Izan Edo Wins Silver at Miyazaki World Cup, Two Seconds Off Gold

Aragonese triathlete Izan Edo Aguilar won silver at the Miyazaki Triathlon World Cup (Japan) in 53:12, two seconds behind the winner, France’s Nils Serre Gehri (53:10). The race took place on Saturday 14 November at Miyazaki Seaside Park over the sprint distance: a 750-metre swim, a 20-kilometre bike ride and a 5-kilometre run. In the women’s race, María Casals Mojica finished fourth in 59:45, four seconds off the bronze won by Slovakia’s Zuzana Michalickova (59:41).

It was the last stop of the World Cup’s Asian swing, a week after the Hong Kong round, and both races still offered points on the road to Los Angeles 2028. Spain placed three triathletes in the top 10 across the men’s and women’s races.

How the men’s race was decided

Japan’s Takuto Oshima was first out of the water after the 750 metres, in 8:16. Serre came out 15 seconds back, though still among the first ten into T1. The lead group formed on the first lap of the bike, with Oshima, Serre, Japan’s Takumi Hojo, the Asian Games winner, China’s Xirui Zhang and Edo. Australia’s Toby Powers set the fastest bike split, 28:41, and Norway’s Sebastian Wernersen led the group into T2.

Serre had the fastest T2 of the race and started the run alongside Wernersen. When the Norwegian faded, Edo and Zhang became his main rivals, and the Spaniard raised the pace until he dropped the Chinese athlete. Serre stayed on his heels and passed him at the start of the blue finish carpet. Edo responded, but could not match the Frenchman’s sprint.

Edo set the fastest run split, 14:19, two seconds quicker than the winner. The silver matches his best World Cup result. Born in 2005, he and Zhang have each now won their second medal on the circuit.

Serre, the under-23 world champion, won for the second World Cup race in a row, after beating Callum McClusky in a final sprint in Hong Kong. He made his Miyazaki debut a year ago and has since finished 7th, 5th, 2nd and 1st. After the race he said: “I’m super happy with the win. I think I did a correct race, but I felt during the bike I was not 100%, I think I’m a bit fatigued with all the races from the season. So I just tried to do the best result possible with the shape of the day.”

Men’s podium and results

• 1st Nils Serre Gehri (FRA): 53:10
• 2nd Izan Edo Aguilar (ESP): 53:12
• 3rd Xirui Zhang (CHN): 53:21
• 4th Toby Powers (AUS): 53:36
• 5th Peter Luftensteiner (AUT): 53:41
• 9th Andrés Prieto Villar (ESP): 53:51
• 22nd Eloy Canales Escribano (ESP): 54:42
• 31st Andrés Hilario Morales (ESP): 55:10
• 44th David Castro Fajardo (ESP): 56:58

Zhang finished nine seconds after Edo. Luftensteiner crossed the line in a tight group with the Americans Carter Stuhlmacher and Chase McQueen, and with Wernersen.

María Casals, four seconds off the bronze

Ilona Hadhoum, the recently crowned under-23 world champion in Pontevedra, won in 59:08 for her first World Cup victory. She set the fastest swim split, 9:30, and the fastest run split, 16:00. She came out of the water in front alongside Australia’s Richelle Hill (9:31) and was part of an 11-strong lead group on the bike.

Casals led the chasing group on the bike together with the American Erika Ackerlund, and with one lap to go the two groups merged. Hadhoum left T2 two seconds ahead of Xinyu Lin and gained 19 seconds on her over the first 2.5 kilometres of the run, reaching the last lap with a 21-second lead. Lin was going for her fourth major win in a row this autumn.

At the bell, Michalickova and Casals led a group of nine, four seconds behind Lin. The Chinese athlete held on to take second, 29 seconds behind the winner, and Michalickova won the bronze. Casals, who covered the 5 kilometres in 16:35, won the sprint of a group of four to finish fourth, 37 seconds behind Hadhoum. It improves on her eighth place in Hong Kong.

Women’s results

• 1st Ilona Hadhoum: 59:08
• 2nd Xinyu Lin (CHN): 59:37
• 3rd Zuzana Michalickova (SVK): 59:41
• 4th María Casals Mojica (ESP): 59:45
• 5th Verena Steinhauser (ITA): 59:46
• 16th Alejandra Seguí Soria (ESP): 1:00:34
• 24th Cecilia Santamaría Surroca (ESP): 1:01:08

The rest of the Spanish team and the end of the tour

Andrés Prieto, in ninth, broke into the top 10 with a breakaway on the bike and ran the 5 kilometres in 15:06. Canales, Hilario and David Castro, who had won bronze in Hong Kong a week earlier, followed him home.