Just like last year, the Brasília stage of the triathlon World Cup crowned an athlete from the host country. This Saturday (9), Manoel Messias from Ceará won the dispute on the shore of Lake Paranoá. He finished the race (750 meters of swimming, 20 kilometers of cycling and five kilometers of running) in 53min35s. Australian Callum McClusky and Spaniard Sérgio Cabrera completed the men’s podium.
The walking part of the race was what made the difference for Messias, the only one to complete the race in less than 15 minutes (14min58s). When he crossed the finish line, he couldn’t contain his emotion. In 2024, the Brazilian did not finish two stages of the World Cup (Hamburg, Germany, and Cagliari, Italy) and was only 45th at the Paris Olympics (France).
“This wasn’t my best year, but I’m extremely happy to end it with a win at home. I really felt really good during the race and I went for it”, celebrated Messias after the event.
Another ten athletes represented Brazil on the shore of Lake Paranoá. Winner of the Brasília stage in 2023 and tenth place in the Paris Games, Miguel Hidalgo from São Paulo came in fourth place. The top-10 also had two Brazilians: Kauê Willy (ninth) from Paraná and Antônio Bravo Neto (tenth), who was born in the United States.
In the women’s competition, which brought together 25 competitors (five Brazilians), the best placed house representative was Ceará’s Vittoria Lopes, who came in eighth, with a time of 1h00min35s. The victory went to Mexican Rosa Tapia, followed by French Sandra Dodet and American Tamara Gorman.
The race in Brasília was also marked by a tribute to Luísa Baptista. The São Paulo native, who was run over by a motorcyclist in December last year during training and spent three months in a coma, jogged for five minutes accompanied by the Brazilians who participated in the stage. It was the first time she had been allowed to run since the accident. In the end, the triathlete received a symbolic medal and gave her mother, Jaqueline, an emotional hug.
“Running for five minutes is really cool for me. It is very important for my recovery. Without a doubt, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here today. I know that many people give me enormous strength and I had more than enough reasons to be able to return”, said Luísa, gold medalist at the Pan American Games in Lima (Peru).
