Six Nationalities on the Holten Podium
The podium at the ETU Triathlon Junior Cup men and women resulted in a colorful array of winners. Six different nationalities were honored on the podium of the Holten triathlon arena. In the women’s category, Slovak Kristina Jesenska took the highest place on the podium, while the men’s gold went to Brit Matthew Willis.
The women’s race kicked off the two junior start series at 11:30 AM. An hour later, it was Kristina Jesenska who secured victory in the junior women category. She did so unchallenged. Her time of 01:04:08 was too much for the competition and was enough to finish solo. The French Celia Merle followed at nine seconds with a time of 01:04:17, Amber Schlebusch (01:04:18) from South Africa completed the podium.
“This is only my first win,” says Jesenska. “I didn’t expect to run as fast as I did today. The conditions were good. It was a perfect day for me.”
For the men, it was Matthew Willis who soloed to victory. The competition couldn’t match the time of 00:56:26 that the Brit managed to set. Norwegian Vetle Bergsvik Thorn (00:56:35) followed a few seconds behind Willis. Ricardo Batista from Portugal ultimately secured the third prize. His time of 00:56:38 was enough for the bronze.
“I am very happy with the win,” said Willis. “This is only my second race of the season. I also know that swimming is not my best discipline. During the cycling, I was in the chasing group. If the gap wasn’t too big, I knew I could overtake many competitors during the run. That is my best discipline.”
ETU Triathlon Junior Cup women
1. Kristina Jesenska – Slovakia – 01:04:08
2. Celia Merle – France – 01:04:17
3. Amber Schlebusch – South Africa – 01:04:18
ETU Triathlon Junior Cup men
1. Matthew Willis – Great Britain – 00:56:26
2. Vetle Bergsvik Thorn – Norway – 00:56:35
3. Ricardo Batista – Portugal – 00:56:38
