Taylor Spivey Places Fourth to Lead USA TRI Elites at WTCS Hamburg
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by USA Triathlon
HAMBURG, Germany — USA TRI Elite triathlete Taylor Spivey (Redondo Beach, Calif.) raced a stellar fourth-place performance on Saturday, July 11 to lead the USA TRI Elite team at the 2026 World Triathlon Championship Series Hamburg.
Spivey came into Hamburg riding a streak of nine consecutive top-10 finishes at World Triathlon Championship Series events, the longest current such streak of any female or male triathlete. She delivered on pushing the streak to double digits on Saturday.
With a trademark consistent performance across all three disciplines, Spivey raced to fourth in the sprint-distance course (750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike, 5k run) with a time of 56 minutes, 5 seconds. It was her courageous, strong run that gave her a chance at a third-place podium finish; she was outsprinted on the blue carpet by Sweden's Tilda Månsson (56:03), one of the world’s fastest runners who won in Yokohama and added a silver medal in Quiberon.
Defending champion Leonie Periault of France won for the second consecutive year in Hamburg, out-running the field for a time of 55:51, holding off Germany’s Lisa Tertsch, who earned the silver in 55:56.
“That was a really short race compared to the other races I’ve done this year. It was definitely a shock to the system, but I’m really happy with it,” said Spivey, who noted several key moments in the race. “Probably about 25 meters in the swim I stopped and had to swim around people. I went behind people and tried to get the inside line. So I went pretty much from the back and then I had to move myself up. I think that cost me the breakaway, but I just didn’t want to be clobbered in the swim. And then on the bike I pushed pretty hard on the first and second lap to bridge the gap. It then became one big pack and a run race. On the run I had a bit of imposter syndrome because I was running with people I consider to be incredible runners. I felt really good, but I didn’t want to go out too hard, so I had some mind games going on in my head, like ‘should I go or should I stay?’”
Spivey came to Hamburg with top-10 finishes at WTCS Samarkand (fifth), WTCS Yokohama (eighth), and WTCS Alghero (eighth) to open her season. She also raced the T100 Triathlon World Tour Spain in May, placing third for her first T100 podium.
Fellow USA TRI elite women Gina Sereno (Madison, Wis.) and Erika Ackerlund (Helena, Mont.) placed 17th and 23rd, respectively.
In the men’s race, Seth Rider (Germantown, Tenn.) led the way for USA TRI, placing 16th in 50:49. A strong swim-biker, Rider was among the leaders in the swim and in the lead group of 25-plus athletes on the bike.
Morgan Pearson (New Vernon, N.J.) made his 2026 WTCS debut, placing 29th. Pearson’s first half of the 2026 season has focused on middle/long-distance racing. In June, he raced the T100 Triathlon World Tour San Francisco, placing fourth, and raced IRONMAN 70.3 Happy Valley in Pennsylvania.
The transition from longer-distance racing to a short-course, sprint-distance race was a “shock to the system,” Pearson said.
“My speed on the run is just not there, which makes sense. I’ve been doing long course stuff, and I missed a bunch of base training because of my injuries,” Pearson said. “I’ve been trying to do base training, threshold and long runs, and I missed a few key sessions of running off the bike. It didn’t feel comfortable today.”
John Reed (Virginia Beach, Va.) finished 51st, and Darr Smith (Atlanta, Ga.) was a DNF.
Australia's Matthew Hauser won his third consecutive race at Hamburg, pulling away late on the run to secure the gold in a time of 50:07. Vasco Vilaca of Portugal finished second (50:10) and Henry Graf of Germany third 50:15.
Athletes will race on Sunday, July 12 at the 2026 Mixed Relay World Championships, and for the first time, elite paratriathletes will race in the inaugural 2026 World Triathlon Para Series Hamburg.
Eight USA TRI Elite paratriathletes, including Paris 2024 Paralympic medalists Grace Norman (Bloomington, Ind.), Hailey Danz (Denver, Colo.), Chris Hammer (Gilbert, Ariz.), and Kendall Gretsch (Downer’s Grove, Ill.) race the sprint-distance course.
Danz, the Paris 2024 Paralympic gold medalist, leads the women's PTS2 field after winning gold in her season opener at WTPS Yokohama in May.
