‘Holy moly’ – epic sprint finish snatches U23 title for Aussie star Richelle Hill

Richelle Hill produced an epic sprint finish to snatch the women’s U23 title Triathlon World Championships in front of ecstatic home fans in Wollongong, Australia.

Hill had animated the race throughout – when the bike leg looked set to stay altogether for a huge front pack of 25, she kicked off the front with a late attack and from that moment onwards the action didn’t let up.

Incredible scenes

And it all came down to a dramatic last two laps on the run, with Heidi Juránková (CZE) initially looking to have made the decisive move before Angelica Prestia (ITA) and Márta Kropkó (HUN), who had led the swim, began started to cut into her advantage.

When they overtook, Juránková virtually came to a standstill and onto the final lap the race win looked to be heading the way of Prestia. Kropkó was second having dropped Hill in the final kilometre but then it all changed once again.

Suddenly Hill was in second and had Prestia in her sights as they approached the blue carpet, launching one devastating final kick which landed her the gold and sent the crowd wild. Prestia was second and Kropkó third.

Doubt, confidence and much more

“Holy moly,” was her perfect summary afterwards when she spoke to World Triathlon.

“I went through doubt, I went through confidence, I went through the crowd, I went through every experience possible on that run,” she added.

“All I was thinking was, will my legs get me to that finish line, because they were slowly giving way on me, but I’m really proud of that.”

U23 World Championship 2025 results

Thursday 16 October 2025 – 1.5km / 40km / 10km

Women