A crashing party with a new generation of aquabikers and a mysterious case of disappearing air. That’s how you can summarize the 2024 Standard Distance Aquabike World Championships in Torremolinos.
Oh man, there’s a lot to say about the race under the Spanish sun. But first things first: we saw some impressive performances from both male and female aquabikers. What really caught my eye when looking at the results was how significantly the age of the athletes has shifted toward the younger generation. In previous races, it was rare to see athletes under 40 in the top ranks. In Torremolinos, however, only two of the top 10 overall finishers were over 40, while no fewer than six athletes from the overall top 20 came from the M 18-19 age group. That is certainly remarkable. Similarly, in the women’s field, half of the top 20 finishers were under 40 years old. The young athletes came from all over the world, signaling what seems to be an international trend.
One thing I’ve noticed throughout the year is that more and more athletes entering aquabike competitions come from a swimming background. Torremolinos was a race that certainly favored the swimmers—not only because the swim was slightly longer than the planned 1500 meters, but even more so because of what happened on the bike course. But more on that a bit later. Since aquabike races usually favor strong cyclists, it seems only fair that swimmers also get a chance to shine. However, the circumstances were far from ideal.
The Men’s Race
Speaking of strong swimmers, it was no surprise that Filip ZABOROWSKI was the fastest athlete in the water, reaching T1 with a significant lead. The former Olympic swimmer from Poland had a one-minute-and-45-second advantage over his fellow countryman Kacper DEREŃ, with young Spaniard Javier OLMO CARRIÓN close behind. Next out of the water were Kiwi Terence JACK, young Californian Julian BARRE, Spain’s Juan Antonio ALARCON RODRIGUEZ, Belgium’s Julien VANBELLAIENGH, and 18-year-old Emiliano SALDAÑA MERCADO from Mexico, all separated by only a few seconds. US athlete Brendan MUELLER followed another 30 seconds later.
Shortly after the transition, the leading Pole crashed, but fortunately, he was quickly back on the bike without any major injuries. However, he lost a significant portion of his lead, with the gap to his main contenders shrinking to just about a minute.
Meanwhile, the second Pole in the race lost several positions in transition and continued to drop back on the bike. Terence JACK, on the other hand, moved into second place by the end of the first bike lap, with no fewer than five athletes following within a 51-second window.
By the end of lap two, Terence managed to create some distance between himself and the chasing pack but could not reduce the gap to the race leader, who was proving to be not only a strong swimmer but also a solid cyclist. At this point, Brendan MUELLER moved into third position, trailing Terence by about 49 seconds, with the young guns Javier OLMO CARRIÓN and Julian BARRE following closely, both within 10 seconds of each other. Julien VANBELLAIENGH was another 21 seconds behind, but Tommy NIELSEN, who was the fastest cyclist of the day, passed the Belgian at the beginning of the third lap, putting himself in contention for a top finish.
At the front of the race, Filip ZABOROWSKI confidently maintained his lead, finishing in one hour, 24 minutes, and 6 seconds. The battle for second place reignited after Terence JACK took a tumble, but he managed to hold onto his position, crossing the finish line just 12 seconds ahead of Brendan MUELLER. Tommy NIELSEN came flying from behind, securing fourth place and missing the podium by only 25 seconds. Another 25 seconds later, Javier OLMO CARRIÓN crossed the line, not only winning his age group but also being the first Spaniard to finish the race on home soil—in his very first aquabike race. Julien VANBELLAIENGH finished half a minute later.
US athlete Julian BARRE, who lost significant time on the final lap, crossed the line alongside Juan Antonio ALARCON RODRIGUEZ, securing eighth place. A few seconds later, the two top athletes from the British Isles completed the top 10, with Matthew HOGG finishing just two seconds ahead of Irishman Ross HAMILTON, who missed the podium in his age group by a mere two seconds.
