The Belgian triathlete claimed his second half-Ironman world title in a row.
The triathlon world championships were held in Marbella, Spain. In the half-Ironman (1.9 km swim, 90 km bike and 21 km run), Jelle Geens was defending the title he won in New Zealand in 2024.
After emerging from the water in 22nd position, 58 seconds behind Italy's Crociani, the athlete from Zolder (Limburg province) had a scare when he fell off his bike at the first bend. But the spill caused little harm to the Belgian triathlete who, despite this setback, set about picking off his rivals one by one to finish in 4th place, seven seconds behind South Africa's Riddle, at the end of the hilly 90 km cycle course.
The last part of the race saw a very close shoulder-to-shoulder battle with Norway's Blummenfelt. And in the final sprint at the end of a 21 km run, Belgian Jelle Geens emerged in the lead, claiming a double world championship crown after 3 hours 42 mins and 52 secs of intense effort.
What a fantastic performance!
