Oceania Triathlon

The Age Group racing at the 2022 World Triathlon Sprint and Relay Championships Montreal concluded on Sunday with the first ever Mixed Team Relay across all age categories, and the sense of nervous excitement and enjoyment of a brand new format was palpable.

Four age categories for the over 50s got things underway with the teams starting with men out first, tagging their female teammate, then male, and the final woman taking the squad home. The course consisted of a one-lap, 300m swim, followed by a one-lap, 5km bike and wrapping up with a one-lap, 1.6km run, and the athletes loved their first taste of world championship relay.

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The first ever champions across the line were the USA 50-59 year-old team of Peter Valentyik, Juliet Hochman, David Wilson and Katherine Meltzer bringing home the gold, and it is safe to say that for a group of people who hadn’t even met each other 48 hours previously, the moment was incredibly special.

“For those of us who have been doing this a long time, it breathes new life into the sport, which is something I think we are all appreciating,” said Meltzer after the race. “Watching it at the Olympic Games I knew the relay was great for the sport and it just looked so much fun, so as soon as I knew it was a possibility I put my name forward. Honestly, I was just holding on for dear life, I had a fantastic team that put me in a great spot and was thrilled to come across the line first.”

“A couple of days ago we hadn’t even met and now we are World Champions,” said Hochman. “This is one of those experiences i’ll never forget.”

“My first World Championships was 1993 in Manchester, England, so for me this is like a reset for the sport and i’m really excited about it,” added Valentyik. “My first relay was 2 months ago, and it changed the whole sport for me, but today, this took it to a whole new level. I’ll only do the mixed relay and sprint distance now, just because of longevity and how it keeps you fresh and young – it’s more of a lifestyle.”

We were randomly put together as a team, we didn’t know each other, but now we have great relationships for life and hopefully we’ll race together again,” said Wilson. “It’s one of the best experiences of my life. Taking this race to Spain next year will be really fun.”

All the day’s results can be found here.