Serre Gehri and Hadhoum give France a sprint double at the Miyazaki World Cup

French triathletes Nils Serre Gehri and Ilona Hadhoum won the Miyazaki World Cup sprint races in Japan today. It is the French U23 world champion's second World Cup win in two weeks, and the first of Ilona Hadhoum's career.

France's Nils Serre Gehri made the most of his trip to Asia: two races, two wins. Last week, the 2026 U23 world champion took his first win at the Hong Kong World Cup, and today he added a second in Miyazaki, Japan.

Japan's Takuto Oshima went out hard and was first out of the water after the 750 m swim of this sprint-distance World Cup. Nils Serre Gehri hit the first transition fifteen seconds down, but still within the top ten.

On the opening bike lap, a very quick one, Oshima and Serre Gehri both made the front group. They were joined by Asian Games champion Takumi Hojo of Japan, Beijing World Cup medallist Xirui Zhang of China and Spain's Izan Edo Aguilar, as well as Australia's Toby Powers, an Asunción World Cup medallist. Norway's Sebastian Wernersen then led the pack into the second transition.

A lightning-fast T2 put Nils Serre Gehri right back on the Norwegian's wheel. As Wernersen began to fade, Edo and Zhang emerged as the Frenchman's main rivals. The Spaniard lifted the pace until he shook off the Chinese athlete.

Another sprint finish, another win for Nils Serre Gehri

Approaching the finish, Nils Serre Gehri stayed glued to Edo's heels. A week earlier in Hong Kong he had found himself in a similar spot, and his finishing speed had beaten Australia's Callum McClusky in a sprint. With no reason to tinker with a winning formula, the Frenchman went back to the same recipe.

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At the blue carpet he went around Edo, glanced over his shoulder, then gave everything to the line. Seventh, fifth, second, first: since his World Cup debut in Miyazaki exactly a year ago, Nils Serre Gehri has climbed a step at a time, and the only way to keep going was to take the top step in Japan. A tall order, and he delivered.

I'm really happy with this win. I think I raced well, but I could feel on the bike that I wasn't at 100%. I think the fatigue is building up a bit after all the races this season. So I just tried to get the best result I could, given how I felt today.
Nils Serre GehriWinner

Edo had no answer to the Frenchman's blistering kick. The Spaniard takes a fine silver, equalling his best World Cup result. Xirui Zhang crossed the line nine seconds later and, like Edo, can celebrate the second World Cup medal of his career.

The other French men: Nathan Grayel 15th, Paul Georgenthum 18th, Maxime Hueber-Moosbrugger 38th

Men's Top 5

1) Nils Serre Gehri (France): 53:10

2) Izan Edo Aguilar (Spain): 53:12

3) Xirui Zhang (China): 53:21

4) Toby Powers (Australia): 53:36

5) Peter Luftensteiner (Austria): 53:41

Ilona Hadhoum denies Xinyu Lin a fourth straight win

It was billed as a duel between two remarkable athletes. Heading into the Miyazaki World Cup, China's Xinyu Lin was chasing a fourth major win in a row this autumn. Standing in her way was France's Ilona Hadhoum, who had dominated the U23 World Championships in Pontevedra. When the two came into the second transition together, inside a big lead group, everything pointed to a spectacular showdown. In the end, Hadhoum showed the same exceptional running speed as in Pontevedra and took her first World Cup win with authority.

Hadhoum dictates the pace on the run

Hadhoum showed her intentions in the swim, sharing the lead with Australia's Richelle Hill, a fellow U23 world champion. Xinyu Lin was only five seconds back and quickly closed the gap on the bike.

Eleven women left the first transition together, with a chase group thirteen seconds behind. That gap was nearly halved by the second lap, thanks in particular to the work of American Erika Ackerlund and Spain's María Casals Mojica, backed by Canada's Isla Britton and Japan's Manami Hayashi. With one lap to go, the chasers had erased the deficit entirely. But all eyes stayed on Hadhoum and Lin.

The Frenchwoman was first into the transition area, with her teammate Manon Pomme alongside. Lin followed a second later and lost another second in T2. From the first strides of the run, the gap kept growing.

Lin was clearly the best runner in the rest of the field and the only one able to stay in Hadhoum's wake. But even she couldn't respond to the Frenchwoman's opening surge. The U23 world champion quickly opened a 19-second gap on the Asian Games champion over the first 2.5 km, and she started the last lap 21 seconds clear. The win no longer looked like slipping away.

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Lin now had to keep an eye on nine chasers, just four seconds behind her. But the Chinese athlete held firm and fended off the comeback, finishing second. Until Lin's own win in Beijing a month earlier, it would have been China's best World Cup result ever.

Slovakia's Zuzana Michalickova then held off Spain's Casals for bronze, five seconds behind Lin. Manon Pomme, the other Frenchwoman in the race, finished 11th.

Women's Top 5

1) Ilona Hadhoum (France): 59:08

2) Xinyu Lin (China): 59:37

3) Zuzana Michalickova (Slovakia): 59:41

4) María Casals Mojica (Spain): 59:45

5) Verena Steinhauser (Italy): 59:46

Full results