The Women’s Race
Just like in the men’s race, the leading aquabike athlete after the swim was no surprise. Brooke DAVIS-GOODALL was the first woman to exit the water, with a time gap nearly identical to the men’s race. One minute and 46 seconds later, Canada’s Andrea DAMIANI followed in second place. Only a few seconds behind her, Eleanore NASH led a group of no fewer than nine athletes from Team GB into transition, all separated by just 66 seconds. She was followed by Georgia HAMBLETT and last year’s runner-up, six-time age group world champion Amy PRITCHARD. Though after an unfortunate mistake in transition Amy lost over three minutes—a deficit too large to recover from in such a highly competitive race. Without that mishap, she certainly would have been in contention for her seventh title, but she ultimately had to settle for the silver medal in her age group and 13th place overall. With Amy out of the running for the top spots, it was up to the other British athletes to keep Team GB in contention.
The leading Kiwi triathlete, Brooke DAVIS-GOODALL, only started competing in aquabike races earlier this year, focusing on her swim training after an injury. Her bike performances in previous races suggested she might struggle to maintain her lead on the bike. However, in a pre-race interview, she stated, “My bike is my strongest leg.” Based on that, I speculated in my race preview that her “weaker” performances in March and April might have been due to her past injuries. Would she prove me right?
Eleanore NASH passed Andrea DAMIANI in transition but remained within striking distance. After the first bike lap, the British-Canadian duo had closed the gap to Brooke DAVIS-GOODALL to just over a minute. Rosalind DAVIES-JONES, Georgia HAMBLETT, and Gwen KINSEY were the next British athletes in pursuit, with Julie BALCAROVA slipping between the Brits.
In the second lap, it appeared that Brooke DAVIS-GOODALL indeed regained her form on the bike. After losing about 40 seconds in the first lap, she held steady and even slightly increased her lead by the finish, securing a clear victory. In the final section of the bike course, Andrea DAMIANI overtook her British rival to finish second, with Eleanore NASH completing the podium just ten seconds later. Rosalind DAVIES-JONES managed to catch up to the athletes vying for podium spots but ultimately had to settle for fourth place, missing both the overall podium and the title in her age group by a mere six seconds. A minute later, Georgia HAMBLETT claimed fifth place.
Former elite triathlete Sione JONGSTRA from the Netherlands, who exited the water in 22nd place, showcased her strength on the bike and worked her way into sixth place overall, passing Gwen KINSEY in the final stretch of the bike course. Julie BALCAROVA, who had shown promise throughout most of the bike course, lost considerable time on the final half lap and had to settle for eighth place. Seven seconds later, Kai SACHTLEBER crossed the line, finishing six seconds ahead of Hannah POTTER, who completed the top 10.
The women’s race demonstrated even more clearly than the men’s how much the course favored strong swimmers. The top three women out of the water ultimately finished 1-2-3, while none of the top three cyclists managed to break into the top 10 by the end of the race.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The Good
There are certainly many positive things to say about the race in Torremolinos, as everything seemed to be well-organized. If you scroll through the athletes’ statements on social media, you’ll find plenty of positive comments and praise for the organizers. However, the feedback I received from athletes and spectators painted a somewhat different picture.
The Bad
Yes, overall, the event was well-organized, but what happened on the bike course was a disgrace and not worthy of a World Championship. As I mentioned in my race preview, there were up to 1,300 athletes on the bike course at the same time, all on a 13 km lap. I had hoped the road would be wide enough to accommodate everyone, but it turned out it wasn’t. The strong cyclists were frequently stuck in traffic.
“Twice, at a turnaround, I came to a complete standstill with my left foot on the ground, waiting for my turn to get through,” one of the fastest cyclists told me. “I navigated the course to the best of my abilities, but like most participants, I couldn’t ride to my full potential.”
This is not just about athletes being hindered from performing their best after months of preparation and traveling halfway around the world—it was downright dangerous. There were crashes everywhere, and some seemed severe. The top two finishers both crashed, and lap times suggest that several other top athletes went down at some point, though I didn’t get feedback from all of them. The stories from spectators at the dismount line were frightening. I sincerely hope that all athletes made it through without major injuries.
