The best young triathletes in the world will come together in Pontevedra, Spain, this week for the eagerly awaited Junior and U23 World Championships.

Those who take gold will instantly elevate themselves to a special club in the sport, while there are a couple of names that already look set to establish themselves at the top level in the race to LA 2028.

Both races will serve as a thrilling build-up to the main event of the weekend when the new king and queen of the WTCS season will be crowned.

Here is all you need to know…

Start times and how to watch live

JUNIOR WOMEN: It will be the Junior Women who kick things off on Thursday, September 24, at 10:15 CEST, while the Junior Men will then follow at 11:45.

The women’s start time is 09:15 in the UK, 04:15 Eastern Time, 03:15 Central Time, 01:15 Pacific Time, 18:15 in Eastern Australia, 17:45 in Central Australia, 16:15 in Western Australia and 20:15 in New Zealand.

JUNIOR MEN: Meanwhile, the men’s start time is 10:45 in the UK, 05:45 Eastern Time, 04:45 Central Time, 02:45 Pacific Time, 19:45 in Eastern Australia, 19:15 in Central Australia, 17:45 in Western Australia and 21:45 in New Zealand.

U23 WOMEN: The U23 Women’s race is on Friday, September 25, starting at 15:35 CEST, while the U23 Men will begin at 18:35.

Around the world, the women’s start is 14:35 in the UK, 09:35 Eastern Time, 08:35 Central Time, 06:35 Pacific Time, 23:35 in Eastern Australia, 23:05 in Central Australia, 21:35 in Western Australia and 01:35 on Saturday in New Zealand.

U23 MEN: The men’s race starts at 17:35 in the UK, 12:35 Eastern Time, 11:35 Central Time, 09:35 Pacific Time, 02:35 on Saturday in Eastern Australia, 02:05 on Saturday in Central Australia, 00:35 on Saturday in Western Australia and 04:35 on Saturday in New Zealand.

Viewers can watch the action live on TriathlonLive.

Distances and regulations

The Junior athletes will be tested over a one-lap 750m swim, a 20km bike ride with a challenging climb midway through each of the four laps, and a two-lap 5km run where the race will be settled.

Junior athletes must be aged 16 to 19 in 2026. That means the eligible birth years for Pontevedra are January 1, 2007, to December 31, 2010.

The U23 athletes will race over the standard/Olympic distance – 1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run – while they must be aged between 18 and 23 to register. Athletes aged 18 and 19 are, therefore, eligible for both events, and it is for their national federation to decide which category they are entered into.

Junior Women’s preview

One athlete stands out above the rest on either start list, and not simply because she has won consecutive silver medals at this event, but because Fanni Szalai (HUN) comes into Pontevedra as the only World Cup winner in either field after roaring to gold in Tiszaujvaros in June.

She has also impressed on the WTCS stage this year, placing ninth in Hamburg and 13th in London. Therefore, Szalai is the clear favourite to take home the gold medal. But there is a catch.

In each of the past two years, she has been denied victory by a French athlete. Indeed, France are searching for a fourth straight World Junior Championships gold in the women’s race. This year, they will be represented by Anouk Rigaud, already a winner at the European Junior Cup in Caorle and a silver medallist at the European Junior Championships.

Another Anouk, Anouk Danna (SUI), comes into Pontevedra as the European Junior champion. To go with that, she has several European Junior Cup victories, and she also prevailed at senior level at the Wels Europe Cup.

Her teammate Kimey Casanova (SUI) won the Junior Cup in Wels and finished third at the European Junior Championships, handing Switzerland an impressive double punch.

Brooke Rousselle (CAN), the Americas Junior champion, is another to have thrived on the senior stage. The Canadian athlete took home the bronze medal at the Montreal Americas Cup earlier this summer.

Junior Men’s preview

Whereas the women’s race has a clear favourite in Szalai, the men’s looks as predictable as the roll of a die. This is in no small part due to the presence of all five reigning Continental Junior champions, as well as a sixth contender with the rare distinction of a senior international win to go with serious junior hardware.

In this group, we have Nathan Max Centlivres Chase (NAM), Konosuke Uchida (JPN) and Zahn Spies (AUS), the champions of Africa, Asia and Oceania, respectively.

One challenge they share will be timing a second peak in their seasons. Chase won the Africa Junior title back in February, while Uchida and Spies earned their golds in March. To hit the same or even better form more than six months later could be trickier than maintaining more recent success.

Austria’s Jelle Kaindl, however, has one thing none of the five Continental champions have – a win at senior level this year.

Kaindl stunned the field at the Rzeszów Europe Cup and proved it was no flash in the pan by adding two further top-five finishes at Europe Cups. As the bronze medallist at the Europe Junior Championships too, he deserves to be among the six favourites for this year’s World Junior title.

U23 Women’s preview

France possesses three of the most recognisable names in the U23 Women’s field, with former junior world champions Léa Houart and Ilona Hadhoum heading its challenge. Houart won the junior world crown in Wollongong last October, having collected bronze behind Ambre Grasset and Fanni Szalai in 2024, and now makes the immediate step up into the U23 championship.

Hadhoum has considerably more experience at this level. The 2023 junior world champion finished eighth in the U23 race at Torremolinos the following year and has subsequently continued her progression through senior international competition. Her swimming ability should ensure that she is involved at the front from the opening stages.

Throw in another leading contender in France’s Ambre Grasset, the 2024 junior world champion and newly crowned European U23 champion, and it is not hard to see why the French are among the favourites to take the crown.

American Naomi Ruff brings considerable senior-level experience to Pontevedra after enjoying a breakthrough year. The 22-year-old won individual and Mixed Relay gold at the 2025 Junior Pan American Games before being crowned Americas U23 champion in 2026, while she also finished third in the senior race at those continental championships.

U23 Men’s preview

The U23 men’s title race is wide open. France’s Nils Serre Gehri is one of the headline contenders and already knows what it takes to win on the world stage, having claimed the junior world crown in Torremolinos in 2024 before moving into the U23 ranks.

Serre Gehri will face a strong challenge from Michael Gar. The Briton finished second behind Oliver Conway at the senior European Championships in Tarragona and also took silver at the European Sprint Championships, results which demonstrate that he is already capable of matching established elite athletes.

Those performances make him one of Britain’s strongest prospects for an individual title in Pontevedra.

The United States will look towards Blake Bullard, while Izan Edo Aguilar carries significant home hopes for Spain. Racing in front of a Spanish crowd could provide Edo with an additional lift, although the demanding standard-distance format means positioning and energy management will be crucial before the decisive 10km run.

Britain’s Solomon Okrafo-Smart will be looking to continue a breakthrough season in which he claimed his first World Cup victory in Edmonton, finished eighth on his WTCS debut in Weihai and competed in the Supertri Pro Series Final in Jersey. Those performances make the 22-year-old another serious contender for the U23 world crown.