LEEDS, England — The U.S. elite triathlete quartet of Matt McElroy (Huntington Beach, Calif.), Taylor Spivey (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Seth Rider (Germantown, Tenn.) and Erika Ackerlund (Helena, Mont.) teamed up to finish ninth at the World Triathlon Championship Series Leeds Mixed Relay on Sunday.

The German team of Lasse Nygaard-Priester, Anabel Knoll (who competed on the Queens University of Charlotte women’s collegiate triathlon team), Lasse Luhrs and Laura Lindemann claimed the gold with a time of 1 hour, 28 minutes.

Germany finished ahead of home favorites Great Britain, who earned the silver behind the efforts of Tom Bishop, Sophie Coldwell, Grant Sheldon and Georgia Taylor-Brown in a time of 1:28:14. The French team of Tom Richard, Sandra Dodet, Leo Bergere and Audrey Merle earned the bronze in a time of 1:28:20.

Nineteen teams raced on Sunday in the 2022 debut of the Mixed Relay, and first to award Olympics rankings points in the Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification window.

The teams faced a hilly and technical course in Roundhay Park, with every athlete racing a 300-meter swim, followed by a 6.9-kilometer bike and a 1.9k run. The race debuted the new team order of man-woman-man-woman, allowing elite women triathletes the opportunity to cross the finish line for their teams. The change in format will be in place through the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

The U.S. team will look to rebound soon, as the next Mixed Relay race will take place June 24-26 in Montreal, where the world champions will be crowned at the 2022 World Triathlon Sprint & Relay Championships Montreal.

The Mixed Relay made its Olympic debut last summer at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and the U.S. team won the silver medal, continuing a trend of strong international success in the event. The U.S. won silver at the 2020 Mixed Relay World Championships in Hamburg, Germany, world bronze in 2019 and 2018, world silver in 2017 and the world title in 2016.

2022 World Triathlon Championship Series Leeds
300m swim, 6.9k bike, 1.9k run (x4)

Team Results — Complete Results
1. Germany 1:28:00
2. Great Britain 1:28:14
3. France 1:28:20
9. U.S. (Matt McElroy, Taylor Spivey, Seth Rider, Erika Ackerlund), 1:30:17

U.S. Earns Top-10 Finish at World Triathlon Championship Series Leeds Mixed Relay

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