PONTEVEDRA, Spain — Age group Team USA multisport athletes won 23 world championships and 58 total medals across three races Friday through Sunday, Sept. 22-24 in Pontevedra, Spain, at the 2023 World Triathlon Age-Group Championships. Nearly 400 U.S. multisport athletes representing age group Team USA raced in the Super-Sprint Triathlon Championships, Standard-Distance Triathlon Championships and Standard-Distance Aquabike Championships.
Team USA is the group of age-group athletes that qualify at USA Triathlon National Championships for the right to represent the United States and compete in the World Triathlon World Championships, which attracts the best athletes representing over 50 countries each year.
Standard-Distance Triathlon Championships
Team USA athletes won six world titles and 18 total medals in the Standard-Distance Triathlon Championships on Sunday, Sept. 24.
Team USA athlete Arthur Benson recorded the fastest race for the U.S. in the 1,500-meter swim, 38.9-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer run Standard-Distance Triathlon Championship, recording a time of 2 hour, 4 minutes, 38 seconds to win the men’s 20-24 age group world title.
The other world titles by Team USA in the Standard-Distance Triathlon Championships included: Iain Campbell (M60-64); USA Triathlon Hall of Fame member Robert Plant (M80-84); Clara Roth (F18-19); Vanessa Nagel (F35-39) and Peggy McDowell-Cramer (F80-84).
Colorado’s Steph Popelar (F55-59) took second in her age group with a time of 2:26:23 to complement her Super-Sprint Triathlon title.
Standard-Distance Aquabike Championships
Team USA athletes won nine world titles and 16 total medals in the swim-bike Standard-Distance Aquabike Championships on Sunday, Sept. 24.
U.S. women captured five of the nine world titles, led by Chesney Watson (F18-19); Debbie Richardson (F60-64); Michelle Case (F65-69); Maggie Riley-Hagan (F70-74) and Ruth Hamilton (F75-79).
Brendan Mueller (M30-34); Rick Kozlowski (M70-74); Charles Perez (M75-79) and Ralph Ward (M80-84) won the world titles for the men.
Super-Sprint Triathlon Championships
Twenty-four age group Team USA athletes won World Championship medals, including eight golds, on Friday, Sept. 22 at the 2023 World Triathlon Age-Group Super-Sprint Distance Championships.
Six U.S. women won gold, including Raphaela Lima in the 15-19 age group; Elizabeth Ordeman (20-24); Steph Popelar (55-59); Michelle Tuttle (60-64), Donna Smyers (65-69) and Sibyl Jacobson (80-84).
The women’s 65-69 age group was a clean sweep for the U.S. women, led by Smyers, Susan Olesky for silver and Sheila Cotter with the bronze.
Rick Kozlowski (70-74) and John Charman (85+) won the two World Championships for the U.S. men.
2023 World Triathlon Age-Group Standard-Distance Triathlon Championships Pontevedra
1500-meter swim, 38.9-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer run
U.S. Podium Finishers (complete results)
M20-24
- Arthur Benson, 2:04:38
M60-64
- Iain Campbell, 2:16:31
- William Schumann, 2:18:01
M65-69
- Tony Schiller, 2:24:50
M80-84
- Robert Plant, 3:31:52
F18-19
- Clara Roth, 2:55:13
F30-34
- Blair Benson-D’alesandro, 2:22:56
F35-39
- Vanessa Nagel, 2:20:09
- Mary Bowman, 2:23:01
F40-44
- Tiffany Kari Cizmas, 2:24:39
- Beth Rudge, 2:26:58
F45-49
- Jessica Holmes, 2:27:10
F50-54
- Tracy Kellner, 2:21:01
F55-59
- Steph Popelar, 2:26:23
F60-64
- Robyn Williams, 2:37:13
F75-79
- Mary Hager, 3:33:51
- Deborah Bliss, 3:56:05
F80-84
- Peggy McDowell-Cramer, 4:35:45
2023 World Triathlon Age-Group Standard-Distance Aquabike Championships Pontevedra
1500m swim, 38.9k bike
U.S. Podium Finishers (complete results)
M30-34
- Brendan Mueller, 1:27:48
M55-59
- Drew Magill, 1:30:34
M70-74
- Rick Kozlowski, 1:42:24
M75-79
- Charles Perez, 1:48:25
M80-84
- Ralph Ward, 2:33:06
F18-19
- Chesney Watson, 1:39:36
F35-39
- Nicole Ogrosso, 1:43:56
F40-44
- Melissa Langworthy, 1:39:40
- Shannon Dee, 1:41:25
F60-64
- Debbie Richardson, 1:42:42
- Karin Duan, 1:53:22
F65-69
- Michelle Case, 1:59:41
- Helen Guenther, 2:04:04
F70-74
- Maggie Riley-Hagan, 2:00:51
- Nancy Thurrell, 2:04:24
F75-79
- Ruth Hamilton, 2:27:17
2023 World Triathlon Age-Group Super-Sprint Distance Championships Pontevedra
300-meter swim, 6.4k bike, 1.6k run
U.S. Podium Finishers (complete results)
F15-19
- Raphaela Lima, 27:18
F20-24
- Elizabeth Ordeman, 27:39
F25-29
- Jenny Gormley, 26:58
- Olivia Christmann, 28:58
F35-39
- Wendy Seguine, 29:35
F40-44
- Melissa Langworthy, 29:12
F45-49
- Marisa Rastetter, 28:32
F55-59
- Steph Popelar, 27:38
F60-64
- Michelle Tuttle, 30:21
- Lisa Marquis, 31:41
F65-69
- Donna Smyers, 32:43
- Susan Olesky, 35:31
- Sheila Cotter, 35:58
F70-74
- Cande Olsen, 36:50
F75-79
- Ruth Hamilton, 41:31
F80-84
- Sibyl Jacobson, 53:42
M15-19
- Julian Barre, 23:48
M35-39
- Brek Minarik, 24:34
M65-69
- Jim Taylor, 28:30
M70-74
- Rick Kozlowski, 28:59
M75-79
- Charles Perez, 34:04
M80-84
- Ralph Ward, 45:49
- Neil Genda, 48:54
M85+
- John Charman, 55:11