The German triathlete Tim Hellwig achieved the first World Cup victory of his career. The 24-year-old from Saarbrücken won the Olympic distance in Chengdu, China, on Saturday. Hellwig, who has already achieved the standard for the Games in Paris next year, needed 1:44:15 hours to complete the 1.5 kilometer swim, 40 kilometer cycle and 10 kilometer run.
Aram Penaflor (Mexico) and Rostislav Pewtsov (Azerbaijan) arrived six seconds after him and fought a sprint duel on the home straight. The second best German was Valentin Wernz in twelfth place. Jonas Schomburg was 17th, Lasse Nygaard Priest finished 22nd.
“I actually didn’t feel that good, so I had to be careful with my strength today. In the end, after the last turning point, I attacked and gave it my all,” said Hellwig, according to a statement from the German Triathlon Union.
Third third in Pontevedra
At the Grand Final of the World Triathlon Championships Series (WTCS) in Pontevedra, Spain, Lisa Tertsch (Darmstadt) secured Olympic qualification by finishing fourth on the day. The 24-year-old is the third German athlete to buy a ticket for the games in Paris next year. Laura Lindemann and Nina Eim (both Potsdam) had already qualified in August.
After a committed race over the Olympic distance, Tertsch narrowly missed the podium in 1:54:01 hours despite a 15-second penalty for “inappropriate swimming behavior”. The victory went to Great Britain’s Beth Potter (1:53:19).
“Of course, at times you have concerns about whether it’s enough, but if you focus too much on it, you won’t be able to run fast anymore. I tried to forget it,” said Tertsch at the finish. “I gave everything I could while running, luckily quite a lot went.”
