Non Stanford wins Munich European Championships and announces retirement

Some of the world’s best pro triathletes and age-groupers from 29 nations flocked to Munich’s Olympiapark over the weekend for the annual Europe Triathlon Championships (ETU), in what was to be Non Stanford’s last-ever pro race.

While elite triathletes battled it out for the Olympic-distance crown, the weekend also played host to the Age Group Sprint Championships. Here’s how it all went down…

Who won the women’s Munich European Triathlon Championships?

The European championships kicked off in Munich’s purpose-made Olympiapark on Friday with a British victory in the elite women’s standard-distance race.

After claiming a mixed team relay silver for Wales in the Commonwealth Games only a few weeks prior, Britain’s Non Stanford ran her way to gold in Munich, finishing off a successful 2022 season.

The Welsh star later took to her social channels to announce a retirement from professional racing, having represented Britain on the international circuit for 12 years.

Coming into the race, Stanford had tough competition from the likes of running powerhouse and Leeds WTCS winner Cassandre Beaugrand (FRA), plus Germany’s home favourite Laura Lindemann.

After an uneventful 1.5km swim in the man-made Olympiasee lake the 40km of fast and flat cycling saw little disruption to the leading pack of Beaugrand, Emma Lombardi (FRA), Lindemann and Stanford, leaving the final 10km run to be the decider.

Despite being known for her running prowess, Beaugrand couldn’t match the pace of the leading trio, while Stanford put in a massive kick in the final couple of kilometres to completely drop the competition, taking the tape 9secs clear of the rest of the field in 1:52:10.

In for silver was Lindemann, while Lombardi claimed bronze and Beaugrand finished in fifth after Nina Eim of Germany.

Who won the men’s Munich European Triathlon Championships?

A fully French podium destroyed the competition at the elite men’s race on Saturday in Munich.

German pro Jonas Schomburg and Belgium’s Jelle Geens, who’s infamous for his run prowess, were favourites going into the event alongside France’s Leo Bergere, who’s had a string of consistent podium placings, recently just missing out on bronze at Leeds WTCS to Morocco’s Jawad Abdelmoula.

The race kicked off with Hungarian swim star Mark Devay making waves on the swim, followed by a large breakaway on the bike with French trio Bergere, Dorian Coninx and Pierre Le Corre among them.

The tough, undulating run saw Geens attempt to bridge the gap to the front pack, while Schomburg started to trail behind. The final few kilometres saw Bergere make some distance on the rest of the field, coming in to take the tape in a time of 1:41:09.

He was followed by teammate Le Corre 8secs later, with Coninx rounding off the podium in third. Geens made up time to finish in fifth and Schomburg came home seventh.

Who won the mixed team relay in Munich?

After a successful day of racing with a fully French podium in the men’s race the day before, Sunday’s mixed team relays saw some strong contenders battle it out for the European title. The four-leg relay saw athletes compete over a 300m swim, 7.2km bike, and 1.6km run (1.8km for final runner).

Looking to replicate their previous success was Team France with a line-up of Bergere, Lombardi, Coninx and Beaugrand. Adding to their many WTS wins, France smashed their race, finishing a full 33secs ahead of runners up Germany, with Switzerland crossing the line in third.

Top image credit: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images