World Paratriathlon Championship Final results: Breakthrough win for British prodigy as big stars deliver

Friday morning’s racing action at the World Triathlon Championship Finals Torremolinos-Andalucía comprised the World Triathlon Para Championships.

Nine Paralympic Games champions from Paris 2024 raced – Great Britain’s Megan Richter (PTS4) was a late withdrawal – but with a few surprises along the way, only five of those managed to complete the Paralympic Games / World Championship double. One of the reasons for that, was a great performance from a 22-year-old Brit.

Henry Urand’s big breakthrough

“Look out too for Great Britain’s Henry Urand. Fourth in Paris, the former elite cyclist will lose time in the opening discipline, but he is getting better every race and making incredible progress.” Those were my words in my race preview earlier this week, but that doesn’t mean I was expecting him to win his first World Championship start!

In doing so, he also had to upset the hometown script and beat the Spanish veteran, Daniel Molina, who had claimed the Paralympic Games gold medal at 50 years of age. With limited swim history given his cycling background, despite making incredible progress in his short paratriathlon career, Urand was more than three minutes behind Molina in the PTS3 division.

Germany’s Max Gelhaar led into T2 after the cycle leg, with a narrow 39-second advantage over Molina. Urand however had all but wiped out his swim deficit. Some 18 seconds behind Molina at the dismount line, a swift transition saw him move into second and he set off in chase of the German. Both Urand and Molina were closely matched over the first lap of the run – both passing Gelhaar – but in the second half Urand pulled clear, and finished with a winning advantage of 51 seconds.

World Triathlon Para Championships 2024 Torremolinos - Henry Urand — Photo Credit: Wagner Araujo / World Triathlon

Favourites deliver

If Urand was a surprise, others continue to deliver like clockwork. Into that bracket you can put Alexis Hanquinquant (FRA) in PTS4, Susanna Rodriguez (ESP) in PTVI, Jetze Plat (NED) in PTWC, Dave Ellis (GBR) in PTVI (guided by Luke Pollard), and Grace Norman (USA) in PTS5.

Those para stars all completed the Paralympic Games and World Championship double for 2024, adding more success to already impressive records in the process.

World Triathlon Para Championships 2024 Torremolinos - Dave Ellis / Luke Pollard — Photo Credit: Wagner Araujo / World Triathlon

Paris redemption

After taking silver in Paris, the USA’s Kendall Gretsch took her first World Championship title since Rotterdam in 2016 in the PTWC division, in the process relegating Australia’s Lauren Parker – Paris gold medallist, and World Champion for the last four editions, to third here. Jessica Ferreira (BRA) matched her Paris silver, to split them.

World Triathlon Para Championships 2024 Torremolinos - Kendall Gretsch — Photo Credit: Wagner Araujo / World Triathlon

After crashing in Paris, Canada’s Stefan Daniel (PTS5) also ended his year on a high with a strong run, while after winning Paralympic gold’s in Rio and Tokyo, the USA’s Alyssa Seely moved on from disappointment at Paris bronze, to add another world title to her C.V.

The closest race of the day came in the women’s PTS4 division. With Megan Richter a DNS, it was Marta Frances Gomez (ESP), the silver medallist it Paris, who took the title by just 10 seconds from Camille Seneclauze (FRA). Injury mid-race meant a DNF for Paralympic Champion Jules Ribstein (FRA) in PTS2, where Belgium’s Wim De Paepe earned a first ever World Championship victory.