Australia have closed out the 2026 World Triathlon Championships Series in fine style, claiming silver in the mixed teams relay.
The Australian team of Matt Hauser, Luke Willian, Emma Jeffcoat and Tilly Offord crossed the line in second, behind Spain in the gold-medal position, with Brazil taking bronze in Abu Dhabi.
With tough conditions facing the team in the swim leg, Jeffcoat said the Australians headed in with an advantage, knowing how to navigate surf conditions from back home.
“I think the experience of being from Australia and being very used to the surf definitely helped in that swim, and then it was nice to hand over to the rest of my team to do the job for me today,” Jeffcoat said.
Hauser, backing up from the individual silver medal he claimed the previous day, said he was extremely proud of the team.
“We had to keep the race together to put ourselves in it, that’s why we put me and Jeffy (Emma) and then the other two to finish it off for us,” Hauser said.
“Just watching Luke was so much fun and I couldn’t be more proud of these guys.”
Offord was simply thrilled to be racing with some of the world’s best athletes.
“I was just so excited to be a part of this team, these guys won the world champs a few years back so it was exciting to be there and I just wanted to put Luke in the best position possible and he did a fab job out there,” Offord said.
Willian was the final athlete for Australia, managing to break away in the bike leg before being closed in on in the run section, but held on to claim silver.
“These guys set me up so well,” he said.
“I was first out of the water and then just getting on the bike and testing that first lap … I probably tested a little too hard.
“I looked back and no one was there, and I thought ‘live and die by the sword’ and I only had 15 to 20 seconds in transition where I tried to hold on, but Spain was just too fast.”