Challenge Family’s The Championship 2025: Date, start time and how to watch live

Middle distance racing returns to Šamorín in Slovakia this weekend, as Challenge Family host the eighth edition of The Championship on the banks of the Danube River.

Jonny Brownlee headlines the men’s race, where Germany’s Frederic Funk will be on a mission to secure the title after previous second and third-place finishes. He will face stiff competition from, amongst others, Justus Nieschlag (GER), Kristian Høgenhaug (DEN), Brownlee (GBR), rising Greek star Panagiotis Bitados, and Slovakia’s own Richard Varga, who is racing the final professional event of his remarkable career.

The women’s field promises equally thrilling action, with former champion Sara Pérez Sala (ESP) lining up alongside Alanis Siffert (SUI), hot off her recent Challenge Taiwan win. Other top contenders include Anna Bergsten (SWE), Hanna de Vet (BEL), and Katrine Græsbøll Christensen (DEN).

In our preview piece ahead of the race, you can find all the information you need, including start times and how to watch the race live.

Start time and how to watch live

The Championship broadcast will begin at 8:15am CEST, which is 7:15am BST, with the race starts at 8:30am CEST for the pro men and 8:40am CEST for the pro women.

Broadcast in full via www.challenge-family.live, The Championship will feature expert commentary from the voice of Challenge Family, Belinda Granger, alongside special guests, as the world’s top professionals go head-to-head at the iconic x-bionic® sphere in Šamorín, Slovakia.

And we’ve embedded the livestream below so you don’t have to leave this page.

Pro Men

British triathlon great Jonny Brownlee will head an all-star cast and has already described The Championship as a “Last Dance” for him to go up against long-time training partner, Slovakian Richard Varga, who is making his final appearance as a professional athlete.

Brownlee takes top billing in a stacked field which includes a strong trio of German contenders in Frederic Funk, Justus Nieschlag and Willem Hirsch.

Nieschlag enjoyed a standout 2024 season with several podium finishes, including third place at Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee. Hirsch also brings strong podium credentials across both middle and long-distance events.

Pro Women

Former champion Sara Pérez Sala (ESP) and recent Challenge Taiwan winner Alanis Siffert (SUI) are joined by Anna Bergsten (SWE), who will be looking to improve on her third-place finish in 2024. Denmark’s Katrine Græsbøll Christensen could also be in the mix.

History and course

The first edition of The Championship took place at the x-bionic sphere, Šamorín in 2017. Last year, Kyle Smith and India Lee took impressive wins and in the process, broke the previous course records set the year before by Mathis Margirier and Lee herself.

It’s worth noting however, that there have been some changes to the course used over the years, including the move of the swim which initially was in the River Danube, to the more sheltered and narrow canal.

At The Championship, the 1,900m swim takes place in the Danube Canal, with the athletes completing a point-to-point swim. On to the bike, the flat and fast course is just the one loop on a primarily out and back course. Finishing on the run, the course takes in 4.5 loops of the x-Bionic sphere venue.

Previous winners:

2024: India Lee (GBR) and Kyle Smith (NZL)

2023: India Lee (GBR) and Mathis Margirier (FRA)

2022: Sara Perez Sala (ESP) and Gustav Iden (NOR)  

2021: Lucy Buckingham (GBR) and Florian Angert (GER)

2019: Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) and Sebastian Kienle (GER)

2018: Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) and Lionel Sanders (CAN)

2017: Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) and Lionel Sanders (CAN)

Prize money – what’s at stake

The crown jewel of the Challenge Family middle distance racing calendar, The Championship offers a significant total prize purse of €100,000 and is a PTO Gold Tier Event.

The total funds will be paid ten-deep, as follows:

€15,000

€9,000

€7,000

€5,000

€4,000

€3,000

€2,500

€2,000

€1,500

€1,000

Challenge Family also offers athletes the opportunity to race for a share of an end-of-season $100k bonus.

This will pay five deep across both men and women with the top ranked pro taking home $22k, second will earn $14k and third will win $8k, fourth $4k and fifth $2k. Ranking will be decided through a points system based on placings earned. There are 400 World Bonus points on offer for the winner at The Championship.

Athletes are only able to count their best six Challenge Family races during the season, of which no more than one can be a full distance race. In the advent of a tie the prize money will be averaged between the two athletes and corresponding places.