After twenty years, the Triathlon Holten has a Dutch winner again. In the elite men’s category, Mitch Kolkman succeeded Eric van der Linden. The women’s race also had a thrilling finish, with ultimately the same outcome as last year.
The Triathlon Holten had regularly seen a Dutch winner in recent years with six-time winner Rachel Klamer, who did not start this year. In the elite men’s category, however, the last Dutch win dated back to 2004, when Eric van der Linden claimed the victory.
Exactly twenty years later, Van der Linden finally had a successor. On the sprint distance of the 38th Triathlon Holten, compatriot Mitch Kolkman was the first triathlete to cross the finish line on Saturday. “This is only the third time I’ve participated in Holten,” said Kolkman after his victory in the triathlon village. “Something always came up, but this year I even sacrificed an altitude training for it. This gives such a mental boost. Truly ultimate.”
Kolkman celebrated his victory among others with his grandfather, who was an attentive spectator in Holten. “My grandpa is standing here on the side, my parents and friends are also here. That my grandpa gets to see this is really amazing. Last week, I became Dutch champion and now I win Holten. These are special weeks.”
In the elite women’s category, the battle for the final victory again unraveled into a Dutch-Belgian tête-à-tête. The victory eventually went to Jolien Vermeylen. The Belgian triathlete beat Rachel Klamer last year and was narrowly stronger than Maya Kingma during the 2024 edition, who took second place.
“I did not expect to win,” her second consecutive victory came as a surprise to Vermeylen. “I was injured and couldn’t run or swim. I was even sent home early from a training camp because I just couldn’t do anything. The last weeks of training went well again, but I didn’t expect this. I just came from an altitude camp, and it’s always a gamble how it goes. You have good and bad days. Will I participate again next year? If it fits in my schedule, yes. I don’t say no.”
Results Triathlon Premium Cup Men
1. Mitch Kolkman \u2013 Netherlands \u2013 00:53:11
2. Manoel Messias \u2013 Brazil \u2013 00:53:17
3. Dylan McCullough \u2013 New Zealand \u2013 00:53:21
Results Triathlon Premium Cup Women
1. Jolien Vermeylen \u2013 Belgium \u2013 00:58:19
2. Maya Kingma \u2013 Netherlands \u2013 00:58:21
3. Nora Gm\u00fcr \u2013 Switzerland \u2013 00:58:41