The last 400 meters of the course was a narrow road—only half of which was being used, since it was the same road leading to the bike laps. There were about three meters for aquabikers to sprint past slower triathletes. In my race preview, I predicted chaos, but from what I’ve heard, that was an understatement. Athletes crashed into each other, race officials were desperate, overwhelmed, and clueless about how to handle the situation. A message I received from a spectator said, “The referees were standing on the road (15 meters before the line), making it even narrower. I tried to tell them that aquabikers were coming in at the same time as the slowest triathletes and that they needed to make more space. The other side of the road was empty. One referee got mad at me, but the head referee told him not to shout.”
By the time the first aquabikers were coming in, only a few athletes were still left to start the bike leg, so not much space was needed on the other side of the road. It would have been easy to widen the finish area, but for reasons I cannot understand, this was not considered.
You’d think that World Triathlon and the event organizers would learn from past mistakes, but it seems to get worse each time—especially in Spain. Given that the newly elected president of World Triathlon is also from Spain, it’s probably a safe bet that the majority of big events will continue to be held there, as in recent years. However, next year’s Standard Distance World Championships will be in Wollongong, Australia. Elite Energy, a race organizer with considerable experience, will be in charge, and they have included aquabike events in their races for several years now. So, at least for this event, I’m hopeful things will be significantly better than in Torremolinos.
Several athletes have told me they plan to approach World Triathlon (some with the support of their national federations) to express that events like this are unworthy of a World Championship and that aquabikers should not be treated as an “annoying appendage” that simply brings in extra revenue. That’s not my wording, but a summary of different statements I received from athletes. I would encourage you to follow their example, especially if you have contact with your national association and can find support there.
The Ugly
That covers the good and the bad, so let’s get to the (potentially) ugly. This story came to my attention after I asked an athlete about his DNF, and I feel it’s important to share. After going through transition, he started the bike leg, but right after jumping on his bike, he realized he had a flat tire. Bad luck, you might think. But then he told me that other athletes in his age group had the same issue. I checked the split times, and none of them made it to the first checkpoint, which was after about half of the first bike lap. All of these athletes were of a similar performance level—capable of competing for medals in their age group. And all of them had participated in previous World Triathlon events, either in aquabike or triathlon. With their results easily accessible on triathlon.org, it wouldn’t have been hard to identify them as podium contenders.
Raise your hand if you do not believe this was just bad luck. 🙋
If this was indeed a case of manipulation, the potential perpetrator clearly isn’t a premium member of Aquabike.World, or he would have known about other medal contenders through our competition analysis as well. Joking aside, this is a serious allegation, which is why I’ve decided not to mention names or the age group to avoid putting anyone unfairly in the spotlight. But you can imagine how angry the athlete I spoke to is—and likely the others involved as well. They plan to investigate further. So, if you saw anything suspicious in transition, I’d appreciate it if you could get in touch with me. All information will be treated confidentially, and I will only pass it on anonymously if that’s your wish.
Nevertheless, I’d like to end this race report on a more positive note.
2024 Standard Distance Aquabike World Championships Medal Table
| Rank | Country |  |  |  |
| 1. | United Kingdom | 10 | 9 | 9 |
| 2. | United States of America | 7 | 10 | 4 |
| 3. | Spain | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 4. | Germany | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| 5. | New Zealand | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 6. | Poland | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 7. | Austria | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 8. | Gibraltar | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 9. | Netherlands | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 10. | Switzerland | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11. | Australia | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 12. | Denmark | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 13. | France | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14. | Canada | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15. | Norway | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Not only did the number of competitors reach an all-time high for aquabike races, but athletes from 30 countries across all continents competed for age group titles in Torremolinos. Additionally, athletes from 20 different countries took home medals, setting a new record. Team GB was the most successful overall, claiming 27 medals. However, only four of those were gold, while Team USA dominated the medals table, taking no fewer than 9 titles back across the Atlantic. It was also a bit surprising that Germany returned home with more medals than the host country, Spain.
The Future of Aquabike Racing
Our sport is growing, attracting more and more participants from different parts of the world and across various age groups. I sincerely hope that World Triathlon will recognize this growth soon, and we will see aquabike given its very own race, just like duathlon and aquathlon. At the very least, giving us more space and recognition. It would be greatly appreciated.