Tertsch wins Abu Dhabi Duathlon World Championship; Varo fifth

According to the only article covering the race, the silver medal in the women’s duathlon World Championship in Abu Dhabi on Saturday 14 November 2026 went to Diana Isakova (Russia), five seconds behind the champion, Germany’s Lisa Tertsch, who won in 1:22:03. The race took place on Hudayriyat Island, and the Dutchwoman Jasmijn Bakker completed the podium in 1:22:27. Spain’s María Varo Zubiri finished fifth in 1:22:37.

Tertsch crowned duathlon world champion in Abu Dhabi

The women’s race was contested over 5 km of running, 20 km of cycling and a further 5 km run. It brought together some of the leading duathlon specialists along with triathletes from the world circuit. Tertsch, who had raced in the World Triathlon Championship Series on Friday, where she finished fifth, took gold in a very tight finish between two athletes who were both carrying the previous day’s race in their legs.

The German is 2025 world triathlon champion and 2026 European champion. Her link with duathlon goes back a long way: in 2016 she became junior European duathlon champion in Kalkar. A decade later, she adds the senior world title to a record that includes several World Series podiums during the 2026 season.

There was also a factor that guaranteed a new name at the top: Italy’s Giorgia Priarone, the 2025 world champion, did not take part, so the race was certain to have a new champion.

Isakova takes silver, five seconds back, after winning the World Series on Friday

Isakova crossed the line five seconds after Tertsch and so completed a double effort: on Friday 13 November she had won her first World Triathlon Championship Series race in Abu Dhabi, a sprint, in 55:55. In the last 300 metres of the run she overtook Luxembourg’s Jeanne Lehair, while Gwen Jorgensen completed that podium.

The starts of the two women’s races were 21 hours apart.

The Russian also arrived with victory in the previous weekend’s World Cup in Hong Kong. In barely a week she has strung together a World Cup win, her first World Series victory and a silver medal at a World Championship in a different discipline.

Bakker and Dupont complete the podium and fourth place

Jasmijn Bakker, of the Netherlands, was third in 1:22:27, 24 seconds behind the champion and 19 behind Isakova. Belgium’s Jeanne Dupont finished fourth in 1:22:34.

María Varo Zubiri fifth in Abu Dhabi

Varo Zubiri crossed the line in 1:22:37, 34 seconds behind the winner, 10 behind the bronze medallist and 3 behind Dupont. The Spaniard came in with a recent record of podiums: she was world runner-up in Pontevedra in 2025, five seconds behind Priarone, and in July 2026 she took continental silver in Banyoles, three seconds behind Bakker herself.

The result left her off a podium she had reached in her previous major international events. Bakker, who had already beaten her in Banyoles, finished ahead of her again.

The Multisport World Championships continue until 22 November

The Multisport World Championships continue on Sunday 15 November with the remaining duathlon races and the 2×2 mixed relay. The cross triathlon, cross duathlon, aquathlon and long distance championships will follow, until 22 November in Abu Dhabi.

Spain wins the World Series mixed relay

On the same Saturday, in the World Triathlon Championship Series in Abu Dhabi, Spain won the mixed relay in 1:18:14. The team was made up of Sara Guerrero Manso, Antonio Serrat Seoane, Marta Pintanel Raymundo and David Cantero del Campo, who ran the final leg and broke away on the last 400-metre lap.

Australia was second, 2 seconds back (1:18:16), and Brazil third, 6 seconds back (1:18:20). Max Studer was leading on the final leg, but had a 10-second penalty still to serve for not respecting the dismount line at the end of the cycling. He stopped just before the blue carpet and Switzerland finished sixth in 1:18:30, ahead of Great Britain.

How the relay unfolded

The race began with a pontoon start in the first leg and a beach start in the following ones, with wind and a strong current in the swim. Seventeen teams took part. In the first leg, Australia’s Emma Jeffcoat, a former surf lifeguard, chose a great line to the beach and put Australia in front; she had initially been due to race in the third leg. All 17 teams started the bike within 16 seconds of each other, and a group of 15 formed at the front. The American Gina Sereno handed over with a one-second lead in 19:55, with Belgium 3 seconds back, Germany 4 and Brazil 5; Spain was 7 behind.

In the second leg, Seth Rider (USA), who had not raced in the previous day’s individual event, and Brazil’s Miguel Hidalgo, Friday’s winner, stood out again alongside Australia’s Matthew Hauser, his runner-up. A 10-second penalty was reported for Australia over a shortcut related to Jeffcoat’s exit from the water, but the decision was overturned and the team did not have to serve it. Hidalgo gave Brazil the lead at the halfway point, in 38:09, one second ahead of Australia and the USA.

In the third leg, Brazil’s Vittoria Lopes broke away in the water, and Britain’s Eve Whitaker, after her World Series debut on Friday, moved from eighth to second. Nine teams reached the second transition separated by barely two seconds, with Jorgensen 33 seconds back. Germany’s Nina Eim opened a six-second lead at the change, and Switzerland’s Cathia Schär, after a key chase, handed over in second position.

In the final leg, Australia’s Luke Willian came out of the water first and attacked alone on the bike, with a 17-second lead at the second transition. There Studer made the dismount line error. The final run was 1.6 km, in four laps of 400 metres, compared with 1.4 km in the earlier legs. Cantero and Studer caught Willian, and at the end of the third lap they were together with Brazil’s Manoel Messias five seconds behind. Willian held on to silver for Australia and Messias completed the podium for Brazil, following Hidalgo’s individual gold the day before.

Mixed relay results:

• 1. Spain, 1:18:14
• 2. Australia, 1:18:16
• 3. Brazil, 1:18:20
• 4. Russia, 1:18:27
• 5. Germany, 1:18:27
• 6. Switzerland, 1:18:30
• 7. Great Britain, 1:18:32
• 8. Belgium, 1:18:38
• 9. United States, 1:18:39
• 10. Netherlands, 1:18:44