France took both U23 world titles in Pontevedra as Nils Serre Gehri broke open a crowded men’s race on the run and Ilona Hadhoum produced a commanding performance in the women’s event.

Serre won in 1:46:01, finishing 21 seconds ahead of Britain’s Michael Gar.

Earlier, Hadhoum had led out of the swim, stayed at the front throughout the bike and surged away almost immediately on the run to win by 1:15 over compatriot Léa Houart.

It was a step up for both champions: Hadhoum won the junior world title in 2023, while Serre Gehri claimed it the following year.

Men’s race – Serre breaks clear

Carter Stuhlmacher led out of the 1.5km swim, with many of the leading contenders close behind. Gar was just two seconds back, Serre 10 seconds down and home hope Izan Edo Aguilar eight seconds behind the American.

A 13-man group formed at the front on the first bike lap. It contained Gar, Serre and Edo, but the Spaniard subsequently lost contact after an early crash. With the gap to the leaders reaching around 40 seconds at halfway, Australian Toby Powers drove the chase and helped bring a much larger group back into contention.

By lap seven the groups had come together. Thirty-three men left T2 within 15 seconds, setting up a 10km run race.

Gar, Serre and Britain’s Solomon Okrafo-Smart were level at the first run check. Germany’s Jaspar Ortfeld joined them at the end of the opening 2.5km lap, before Edo ran back to the leaders in front of the home crowd.

At halfway, Serre, Gar and Okrafo-Smart were still together. The Frenchman then made his move on the third lap, opening a 12-second advantage by its end and extending his lead before the finish – his 29:46 was the fastest run split by some margin, the only under 30 minutes.

Gar produced a late kick to secure silver in 1:46:22, while Hungary’s Zalán Hóbor came through for bronze, just two seconds behind the Briton. Edo finished fourth, with Okrafo-Smart fifth.

Serre said he had to work hard to reach the leaders after a difficult opening swim lap. “Fortunately, I managed to follow the first guys a bit better on the second lap,” he said. “After that, I had to push really hard at the beginning of the bike to join the first group. Then I was trying to save some energy, but also ready to try a breakaway if some guys wanted to go.”

He was still weighing up whether to rely on his finishing speed when he unexpectedly opened a gap on the third lap of the run. “I knew I was feeling good, but I didn’t know if I had to wait until the end or go before,” he said. “It was a bit of a surprise when I got a gap on the third lap. When I saw I had a gap, I decided to go for the last lap, and it paid off.”

Women’s race – Hadhoum makes her move early

The earlier women’s race was held in considerably hotter conditions, but Hadhoum was to the fore from the start. She led out of the swim in 19:55, with Houart two seconds behind and British pair Eve Whitaker and Bethany Cook also close.

Nine athletes were covered by four seconds at the end of the 40km bike leg. Hadhoum and Houart were at the front of that group, but it took only the opening 500m of the run for Hadhoum to break away.

She was already nine seconds ahead of Houart at the first run check and continued to pull clear. Hadhoum crossed the line in 1:58:11, completing the French one-two ahead of last year’s junior world champion.

Canada’s Sidney Clement took bronze, while Cook finished fifth and Whitaker seventh for Britain.

“I’m really very happy. It’s amazing after my injury in March,” Hadhoum said afterwards. Asked whether she had planned to surge out of T2, she replied: “No tactic. Just lead, lead, lead. I wanted to run and I wanted to win.”

World U23 Championship 2026 results

Pontevedra, Spain — Friday 25 September — 1.5km swim / 40km bike / 10km run

Men

Position	Athlete	Nationality	Swim	Bike	Run	Overall time
1	Nils Serre Gehri	FRA	18:31	56:13	29:46	1:46:01
2	Michael Gar	GBR	18:23	56:23	30:10	1:46:22
3	Zalán Hóbor	HUN	18:22	56:20	30:12	1:46:24
4	Izan Edo Aguilar	ESP	18:29	56:26	30:07	1:46:30
5	Solomon Okrafo-Smart	GBR	18:37	56:06	30:20	1:46:34
6	Jaspar Ortfeld	GER	19:18	55:30	30:18	1:46:37
7	Pelayo González Turrez	ESP	18:35	56:14	30:41	1:47:02
8	Brandon Pye	GBR	18:44	56:06	30:45	1:47:07
9	Jens Smolders	BEL	19:21	55:26	30:55	1:47:15
10	Panagiotis Bitados	GRE	18:27	56:20	30:54	1:47:16

Women

Position	Athlete	Nationality	Swim	Bike	Run	Overall time
1	Ilona Hadhoum	FRA	19:55	1:03:47	32:56	1:58:11
2	Léa Houart	FRA	19:57	1:03:47	34:14	1:59:26
3	Sidney Clement	CAN	20:15	1:03:30	35:43	2:01:06
4	Naomi Ruff	USA	20:39	1:04:19	34:46	2:01:23
5	Bethany Cook	GBR	19:59	1:03:47	36:09	2:01:30
6	Jule Behrens	GER	21:27	1:03:29	35:02	2:01:39
7	Eve Whitaker	GBR	19:58	1:03:44	36:29	2:01:46
8	María López Faraudo	MEX	21:50	1:03:06	35:22	2:01:54
9	María Teresa Jiménez-Orta Guerrero	ESP	20:39	1:04:18	35:40	2:02:21
10	Aspen Anderson	AUS	20:44	1:04:07	35:47	2:02:22