Africa Triathlon

Over the weekend, the ITU triathlon season touched down in the Americas and Africa for some studly action in warm conditions. PATCO junior champions were named in Coquimbo, Chile, alongside the elite races at the ITU Pan American Cup, while numerous countries competed at the Sharm El-Sheikh Arabic Open Championships.

Sharm El-Sheikh Arabic Open Championships
Athletes at the Arabic Open Championships were met with heat and wind as they battled over the sprint distance course. Egypt swept the podium in the women’s race, led by Fatma Saed Ahmed Agras who came back from more than a minute deficit on the swim to win by 41 seconds in one hour, 17 minutes and 24 seconds. Jubiner Tarek Abd El Halim was good for second in 1:18:07, while Rahb Humdi Abd El Wahab earned bronze in 1:20:30.

The men’s race enjoyed a deeper field, with several countries represented on the start list at the Arabic Championships for the first time. Lawrence Fanous (JOR) led from line to line, as he powered nearly a minute ahead on the swim. He maintained his lead on the 20km bike course, keeping a solid 45-second distance between himself and eventual silver medallist Omer Nour (EGY). Although Nour dug deep on the quick 5km run with the fastest split of the day, it wasn’t enough to catch Fanous, who collected gold in 1:06:00. Nour took silver in 1:02:20, while Mohamed Khaled Ahmed (EGY) was third in 1:03:33.

Coquimbo PATCO Triathlon Junior South American Championships
Luisa Baptista (BRA) blew away the competition, scoring the PATCO Junior title by nearly three minutes. Baptista carved out a lead for herself on the swim, but it was a sensational bike leg that gave her an insurmountable lead. The Brazilian cruised to the win in 1:03:46. Steffy Salazar Michel and Maria Cristina Farez Pucha, each representing Team ITU clocked in next at 1:06:39 and 1:07:05, respectively.

Flavio Morandini (ARG) employed a similar strategy in the men’s race, executing a solid bike leg to position himself in the front of the deep pack of competitors. While Morandini enjoyed a sizeable lead heading onto the run, Brazil’s Filipe Cirelli put the hammer down with one of the fastest run splits of the day to pull within seconds of Morandini. However, he fell just shy of overtaking the Argentine, as Morandini crossed over in 58:15, while Cirelli was second four seconds later. Manoel Messias (BRA) rounded out the podium in 58:37.

Coquimbo ITU Triathlon Pan American Cup
Michelle Flipo (MEX) and Lydia Waldmuller (AUT) swapped positions from the Vina del Mar ITU Triathlon Premium Pan American Cup last weekend, where Waldmuller scored gold and Flipo silver. This weekend, although the pair worked together throughout the race, Flipo took the top honours with a beastly run that bested Waldmuller by nearly a minute in 2:00:49. Waldmuller crossed over next in 2:01:46. Olympian Elizabeth Bravo, representing ITU and from Ecuador, was third in 2:03:51.

Felipe Barraza (CHI) and Irving Perez (MEX) endured an all-out sprint battle in the men’s race, with Barraza taking the win by just a second in 1:48:58. Danilo Pimentel (BRA) was third in 1:49:12.