The 2023 World Triathlon Sprint & Relay Championships Hamburg delivered yet another sparkling edition of racing in Germany’s home of triathlon. The action took place over four days, with the Junior World Championships getting things underway, the Jr/U23 Mixed Relay World Championships, Age-Group Sprint and Mixed Relay Championships all joining the headline-grabbing, brand new Super-Sprint and legendary Mixed Relay World Championships on the packed schedule.

In all, some 2,500 athletes from 32 countries took part in the Age Group World Championships, representing their countries at every age category from the 16-19 year-olds right up to 80+, bringing a carnival flavour from the Parade of Nations to the roof-raising Mixed Relays and awards ceremonies that closed out the show on Sunday afternoon.

“I think we can all agree that this has been one of the greatest editions of WTCS Hamburg we have ever seen,” said World Triathlon President and IOC Member Marisol Casado. “This is World Triathlon’s longest running and undoubtedly one of our most popular top-tier events, but the brilliance of the elites, the passion and joy of the 2,500 age-groupers and the chance to see our next-generation of stars with the Junior World Championships, made it all the more special.”

“A huge part of the opportunity to bring Mixed Relay to the Olympic Games for the first time at Tokyo 2020 was because of Hamburg’s commitment to hosting the World Championships, sealing the city’s place in our sport’s history. So it was a wonderful opportunity to have Thomas Bach here to feel the excitement of this format and its potential to be another triathlon event on the Olympic calendar. My thanks and congratulations to all the athletes for an unforgettable few days, and to the LOC for staging another outstanding edition, complete with Gold certification for their impressive commitment to its sustainability.”

New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde and Cassandre Beaugrand of France were crowned the first ever Super-Sprint champions of the world after navigating four races in two days, all watched on by the IOC President who was returning to Hamburg to watch for the first time in 10 years, witnessing a remarkable debut for the format’s inaugural World Championships.

Speaking after Saturday’s elite racing, Thomas Bach said; “I was here because I’ve been a triathlon fan for many, many years; especially since the Olympic launch, and I was last here in 2013, so it was time again. But I was also here to check out the new format, which I think has taken off very well. From what you see and hear from the athletes, they are taking to it well. It certainly needs further development… but here, especially with the great Hamburg crowd, it was a really great debut.”

Team Germany won both the Elite and Jr/U23 Mixed Relay World titles to the delight of the huge crowds, Portugal’s Joao Batista and Ilona Hadhoum of France the Junior world titles. Germany also finished top of the Age-Group medal table with 12 gold, 8 silver and 7 bronze medals, GB second, USA third, and the hosts were also joint top of the AG Mixed Relay table with 3 golds, the same as USA, GBR winning two relay golds.

With Pontevedra staging the World Triathlon Championship Finals in September complete with the standard-distance Age-Group racing, the Sprint-Distance World Championships will also be in Spain next year on the programme of the 2024 World Triathlon Championship Finals Malaga.