Fellow Paris 2024 Paralympic gold medalist, Norman, headlines the women's PTS5 class following two dominant wins in Yokohama and Montreal, where she finished more than 4 minutes clear of the field at both races. She's joined in the classification by Michelle Dynes (Waukon, Iowa), who took silver behind Virginia Ogburn at last week's Americas Para Championships Antofagasta.
The women's PTWC field features two-time Paralympic medalist, Gretsch (Downer's Grove, Ill.), fresh off a photo-finish win at WTPS Montreal, and Emelia Perry (Philadelphia, Pa.), who was third in that same Montreal race.
Hannah Longmire (Coralville, Iowa) races the women's PTS3 class after a runner-up finish in Montreal.
On the men's side, Paris 2024 Paralympic gold medalist and 2025 world champion, Hammer (Gilbert, Ariz.) leads the U.S. in the PTS5 race. Howie Sanborn (Denver, Colo.), a Paris 2024 Paralympian, races the men's PTWC class off the back of a win at the Americas Para Championships Antofagasta on July 5.
Mixed Relay World Championships
Four USA TRI athletes — two men and two women — will race in Sunday’s Mixed Relay World Championships. The winner of Sunday’s Mixed Relay World Championships qualifies it country’s team for the LA 2028 Olympic Games Mixed Relay. As host nation of the Games, the U.S. is already qualified.
Triathlon’s most exciting event, the Mixed Relay, is a fast, tactical, and spectator-friendly competition where each country’s team of two women and two men competes for the World Title. Each team member races a super-sprint swim, bike, run triathlon before tagging their teammate.
The U.S. won Olympic silver at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with Taylor Spivey and Morgan Pearson teaming up with Taylor Knibb and Seth Rider to capture the country's second Olympic medal in the event. Mixed Relay made its Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, with the U.S. winning silver (Katie Zaferes, Kevin McDowell, Knibb and Pearson).
In addition to the Olympic silver medals at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the U.S. has won several medals at the Mixed Relay World Championships, including the world title in 2016, in Hamburg:
2013: Bronze (Sarah Groff, Ben Kanute, Gwen Jorgensen, Cameron Dye)
2016: Gold (Gwen Jorgensen, Ben Kanute, Kirsten Kasper, Joe Maloy)
2017: Silver (Kirsten Kasper, Ben Kanute, Katie Zaferes, Matthew McElroy)
2018: Bronze (Kirsten Kasper, Ben Kanute, Katie Zaferes, Kevin McDowell)
2020: Silver (Taylor Spivey, Kevin McDowell, Katie Zaferes, Morgan Pearson)
2022: Bronze (Seth Rider, Taylor Spivey, Kevin McDowell, Summer Rappaport)
Fans can watch the racing in Hamburg live and on demand on TriathlonLive.tv. For all USA TRI Elite news, including race results, athlete feature stories and coverage on social, visit the USA TRI Elite hub and follow USA TRI Elite on Instagram.
Sunday, July 12
World Triathlon Para Series: 1:45 p.m. local time (7:45 a.m. ET / 4:45 a.m. PT)
Mixed Relay World Championships: 5:30 p.m. local time (11:30 a.m. ET / 8:30 a.m. PT).
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.
750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike, 5k run
Elite Women
Top 3
1. Leonie Periault (FRA), 55:51
2. Lisa Tertsch (GER), 55:56
3. Tilda Mansson (SWE), 56:03
U.S. Finishers
4. Taylor Spivey (Redondo Beach, Calif.), 56:05
17. Gina Sereno (Madison, Wis.), 56:44
23. Erika Acklerund (Helena, Mont.), 57:21
Elite Men
Top 3
1. Matthew Hauser (AUS), 50:07
2. Vasco Vilaça (POR), 50:10
3. Henry Graff (GER), 50:15
U.S. Finishers
16. Seth Rider (Germantown, Tenn.), 50:49
29. Morgan Pearson (New Vernon, N.J.), 51:23
51. John Reed (Virginia Beach, Va.), 53:12
- WTCS Abu Dhabi | March 28-29 (POSTPONED)
- 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
- WTCS London | July 25
- WTCS Weihai | Aug. 29
- WTCS Karlovy Vary | Sept. 13
- Championship Finals Pontevedra | Sept. 23-27
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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