The elite of the world triathlon once again took over Gdańsk

The fifth edition of the LOTTO Challenge Gdańsk powered by PGE – emotions and a great atmosphere! During the long weekend in June, Gdańsk became the world capital of triathlon for the fifth time. In the jubilee edition of the LOTTO Challenge Gdańsk powered by PGE competition, over a thousand competitors from 33 countries took to the starting line, competing in three distances: sprint, Olympic and middle distance. Sunday’s competition of professionals in the middle distance, which is part of the prestigious Challenge Family series – 1.9 km of swimming, 90 km of cycling and 21.1 km of running – was won by German Marcel Bolbat, and among the PRO competitors, the best was Nina Derron from Switzerland. The Polish representatives in this category – Agnieszka Gadomska and Tomasz Brembor – finished the competition in fifth place.

– This was a unique edition, not only because of the anniversary, but also because of the huge international interest. Representatives from New Zealand, Germany, Spain and Norway competed here. Once again, we proved that Gdańsk is a great place to practice triathlon. I feel great pride that the competitors come back to us every year, because it confirms that taking care of the highest standards of competition organization makes sense – emphasizes the competition director, Adam Greczyło.

Friday – the beginning of sports emotions

However, before the triathletes started competing, on Friday afternoon the youngest athletes started in the TREFL Aquathlon Gdańsk competition. On the beach in Brzeźno, children and youth aged 7–17 competed at distances adapted to their age. This year, the organizers once again took care of the family atmosphere, repeating the success of previous editions, when the integration of young competitors enjoyed huge popularity.

Results: 7 – 8 years old | 9 – 10 years old | 11 – 12 years old | 13 – 14 years old | 15 – 17 years old

Saturday – sprint and Olympic distance

Saturday morning was inaugurated by a sprint distance race. The triathletes had to complete 750 m of swimming, 20 km of cycling and 5 km of running. The competition was very dynamic – among the men, only 16-year-old Igor Mentel proved unrivaled, winning in a total time of 1:03:10. In the field, she left Kamil Kołosowski (1:05:50) second at the finish line and Tomasz Bednarczyk, who finished 16 seconds behind him, in the vanquished field.

In the women’s race, Karolina Zamarripa (01:13:18) gave no chance to her rivals, who beat Monika Ożarowska, who finished second by over 5 minutes! Third place went to Małgorzata Harasimiuk-Grodzka. The fair-play attitude of Agnieszka Jerzyk, who returned to competition after giving birth, is also worth emphasizing – she came in third in her age category, but decided that as a former professional she could not take a place on the podium from an amateur triathlete and gave up 3rd place in her favor.

– I realized today that I still love triathlon and that I still enjoy competing. But the greatest joy was at the finish line, because my family was waiting there. I am happy that I managed to return to racing after giving birth. This year, in the sprint distance, but the plan is that next year I will start in the Olympic distance, as befits a two-time Olympian – said Jerzyk at the finish line.

At 10:00, more advanced triathletes set off on the Olympic distance route (1.5 km–40 km–10 km). Rafał Wąsowski and Aleksandra Rzeszotarska proved to be the best. Wąsowski fought a very fierce battle with Krzysztof Kuczyński and Michał Światłoń, whom he thanked just after the finish line for their great racing. For Rzeszotarska, this was the first win in her career; after crossing the finish line, the athlete was in such shock that she was unable to comment on her success. The second at the finish line was the British Sarah Lamswood, and Angelika Kowalska completed the podium in the Olympic distance.

– It was a tough swim, but it’s already a tradition in Gdańsk. A high wave, we were a bit carried towards the port, but overall a good time. The transition zone without any adventures. We shuffled around a bit with the guys on the bike. We rode in three with Krzysiek Kuczyński and Michał Światłoń – in fact, that was the podium. The guys took turns pulling really hard, so I decided there was no point in fighting them – I rode from behind and controlled them so they wouldn’t ride away from me. I entered the transition zone first. From the beginning, Krzysiek led really hard, there was nothing to talk about, I was basically running at my limit. After the first loop, I noticed that I had a chance and I sped up. Krzysiek held on for about a kilometer, then I put everything I had into it and the advantage started to grow. I reached the finish line in great suffering, far beyond my comfort zone – Wąsowski reported.

In the afternoon, the women’s race Challenge Women by Brooks, which, as every year, had a recreational and charity character, also stirred up emotions. Among others, the famous actress Grażyna Wolszczak, who prepared under the watchful eye of trainer Monika Słomska, stood at the start. Two women from Gdańsk fought a fascinating battle at the finish line, and Anita Bonisławska ultimately won, 3 seconds ahead of Aleksandra Migawa. As in previous years, the entry fees for the women’s race will be donated to the Pomeranian Hospice for Children.

The tradition of Gdańsk competitions is also the relay race. