Istanbul brilliantly showcased its versatility as a host city this weekend, staging the Asia Triathlon Championships alongside the European Championships, set against the stunning backdrop of the Bosphorus. The program for the ‘Building Bridges’ weekend featured a Standard distance (1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run) race, with Saturday dedicated to the Elite Men’s Asian Championship, and the Elite Women’s European Championship, while Sunday belonged to the Elite Women’s Asian Championship and the Elite Men’s European Championship.
The Elite Men’s of the Asian Championships race on Saturday saw Takumi Hojo of Japan claim the Asian title in a stellar performance across all three disciplines. The swim saw athletes jostling to come out of the swim in a great position to start the bike leg, with athletes pushing hard from the beginning to get in a breakaway. On the bike course, a lead group of approximately 8 athletes was building a gap, taking turns at the front to work together. Hojo played his cards perfectly, and then delivered a dominant performance in the 10k run. Unchallenged, Hojo unleashed a powerful run, sealing his victory in a time of 01:47:32. Following closely behind to claim silver was Xirui Zhang (CHN) in 01:47:43, while a strong Jérémy Quindos (UZB) completed the podium, claiming the bronze in 01:49:03, the first podium on the Asian Championships for his country.
Yuko Takahashi of Japan stamped her authority on Sunday’s Elite Women’s race, securing her fourth Asian Championships crown. Takahashi, also the reigning champion of the Asian Games, solidifyed her status as a dominant force in Asian triathlon.
The race began with a challenging swim, with a determined pace set by the leading swimmers. On the bike, athletes formed strategic groups, working together to maximize efficiency and conserve energy for the decisive 10km run. With all the main contenders in the front, it was a matter of having the strongest legs for the run. With a fierceless effort, Takahashi surged to the front and maintained her pace to claim victory in 02:00:23. Manami Hayashi (JPN) followed in 02:01:58 to take second position, while Kanae Takenaka (JPN) completed a clean sweep for Japan in the top 3, finishing in 02:02:32.