Where the World Raced: Pontevedra’s 2025 Multisport Championships
The 2025 World Triathlon Multisport Championships brought a whirlwind of energy to our hometown of Pontevedra, Spain from June 21–29, with nearly all events happening within a stone’s throw—just 400 meters—from our front door. The city pulsed with athleticism and excitement, though we unfortunately missed the opening ceremony and athlete parade despite being smack in the center of town. I only discovered what we’d missed later through posted videos on YouTube—such as the one below—which gave a glimpse of the spectacular kickoff we hadn’t known was happening.
World Triathlon President Antonio Fernández Arimany warmly welcomed competitors, praising Pontevedra’s rich legacy in the sport and its future as host of next year’s World Championships. This is what he had to say about our city:
I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the city of Pontevedra. This city is forever linked with triathlon, having hosted the 2019 World Multisport Championships where our hometown hero, Javier Gómez Noya, secured his iconic long-distance victory right here in his town. It was also in Pontevedra in 2023 that Beth Potter and Dorian Coninx were crowned world champions. And now, we are back, reaffirming this city’s reputation as one of the truly special places in our sport. And we cannot forget that next year the city will host the World Championships once again, becoming the most legendary host city for triathlon.
https://triathlon.org/news/multisport-athletes-parade-through-pontevedra-in-opening-celebration
The whole festival spanned nine days, with competitions occurring on six of them. The events included the following: Duathlon Sprint, Duathlon Standard, Cross Duathlon, Cross Triathlon, Aquathlon, Aquabike, and Long Distance Triathlon. “Duathlon” is running/biking, Aquathlon is swimming/running, and “Cross” means off-road. (The complete schedule could be found here.)
I caught the Elite Women’s Duathlon in person, and it did not disappoint: a Spanish frontrunner, Maria Varo Zubiri, held the lead with commanding confidence until the final kilometer, only to be overtaken by Italian star Giorgia Priarone, who claimed the win. The Spaniard finished second, a powerful and bittersweet reminder of how swiftly fortunes can change in sport.
For several days after, I stepped back from the races to be by the side of my beloved cat Oreo in his final moments. He passed away midway through the week, a quiet and tender pause amidst the global competition swirling around us. Losing him made the racing feel more personal somehow, like the rhythms of life were echoing across the city.
Later in the week, I watched some of the age-group aquathletes, and noticed quite a few far from champion form walking the course. All of them were Americans, and this was something I hadn’t expected at a world championship event. (Watch my video below starting around 3:00, for example.)
Intrigued, I dug deeper and learned that qualification for Team USA isn’t always as tough as it sounds. For the Aquathlon, for example, you can qualify by competing at the National Championships, for which no qualification is necessary. Then, place in the Top 18 of your age group. Many age groups don’t even have 18 participants! So if my preliminary research is correct, qualifying for the Aquathlon World Championships as a Team USA member can be automatic as long as you participate in the National Championships and the number of people in your age group is small. A bigger challenge may be traveling to the National Championships, as they can be quite far.
Watching the week unfold made me reflect on my own goals. With the 2026 World Triathlon Grand Final coming to Pontevedra next September, I’m now seriously considering trying to qualify for one of the events. My running and biking are solid, and I believe I could hold my own in swimming with some practice.
Failing that, there was also a race called “Trimparables,” a short triathlon—just 250 meters of swimming, 6 km of biking, and a 1-mile run—for the general public. Participants could sign up a week in advance, and I had actually been looking for an open-category race like this before the championships. I even asked Microsoft Copilot beforehand but it totally failed me, claiming there was no such option for the public. So I missed it. But now that I know it exists, I’ll be ready next time—although truthfully, that distance is hardly challenging, as literally every single training run or bike ride I do each week is longer than the Trimparables distances.
Pontevedra has once again shown the world why it’s a beloved stage for multisport. Next year, when the championship returns, maybe I’ll be among those racing—feet on the pavement, heart pounding, chasing something bigger than just a finish line.
There are 2 comments.
You can definitely do it! Pontevedra seems like a city that has it all, concerts, culture, and sports. Like the Bay Area!
Yes, it really surprised me—especially since Pontevedra is a city of just 80,000 people. I hadn’t even heard of it until I met Andrea. I moved there before I even realized it was a triathlon capital of the world.