The Europe Triathlon Championships head to Tarragona, Spain, this week, offering the first opportunity outside of the World Triathlon Championship Series schedule to earn qualification points towards the LA28 Olympic Games.
Looking ahead to the race, here are the athletes to watch.
Return of the Champion
Jolien Vermeylen (BEL) returns to the European Championships as the reigning champion after her victory in Istanbul last year.
Vermeylen worked her way through the field in 2025 and dominated the run segment with the fastest time of the day to claim the title, finishing seven seconds ahead of Diana Isakova.
She has already claimed gold in Europe this year, securing a 19-second victory in Quarteira, Portugal, back in March.
She also claimed the top spot last weekend at the SuperTri event in Blenheim Palace.
Vermeylen has also yet to finish outside the top ten in any of her races in 2026, recording seventh-place finishes in both Samarkand and, most recently, Alghero in the World Triathlon Championship Series.
All three medallists from last year's European Championships return, with Diana Isakova (AIN) and Tilly Anema (GBR) hoping to replicate their success from Turkey.
Home Talent Hopefuls
Spain will field the maximum allocation of five athletes, led by Olsztyn bronze medallist Ana Carballo Gómez, who will be looking to build on her success in Poland as well as the mixed relay gold medal she won in Chengdu last month.
Sara Guerrero Manso, also part of Spain’s gold medal-winning mixed relay team in Chengdu, will aim to use last week's race in Alghero as preparation for this week's Championships.
Marta Pintanel Raymundo finished inside the top ten in Istanbul last year and will be looking to rediscover the form that saw her record seven top-ten finishes during the 2025 season.
Cecilia Santamaria Surroca last raced in Tarragona at the 2018 Mediterranean Games, where she secured a fifth-place finish.
Looking to Climb the Rankings
Sian Rainsley (GER) has enjoyed a strong start to the 2026 season and is yet to finish outside the top ten in either the World Triathlon Cup or Championship Series.
Her campaign includes a third-place finish at the World Triathlon Cup in Haikou, where she finished comfortably clear of fourth place and recorded the third-fastest run split of the race.
Bianca Seregni (ITA), currently ranked tenth in the world, will hope to build on her top-ten finish at the World Triathlon Championship Series race in Samarkand in April. She narrowly missed out on a podium place at last year's European Championships, finishing fourth.
Maria Tomé (POR) is another athlete who has been challenging the world's best on the WTCS circuit and already has a silver medal to her name this season after finishing second in Quarteira, Portugal in the Europe Triathlon Cup.
World Champion looks for European title
Current World Champion Lisa Tertsch, will look to add a European title to her lost of many honours this weekend after claiming gold last year in Wollongong.
A third place finish in Alghero in the WTCS will put her in a strong position to challenge for the title this year.
Returning from Injury
Roksana Slupek (POL) has made a strong return from injury following a season-ending crash in Hamburg last year. Since returning, she has claimed a bronze medal in Caorle in May and followed it up with a top-20 finish in Alghero, where she recorded the seventh-fastest run split of the day.
Young Stars to Watch
The Tarragona start list features three athletes born in 2006 competing in their first Elite European Championships. Slovakia’s Diana Dunajska, Ukraine’s Yeva Soroka and Estonia’s Liis Kapten will all line up for their Championship debuts.
Kapten claimed gold at the Baltic Championships in Otepää last year in the sprint-distance event. Tarragona will mark her first standard-distance race of the season after competing in two sprint races in Monte Gordo, where she finished 15th, before matching that result in Olsztyn.
The full entry list for the Europe Triathlon Championships can be found here.
The Elite Women's race starts at 15:30 CEST and can be watched live on TriathlonLive.