Incredible teenage triathlon PHENOM beaten in EPIC World Championship finish

The Women’s Junior Triathlon World Championship served up a truly brilliant race on Friday at the World Triathlon Grand Final in Torremolinos.

The headlines pre-race were all about the race-winning prospects of Hungary’s 16-year-old sensation, Fanni Szalai, who to date had been unbeaten in individual international junior triathlon competition. That particular statistic can now be consigned to history, but not without an epic fight, as France’s Ambre Grasset won the blue carpet sprint finish to keep the World Junior Championship title in French hands in sensational style. You can watch the race in full at the bottom of this page.

Race Recap

If there was any thought that Fanni Szalai was not ready for World Championship level, that was soon extinguished. The Hungarian powered clear in the opening 750m seas swim, exiting the water a full 12 seconds clear of her chasers, led by Lea Houart (FRA) and Eve Whittaker (GBR), who had more than 30 athletes following within 10 seconds. It was an aggressive start from Szalai, but a tardy transition saw the French athlete wipe out all her advantage in T1, and they started the bike leg together.

Fanni Szalai leads swim World Junior Triathlon Championships 2024 — Photo Credit: Wagner Araujo / World Triathlon

Aided by the power cycling of Austria’s Tabea Huys, one lap (5km) into the bike leg and there was already a clear group of four breaking away – comprising Szalai, Huys, Houart joined by Ambre Grasset (FRA), with Great Britain’s Whittaker not able to stay with the speed of the pacesetters. Ten seconds clear after one lap, that advantage had blown out to 28 seconds at the midway point. With the French duo now working hard, the podium contenders could well have already flown the metaphorical nest less than halfway through the race.

The second half of the bike leg was a case of ‘as you were’, with the leading quartet 39 seconds clear at 15km, and at the dismount line was reached heading into T2, their efforts had gained them an advantage of 45 seconds starting the 5km run. It hadn’t been an easy ride for Szalai whoever, who had to close some small gaps to stay on the wheel in front several times. Would any of those surges impact her running legs?

Lead group into T2 Junior Women World Championship Torremolinos 2024 — Photo Credit: Wagner Araujo / World Triathlon

The French duo were super-efficient in transition once again to gain a four-second start over the young pre-race favourite. Inside the first 500m the Hungarian made light work of that and blew past Houart, and then bridged to the shoulder of Grasset in the style that she has shown many times on the Europe Triathlon Junior Cup circuit. Huys meanwhile was losing time rapidly, and would soon be swept up by the large chasing group.

Winner of the French Junior Championship this year, Grasset was not being intimidated by the profile that Szalai has earned through her racing over the past 18 months or so, and heading into the second of two run laps they were locked together, with Houart still holding strong, eight seconds back. That trio was all but sure to be the podium, but in which order was yet to be determined.

Inside the last 2km Szalai put in a huge surge, but Grasset would not be broken, and the pace dropped… only for both athletes to try and break the other. This was incredible racing and was sure to have burned some matches. Too much, too soon?. As the leading pair were playing cat and mouse with each other, Lea Houart was also regaining time. Into the final kilometre, it really was all up for grabs, and the potential for all three to be in sight of the blue carpet together was not unrealistic.

The pace increased, and still shoulder-to-shoulder approaching the final turn onto the finishing straight, Grasset took the lead and it was going to be a sprint finish on the blue carpet… and it was the French star who took the tape by just two seconds.

What a brilliant race.