her, a fierce three-way sprint for the remaining podium spots unfolded in the final meters. Eleanor Beveridge (USA) and Zuzana Michaliková (SVK) matched each other stride-for-stride to the line, with official timing awarding second place to Beveridge by a razor-thin margin of 0.23 seconds. Joy Gill (USA) finished just four seconds back to take fourth.
Gwen Jorgensen: “It was super awesome… It was super fun for my family to be here. Having my family here to enjoy it and being here in Austin where we have had a great time… It was a beautiful course with fans all around.”
Men’s Race: Hellwig Triumphs in Formidable Return From Injury
The men’s race saw a commanding performance from Germany’s Tim Hellwig, proving his fitness is fully restored following a year-long injury layoff. Hellwig, a mixed relay Olympic gold medalist from Paris 2024, adapted seamlessly to the deep-water start and hot conditions.
During the bike leg, Hellwig broke away at the front alongside established Supertri competitor Seth Rider (USA). The duo drove a relentless pace to build a substantial gap over the chasing field. Once on the run trail, Hellwig pulled away solo, securing the victory in 52:00.
France’s Aurélien Jem delivered the field’s fastest closing run split to take second place in 52:19. The final podium spot went to Matthew McGoey (USA) in 52:28. McGoey’s third-place finish was particularly resilient, given he had to serve a costly 10-second penalty in T1 after checking his bike late due to a pre-race flat tire. Rider faded slightly on the run to finish fourth.
Tim Hellwig: “I am pretty happy with the overall race and especially the run. It was very hard and with Seth we shared the bike together and it was full gas. To back that up with a solid run is great.”
Jersey Final Qualification
In addition to the $35,000 event prize purse distributed ten deep per gender, the race served as a direct pathway to the $800,000 Supertri Pro Series Final in Jersey on September 6.
With Michaliková, Hellwig, and Rider already holding spots as contracted Supertri athletes, the six automatic qualification berths rolled down to the following athletes:
- Women: Gwen Jorgensen (USA), Eleanor Beveridge (USA), Joy Gill (USA)
- Men: Aurélien Jem (FRA), Matthew McGoey (USA), Carter Stuhlmacher (USA)
The series now shifts across the Atlantic for its second stop at Supertri Blenheim Palace in the United Kingdom on June 7.
Elite Results
Women’s Top 10
- Gwen Jorgensen (USA) — 58:14
- Eleanor Beveridge (USA) — 58:33
- Zuzana Michaliková (SVK) — 58:33
- Joy Gill (USA) — 58:37
- Michelle Magnani (USA) — 59:40
- Annie Fuller (USA) — 1:00:13
- Rylan Lonergan (USA) — 1:00:48
- Faith Dasso (USA) — 1:01:22
- Mackenzie McConagha (USA) — 1:01:39
- Avalyn Thompson (USA) — 1:03:17
Men’s Top 10
- Tim Hellwig (GER) — 52:00
- Aurélien Jem (FRA) — 52:19
- Matthew McGoey (USA) — 52:28
- Seth Rider (USA) — 52:41
- Carter Stuhlmacher (USA) — 53:03
- Cole Jamieson (USA) — 53:34
- Nathanael Hamilton (USA) — 53:50
- Elliot Hamilton (USA) — 55:05
- Graham Hummel (USA) — 55:48
- Foster Wilfong (USA) — 56:03
