LONG BEACH, Calif. — Nearly 120 elite triathletes from North, Central and South America, including future Olympic hopefuls and the best Under-23 talent in the U.S. raced Sunday at the Americas Triathlon Cup Long Beach on the final day of the Toyota Legacy Triathlon weekend. The elite race was held at Alamitos Beach, the proposed site of the triathlon competitions for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Los Angeles 2028.

Both the men’s and women’s races came down to exciting sprint finishes, as U.S. elite triathletes won two golds, with Davis Bove (Franklin, Tenn.) winning the men’s race and Gina Sereno (Madison, Wis.) capturing gold in the women’s race.

The multi-loop course covered a 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike and a 5-kilometer run. The race was held in the exciting draft-legal format, in which athletes race and work together in tight packs on the bike.

Bove, currently a Division-I track and cross-country runner at LSU, showed that speed on the run, clocking a time of 14 minutes, 41 seconds in the 5k to pull away from the Canadian duo of Martin Sobey and Pavlos Antoniades and capture the photo-finish win in a time of 52:01.

“I’m stoked to win. I’m grateful to be racing and feel super blessed. I haven’t been able to do a ton of races recently. It feels good to be going in the right direction,” Bove said. “There aren’t a ton of Americas Cups in the U.S., so it’s always fun to race here in the U.S. This one is probably the nicest place to race in the U.S., plus the Olympics are going to be here in 2028, which is pretty cool.”

Sobey finished in 52:02 and Antoniades in 52:04 to make up the overall podium. The race, on a fast, flat course, favored the field’s strongest runners as a large pack of elite triathletes entered transition from the bike, with the group hitting the 5k for what proved to be an epic duel won by Bove.

The contingent of U.S. racers who finished behind Bove offered a glimpse into the future for the U.S. elite men. Three U.S. men finished in the top 10, including Austin Hindman (Wildwood, Mo., fifth) and Reese Vannerson (Sugar Land, Texas, eighth).

The race also served as the 2022 Under-23 U.S. National Championships, with Bove taking the U23 national title, followed by Vannerson and Drew Shellenberger (Indianapolis, Ind.) to make up the U23 podium.

The women’s race followed a similar script to the men’s, with the field’s strongest runners taking advantage of the fast course. Sereno, a former All-American collegiate runner at the University of Michigan, used her speed and savvy to outkick 15-year-old Jimena Renata De La Pena Schott of Mexico to cross the tape in a time of 1:00:08.

De La Pena Schott finished in 1:00:10 and Bermuda’s Erica Hawley took third overall in 1:00:26.
“I felt good on the run. I tried to be conservative at the beginning of the run and not go out too fast. I just trusted my fitness and trusted where I wanted to be by the end of the race and work my way through,” said Sereno, who will race at next week’s World Triathlon Cup Pontevedra. “I’m excited (about this season). This is the first season I’ve had a good set of solid racing year-round. I’ve been able to put together almost a race every month. I’ve been able to build my fitness race to race. The goal now is to have success at a World Cup.”

Sereno got her start in triathlon through USA Triathlon’s Collegiate Recruitment Program, which identifies and recruits top-level NCAA runners and swimmers to elite triathlon. Many of USA Triathlon’s most successful triathletes, both past and present, are CRP recruits — including 2016 U.S. Olympic gold medalist Gwen Jorgensen, 2020 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist Katie Zaferes and fellow 2020 U.S. Olympian Morgan Pearson, who was on the Olympic silver medal winning Mixed Relay team with Zaferes.

Annie Fuller (Luddington, Mich.), joined Sereno in the top 10, finishing 10th with a time of 1:01:31.

Liberty Ricca (Tempe, Ariz.) won the women’s U.S. U23 national championship in a time of 1:01:38, Gabby Martin placed second in 1:02:58 and Alexandra Poole third in 1:04:51.

For more information about the Americas Triathlon Cup Long Beach and the Toyota Legacy Triathlon,, visit thelegacytriathlon.com.

Americas Triathlon Cup Long Beach
750m swim, 20k bike, 5k run

Elite Women - Complete Results
1. Gina Sereno (Madison, Wis.), 1:00:08
2. Jimena Renata De La Pena Schott (MEX), 1:00:10
3. Erica Hawley (BER), 1:00:26

U.S. Finishers (Top 15)
10. Annie Fuller (Luddington, Mich.), 1:01:31
11. Liberty Ricca (Tempe, Ariz.), 1:01:38
12. Gabrielle Lumkes (Vergennes, Vt.), 1:01:39

Elite Men - Complete Results
1. Davis Bove (Franklin, Tenn.), 52:01
2. Martin Sobey (CAN), 52:02
3. Pavlos Antoniades (CAN), 52:04

U.S. Finishers (Top 15)
5. Austin Hindman (Wildwood, Mo.), 52:07
8. Reese Vannerson (Sugar Land, Texas), 52:27
13. Drew Shellenberger (Indianapolis, Ind.), 52:55
14. Thomas Sonnery-Cottet (Tempe, Ariz.), 53:00
15. Zach Leachman (Mars, Pa.), 53:01

2022 U.S. Under-23 National Championships

Women
1. Liberty Ricca (Tempe, Ariz.), 1:01:38
2. Gabby Martin (Fircrest, Wa.), 1:02:58
3. Alexandra Poole (Durham, N.C.), 1:04:51

Men
1. Davis Bove (Franklin, Tenn.), 52:01
2. Reese Vannerson (Sugar Land, Texas), 52:27
3. Drew Shellenberger (Indianapolis, Ind.), 52:55

U.S. Elite Triathletes Davis Bove, Gina Sereno Win Americas Triathlon Cup Long Beach

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