Swim
In the Junior men’s final, Zalán Hóbor led the way in a time of 3:02. The Hungarian arrived in Balikesir on the back of wins at the European Junior Cups in Tiszaujvaros and Tabor. He had also been a part of the breakaway at the World Junior Championships in Hamburg. His strategy was therefore clear from the start as he tried to pressure the rest of the field.
Pietro Giovannini was the next man out in 3:04. In the second Junior men’s semi-final, Hóbor and Giovannini had each clocked 3:03, so their times in the final closely followed their form from the previous day.
Joao Nuno Batista, the eventual winner, had the third fastest split in 3:07. In the first semi-final, he had recorded a time of 3:08.
Márton Kropkó was the fourth fastest man in the final, in 3:09, and was 1 second ahead of Simeone Romano. Having clocked 3:03 in the third semi-final, Kropkó may have been a little disappointed to have gone 6 seconds slower in the final. Had he matched his previous time, he may have had more of a window to break away with his compatriot, Hóbor.
The swim in the Junior women’s final was dominated by the race winner, Ilona Hadhoum. The World Junior champion clocked 3:25 for the 270m to build a 3 second lead over Nora Romina Nádas.
Bethany Cook was the third woman out of the water in 3:30 while Sara Crociani logged the same time. Manon Laporte completed the top-5 splits with a time of 3:31.
In the semi-finals, Hadhoum had led the way with a split of 3:23. Cook and Laporte, meanwhile, had led out the second and third semi-finals, respectively, with both hitting a time of 3:25. Based on their semi-final performances, Cook and Laporte could have matched Hadhoum. However, when it counted, they lost a crucial 5 seconds to the leader.
Bike
The Israeli duo of Maayan Glantz and Eyal Weinstein led the men’s bike splits in the final with a time of 11:40.
Jakub Homola followed with a split of 11:43 and Aurelien Carre was only 1 second slower in 11:44. Gyula Kovács and Euan De Nigro then shared the fifth fastest split in a time of 11:45.
The men’s bike was notably faster than anything produced in the semi-finals. The top time from the day prior had gone to Roy Baron has he hit a time of 12:02 in the second semi-final.
The women’s final followed a similar pattern.
Carla Martínez González was the fastest woman on two wheels as she logged a time of 13:05 over the 8km. Johanna Uherek followed with a 13:08 split while Kjara Reckmann stopped the clock at 13:09.
Lotte Minnebo and Adelaide Anna Badini Confalonieri then rounded out the top-5 splits in 13:10 and 13:11, respectively.
Badini Confalonieri had been the fastest cyclist of the semi-finals. In the third heat, she managed a split of 13:14 and so was the athlete that came closest to matching one of the best final times.
The bike played a somewhat significant role in shaping the top-10. De Nigro ended up in 3rd place overall following his top-5 bike split while Kovács also broke into the top-10.
Badini Confalonieri likewise finished 8th and Martínez ended up in 9th.
The swim saw two medallists from both races record top-5 splits and so on balance may have been a little more significant than the bike when it came to determining the sharp end of the race. Still, the top bike splits went a long way to pushing several names into high finishes.
Run
Euan De Nigro was the fastest runner in the men’s race. As much as his top-5 bike split helped to put him in contention, the run realistically went further in securing a place on the podium. The Italian athlete recorded a time of 4:57 which was 1 second faster than that of Batista.
The race winner stopped the clock at 4:58, matching the split of Miguel Espuna Larramona. Gaspard Tharreau and Michael Gar were the only other men under 5 minutes as they hit 4:59 to round out the top-5 splits. All five of the top-5 male run splits ended up in the top-10 overall which was not true of the swim or the bike.
Carol Popa had produced the fastest run of the semi-finals with a time of 5:05.
The Junior women’s champion, Hadhoum, also did not have the fastest run split. That honour went to Kateřina Hadravova and Cook as they shared a time of 5:44. Cook’s split saw her claim the silver medal while Hadravova narrowly missed the podium in 4th place.
Hadravova’s speed should not have been a surprise. In the third semi-final, she logged the best run split of the heats with a time of 5:52.
Alejandra Seguí Soria used a 5:48 split over the 1.7km to launch herself into 3rd place.
Hadhoum and Nádas then clocked 5:49. After Nádas, there was an 8 second gap to the next quickest split (which was a 5:57 by Laporte).
With Nádas finishing 5th, the five fastest runners took the top-5 positions in the Junior women’s race. By contrast, only Batista and De Nigro from the fastest men’s splits ended up in the top-5 overall.
