USA TRI Athletes Vannerson, Orie Win 2026 Americas Triathlon Championships Titles in Chile
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by USA Triathlon
ANTOFAGASTA, Chile — USA TRI Elite athletes Reese Vannerson (Sugar Land, Texas) and Danielle Orie (Orchard Park, N.Y) won the men's and women’s Americas Triathlon Championships titles on Saturday, July 4 at the 2026 Americas Triathlon Championships Antofagasta.
The event, held July 4-5, marked the first time Antofagasta has hosted the continental championships, with the port city's Atacama Desert-meets-Pacific-Ocean setting providing a dramatic backdrop for the region's top triathletes and paratriathletes. The championships brought together more than 600 athletes from over 20 countries across North, Central and South America, with the Olympic-distance elite races (1.5-kilometer swim, 43.2-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer run) crowning the 2026 Americas champions.
Beyond determining the continental titles, the event carried World Triathlon world ranking points, an important step for athletes on the road to qualification for the LA 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
Vannerson raced to his first win and podium of the 2026 season, winning the Americas Triathlon Championship title in a time of 1 hour, 46 minutes, 38 seconds to top the men's elite field. USA TRI Elite teammate Keller Norland (Corvallis, Ore.) earned the silver.
Orie, coming off a top-five finish at the Tiszaujvaros World Cup the week prior, won the women’s Americas Triathlon Championship title in a time of 1:57:17. Fellow USA TRI Elite Naomi Ruff (West Chicago, Ill.) earned the bronze.
Men's Race
Chile’s Diego Moya, along with USA TRI Elites Chase McQueen (Columbus, Ind.) and Blake Bullard (Southlake, Texas) tried to force an early breakaway in the swim, opening a 35-second gap on the field, but the move didn't hold and a 16-man lead pack came together on the bike. Vannerson, Norland and World Cup medalist Mathis Beaulieu (CAN) were all part of that group, which built a 30-second cushion over its closest rivals through the 10-kilometer run and locked out the podium.
Vannerson made his move on the run and neither Norland nor Beaulieu could answer, with Norland holding second (13 seconds back) and Beaulieu taking third in 1:46:57. USA TRI also placed four more athletes inside the top 10: McQueen was sixth, Bullard was seventh, and Braxton Legg (Tampa, Fla.) was ninth.
Women's Race
Orie arrived in Antofagasta on the upswing, having returned to an international top-five for the first time in a year a week earlier at the Tiszaujvaros World Cup. That momentum into the biggest win of her career.
For much of the day, though, victory looked like a long shot: Vittoria Lopes (BRA) and Rafaela Capó (CHI) broke clear in the swim, gapping the rest of the field by 20 seconds, and the pair stretched that advantage to nearly 2 minutes on the bike.
Orie rode in the first chase group along with Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal (MEX), Djenyfer Arnold (BRA), Sidney Clement (CAN) and USA TRI teammate Ruff. While the gap out of transition looked to leave them racing for bronze, the chasers had fresher legs and the run speed to reel the leaders in.
Lopes held on the longest, but Orie moved through for the win, with Arnold passing her own teammate for second. Ruff and Clement each made late passes of their own in a tussle for third, with Ruff getting to the line first to add an Americas Championship bronze to her collection of Americas Cup medals.
USA TRI teammate Eleanor Beveridge (Wakefield, R.I.) also cracked the top 10, placing eighth.
Mixed Relay
USA TRI also earned a silver medal in the mixed relay. The quartet of Ruff, Norland, Beveridge and Vannerson combined to finish second in 1:19:02, edged out by Team Mexico (1:18:46). Norland's leg produced the fastest split of any leg in the field (18:09), and Vannerson brought the U.S. home ahead of Team Chile (1:19:10) to close out the relay podium.
Junior Championships
USA TRI's junior athletes also had a strong showing in Antofagasta. In the junior men's race, Graham Hummel posted the fastest swim split of the field and finished fourth overall (56:37), while Brice Allen placed sixth (57:02) and Matteo Somma finished ninth (57:18). Canada's Robi Racine won the junior men's title in 56:28.
In the junior women's race, Jenna Gilhooly was the top U.S. finisher in fourth (1:06:17), with Rylan Lonergan placing seventh (1:06:36). Canada's Brooke Rousselle took the junior women's title in 1:05:20.
Philanthropy Supports USA TRI Elite Athletes
With the Olympic Games returning to U.S. soil in 2028 — and triathlon set to open the LA28 Olympic Games as the first medal event — fans can help fuel the journeys of USA TRI athletes through Elevate28, the USA Triathlon Foundation's most ambitious campaign to date.
Because USA Triathlon receives no direct government funding, philanthropy powers the world-class coaching, training environments, sport science and international competition experience U.S. athletes rely on to compete and win on home soil. To join the movement, visit usatriathlon.org/foundation/elevate28.
1.5-kilometer swim, 43.2-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer run
Elite Women
Top 3
1. Danielle Orie (Orchard Park, N.Y.), 1:57:17
2. Djenyfer Arnold (BRA), 1:57:49
3. Naomi Ruff (West Chicago, Ill.), 1:58:36
U.S. Finishers
8. Eleanor Beveridge ([Wakefield, R.I.]), 2:00:18
29. Ellison Wolfe (Columbia, Pa.), 2:05:16
Elite Men
Top 3
1. Reese Vannerson (Sugar Land, Texas), 1:46:38
2. Keller Norland (Corvallis, Ore.), 1:46:51
3. Mathis Beaulieu (CAN), 1:46:57
U.S. Finishers
6. Chase McQueen (Columbus, Ind.), 1:47:59
7. Blake Bullard (Southlake, Texas), 1:48:08
9. Braxton Legg (Tampa, Fla.), 1:48:26
11. Sullivan Middaugh (Vail, Colo.), 1:49:03
14. Cole Jamieson (Rocklin, Calif.), 1:49:30
19. Porter Middaugh (Vail, Colo.), 1:50:03
51. Zach Leachman (Mars, Pa.), 1:57:00
Junior Women
750m swim, 21.6k bike, 5k run
Top 3
1. Brooke Rousselle (CAN), 1:05:20
2. Regina Michel Camacho (MEX), 1:05:23
3. Sarah-Maude Levesque (CAN), 1:06:16
U.S. Finishers
4. Jenna Gilhooly, 1:06:17
7. Rylan Lonergan,1:06:36
20. Sarah Gilhooly, 1:09:43
Junior Men
Top 3
1. Robi Racine (CAN), 56:28
2. Nicolas Alejandro Calvopiña Castellano (ECU), 56:29
3. Thomas Francisco Chica Perez (ECU), 56:37
U.S. Finishers
4. Graham Hummel, 56:37
6. Brice Allen, 57:02
9. Matteo Somma, 57:18
Mixed Relay
Top 3
1. Team Mexico, 1:18:46
2. Team United States (Naomi Ruff, Keller Norland, Eleanor Beveridge, Reese Vannerson), 1:19:02
3. Team Chile, 1:19:10
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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