Olsztyn delivered another dramatic chapter on the Europe Triathlon Cup circuit with Germany’s Jaspar Ortfeld backed up his Torremolinos bronze with victory in Poland after surviving a tense, three-man battle deep into the run.
Ortfeld improves on Torremolinos bronze medal
France’s Antoine Duval and Pao Millo dictated the pace through the swim, towing a large front group that included Britain’s Alex Robin, Solomon Okrafo-Smart and Ben Dijkstra, the latter soon set to switch sporting nationality from Great Britain to the Netherlands.
With the bike course offering little opportunity to fracture the field, the race inevitably came down to the run. Ortfeld, Dijkstra and Okrafo-Smart quickly established themselves as the strongest trio, trading blows throughout the closing stages without any athlete able to fully break clear.
That changed only in the final metres. As the finish line came into view, Ortfeld produced a decisive late acceleration, opening just enough daylight to secure the win. Behind him, Okrafo-Smart held firm under pressure from Dijkstra to claim silver three seconds later, with the Dutch-bound athlete completing the podium.
Gmür claims first international victory
The women’s race proved equally tight, with only three seconds separating Switzerland’s Nora Gmür and Spain’s María Casals Mojica after a thrilling head-to-head contest.
Britain’s Isabella Hayes and USA’s Rachel Werking set an aggressive tempo early in the swim, stretching the field but never fully breaking it apart. Gmür, much like Ortfeld earlier in the day, recovered impressively after exiting the water outside the top 30 before working her way into the lead group during the bike segment.
Germany’s former World and European Junior champion Jule Behrens drove much of the pace on the bike alongside Gmür, while Spain placed multiple athletes near the front through Casals, Alejandra Seguí Soria and Ana Carballo Gómez.
On the run, however, Gmür and Casals gradually separated themselves from the rest of the field. Carballo lost crucial seconds approaching T2 and through transition, leaving herself too much ground to recover despite posting the fastest 5km split of the day in 16:36. The Spaniard fought back strongly to secure bronze, seven seconds behind the winner.
Ahead, Casals remained locked onto Gmür throughout the closing stages, but the Swiss athlete found another gear in the finishing straight, sprinting clear to seal the first international victory of her career.
Nailbiting finish in the Junior Men’s Race
The Junior Men’s race delivered a thrilling sprint finish as Switzerland’s Thibault Rivier edged Poland’s Kacper Serwiński by a single second after an intense battle across all three disciplines in Olsztyn.
Rivier emerged from the water among the leading group, with Serwiński close behind after a rapid transition that briefly moved the home favourite to the front of the race. Slovakia’s Dominik Ivančík also stayed firmly in contention throughout the swim and bike, ensuring a tightly packed lead group heading into T2.
Despite neither Rivier nor Serwiński posting the fastest bike splits of the day, both positioned themselves perfectly for the decisive run. Rivier then produced the quickest 5km split in the field, surging through in 15:01 to place pressure on the chasing pack.
Serwiński responded strongly on home soil and remained within touching distance all the way to the finish, but Rivier held on to secure victory by the narrowest of margins. Ivančík completed the podium 13 seconds back after another composed performance, aided by the second-fastest run split of the race.
Swiss dominace in the Junior Women race
Switzerland dominated the Junior Women’s race in Olsztyn as Anouk Danna produced another commanding display to secure victory ahead of compatriot Kimey Casanova.
Danna positioned herself well from the outset, exiting the swim among the leading athletes before quickly moving to the front during the bike segment. Her aggressive riding proved decisive as she recorded the fastest bike split of the day, helping establish control of the race before T2.
Casanova matched Danna closely on the bike and remained her nearest challenger heading onto the run.
Once on the final 5km, however, Danna steadily increased the pressure. Backed by the fastest run split of the race, she pulled clear to secure victory by exactly one minute and continue her impressive run of form this season with her third medal of 2026.
Sweden’s Hanna Månsson completed the podium after another consistent all-round performance.
Full results can be found here: