It wasn’t defending champions Reese Vannerson and Valentina Riasova who took the titles – though the latter came very close – but Australian Luke Willian and German Laura Lindemann who won the World Triathlon Cup Chengdu. In both races, a sprint finish was required for the win, with the first and second-place finishers recording the exact same time.

The Men’s Race

In the men’s race, the sprint came down to Luke and Frenchman Nils Serre Gehri. In T2, the entire field was – remarkably – still together, making the final five-kilometer run decisive. In fact, it came down to the very last meter; Luke finished with a time of 50:14, holding the narrowest possible margin over Gehri, who finished with the identical time. The bronze medal went to Canadian Tyler Mislawchuk, who finished in 50:16.

The Women’s Race

Similarly, in the women’s race, almost the entire field stayed together during the bike, meaning the run determined the final podium. The decision again came down to the final meter, where Laura Lindemann proved to be the strongest with a finishing time of 55:27. Riasova, last year’s winner, narrowly missed out and took second place with the exact same time. The bronze went to Kate Waugh, who finished one second later at 55:28. A photo finish was ultimately required to determine the winner of the women’s race.