The spotlight of the multisport world was on Australia this week as the World Triathlon Championships took centre stage in Wollongong. Saturday’s schedule featured the World Triathlon Para Championships, where the world’s top paratriathletes battled for glory across multiple classifications.
Team Ireland fielded a strong lineup, with Tom Williamson racing in the Men’s PTS5 category, and Chloe MacCombe (with guide Aoibh Clarke) and Judith MacCombe (with guide Eimear Nicholls) competing in the Women’s PTVI event.
Tom Williamson travelled to Australia aiming for a podium finish and showed strong intent from the outset, exiting the water in second place.
On the 20km bike course, Williamson joined a competitive chase pack that included Marques (POR), Schulz (GER) and Mocsari (HUN). The group traded positions throughout, before Williamson and Germany’s Martin Schulz broke clear in the final kilometres to reach T2 in third and fourth respectively. Ahead of them, Chris Hammer (USA) and Jack Howell (AUS) were locked in a battle for gold.
Williamson gave everything on the five kilometre run, holding strong to secure an impressive sixth place finish in the world.
Chloe MacCombe and guide Aoibh Clarke, along with Judith MacCombe and guide Eimear Nicholls, exited the swim in eighth and ninth positions respectively.
Judith and Eimear gained ground on the bike, moving up to seventh behind Australian Maggie Sandles and maintaining close contact throughout the 20km course. On the run, the pair launched a strong charge, overtaking Sandles and closing the gap on Letitcia Freitas (BRA) in fifth. Despite limited run training due to injury, they clocked a superb 19:32 for 5k, finishing just six seconds off the top five to claim sixth place in the world.
Meanwhile, Chloe and Aoibh produced a consistent performance across all three disciplines, maintaining their eighth position from start to finish. Their 19:39 run split was among the fastest in the field, earning them an excellent eighth-place finish at the World Championships.
Complete race results are available at triathlon.org.
