Pearson, Knibb and Rider all Finish Top 10 at WTCS London to Lead USA TRI Elites
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by USA Triathlon
LONDON — USA TRI Elite triathletes Morgan Pearson (New Vernon, N.J.) and Taylor Knibb (Boulder, Colo.) led the U.S. team on Saturday, July 25, at the 2026 World Triathlon Championship Series London, placing fourth and seventh, respectively, with Seth Rider (Germantown, Tenn.) also notching a top-10 finish on a solid day for USA TRI at London's Excel Centre.
Racing the men's sprint-distance event, Pearson turned in the best WTCS sprint-distance finish of his career, part of a five-way battle for the podium that went down to the closing meters of the run.
Hungary's Mark Devay led the field out of the water, with France’s Jules Rethoret on his heels alongside defending World Champion Matt Hauser (AUS). Vasco Vilaça (POR) was just 3 seconds back, with Pearson and Miguel Hidalgo (BRA) in touch, while Great Britain’s Alex Yee emerged nearly 40 seconds behind.
Onto the bike, Hauser shot to the front on the first of seven laps as a group of 13, including Pearson and Rider, formed ahead of the large chase pack 20 seconds back. A crash involving Canada's Charles Paquet on the final bike lap further slowed the chasers' progress, and the gap had grown to over a minute by the time the lead group hit the 5-kilometer run.
Spain's Alberto Gonzalez went straight to the front out of transition, despite carrying a 10-second penalty for an equipment infraction. Pearson was flying as well, with Hauser and Csongor Lehmann (HUN) tucked in behind and Vilaça on their shoulder, turning the final lap on the run into a five-way sprint for the podium.
Pearson hit the front once more before Vilaça launched a big push on the uphill in a bid to seal the win, but Hauser answered, taking the tape. Vilaça settled for silver, and Lehmann earned the bronze, while Pearson crossed fourth after Gonzalez was forced to serve his penalty.
Pearson’s fourth place is his best WTCS finish since his fifth-place showing at WTCS Weihai last September. This spring, he prioritized long-course racing, placing fourth at the 2026 T100 Triathlon World Tour San Francisco before making his short-course, draft-legal debut two weeks ago at WTCS Hamburg.
Rider’s 10th-place in London is his best finish thus far in the 2026 Series as he continues to display his well-rounded swim, bike, run talent.
In the women's race, Knibb once again led a breakaway on the bike — the third straight World Triathlon race in which she has done so, following breakaway rides at World Cup Edmonton and World Cup Tiszaujvaros.
Tilly Anema (GBR) led the women’s field out of the water alongside recent World Cup Tiszaujvaros winner Fanni Szalai (HUN), who was followed out of the water by her Tiszaujvaros breakaway partner, Knibb.
Knibb took the lead out of transition with Bianca Seregni (ITA), Jeanne Lehair (LUX), Sophie Evans (GBR) and Anema in close pursuit, then blasted off the front alongside Anema. The two put on a masterclass on the bike, riding away from Evans, Szalai, Seregni, Lehair and Lisa Tertsch (GER) in the immediate chase, before Anema crashed and left Knibb alone in the lead. A chase pack of more than 30 women — France’s Cassandre Beaugrand among them — was able to contain Knibb's advantage to 21 seconds by the end of the bike leg.
A group of Beaugrand, Tertsch, Tilda Månsson (SWE), Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR) and Emma Lombardi (FRA) caught Knibb relatively early in the run. With a kilometer to go, reigning world champion Tertsch made her move and dropped Månsson, but Beaugrand would not budge as the Frenchwoman won her third race of the season.
Tertsch crossed for silver, matching her best finish of the year, while Månsson held on for bronze. Knibb held on for seventh ahead of a fast-finishing Lehair.
Since winning the 2026 T100 Triathlon World Tour Gold Coast in March, Knibb has raced four short-course, draft-legal events, winning World Cup Edmonton last weekend — her first World Cup victory in her illustrious career — and placing second at World Cup Tiszaujvaros.
Taylor Spivey (Redondo Beach, Calif.) placed 12th in London, ending a 10-race streak of consecutive top-10 finishes at WTCS events, the longest active streak of any female or male triathlete.
Fellow USA TRI elite women Gina Sereno (Madison, Wis.), Erika Ackerlund (Helena, Mont.) and Naomi Ruff (West Chicago, Ill.), the 2025 Junior Pan-American Games women's champion, placed 11th, 20th and 25th, respectively. Gwen Jorgensen (Boulder, Colo.), the 2016 Rio Olympic gold medalist and two-time former WTCS London champion (2014, 2015), finished 37th in her return to the city where she made her mark on the sport a decade ago.
In the men's race, Braxton Legg (Tampa, Fla.) — who placed 10th in his WTCS debut earlier this season in Yokohama — finished 21st, while Chase McQueen (Columbus, Ind.) and Darr Smith (Atlanta, Ga.) placed 39th and 49th, respectively.
Support USA TRI Through Elevate28
With the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games on the horizon, fans can directly support USA TRI Elite athletes’ journeys through Elevate28, the USA Triathlon Foundation's most ambitious campaign yet. Because USA Triathlon receives no direct government funding, philanthropy fuels the world-class coaching, training environments, sport science, and international competition U.S. athletes rely on to compete and win on home soil.
To join the movement, visit usatriathlon.org/foundation/elevate28.
2026 World Triathlon Championship Series London
750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike, 5k run
Elite Women
Top 3
1. Cassandre Beaugrand (FRA), 56:06
2. Lisa Tertsch (GER), 56:11
3. Tilda Månsson (SWE), 56:21
U.S. Finishers
7. Taylor Knibb (Boulder, Colo.), 56:33
11. Gina Sereno (Madison, Wis.), 56:49
12. Taylor Spivey (Redondo Beach, Calif.), 56:50
20. Erika Ackerlund (Helena, Mont.), 57:06
25. Naomi Ruff (West Chicago, Ill.), 57:22
37. Gwen Jorgensen (Boulder, Colo.), 58:18
Elite Men
Top 3
1. Matthew Hauser (AUS), 50:28
2. Vasco Vilaça (POR), 50:31
3. Csongor Lehmann (HUN), 50:36
U.S. Finishers
4. Morgan Pearson (New Vernon, N.J.), 50:45
10. Seth Rider (Germantown, Tenn.), 51:03
21. Braxton Legg (Tampa, Fla.), 51:53
39. Chase McQueen (Columbus, Ind.), 52:45
49. Darr Smith (Atlanta, Ga.), 54:44
2026 World Triathlon Championship Series Schedule
WTCS Samarkand | April 26 | Results
WTCS Yokohama | May 16 | Results
WTCS Alghero | May 30 | Results
WTCS Quiberon | June 20-21 | Results
WTCS Hamburg | July 11-12 | Results
WTCS London | July 25
WTCS Weihai | Aug. 29
WTCS Karlovy Vary | Sept. 13
Championship Finals Pontevedra | Sept. 23-27
WTCS Abu Dhabi | Postponed to Nov. 13-14
About USA Triathlon
USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon, as well as duathlon, aquathlon, aquabike, winter triathlon, off-road triathlon, paratriathlon, and indoor and virtual multisport events in the United States. Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon sanctions more than 3,500 events and races and connects with and supports more than 300,000 unique active members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work at the grassroots level with athletes, coaches, and race directors — as well as the USA Triathlon Foundation — USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including World Triathlon Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. USA Triathlon is a proud member of World Triathlon and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).
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