France crowned World Triathlon Mixed Relay champions in Montreal with second-placed Great Britain securing first Olympic quota
The French team won the World Triathlon Relay title in emphatic fashion with defending Olympic champions Great Britain clinching a quota place for the next showpiece. The mixed relay event on Sunday (26 June) allocated the first quota spots in any sport for Paris 2024.
The French quartet spearheaded by Vincent Luis and Cassandre Beaugrand turned in a dominant display to win the Mixed Relay World Championship in Montreal in a winning time of 01:27:14. The foursome which also included Pierre le Corre and Emma Lombardi clinched France's fifth world title in the event finishing 23 seconds ahead of silver medallists, Great Britain.
While the victory was a confidence boost for the French team’s ambitions to upgrade their Olympic bronze from Tokyo 2020, second place on the podium was of greater consequence.
As the host nation for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games, France has already secured two men and two women spots for the global showpiece, which opened the door for the second-place winners to earn the quota place.
Olympic mixed relay champion Georgia Taylor-Brown produced a spectacular anchor leg for Great Britain to cross the finish line in second place despite copping a 10-second time penalty. The silver for the foursome of Taylor-Brown, Alex Yee, Sophie Coldwell and Samuel Dickinson guaranteed Great Britain an opportunity to defend their Olympic title.
The Mixed Relay World Championships offered the highest-ranked nation two quota spots per gender - two men, two women - for Paris 2024, provided that the winning team has not already obtained the quotas.
READ: The road to Paris 2024: Triathlon qualification system explained
A woman possessed
Le Corre led France out before handing over to Lombardi, with Luis producing an impressive swim that blow the rest of the field out for the water giving him a handsome lead. Luis extended his advantage on the bike and the run before tagging Beaugrand with a comfortable cushion on the final leg.
Following in Luis’ wake on the third leg, the battle for the crucial second place was a two-horse race between New Zealand’s Tayler Reid and Kevin McDowell of the United States.
However, Taylor-Brown hit the road like a woman possessed, fighting her way into second place, even giving herself time to take the penalty and beat an advancing Summer Rappaport of the United States to the line.
Triathlon mixed relay format
The popular mixed relay event made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, where Team GB won the gold medal with the United States finishing second and France bagging bronze.
Each athlete in the mixed relay swim for 300m, cycle for 6.8km, and run for 2km before tapping the hand of their team-mate to pass the relay. The order is always female-male-female-male.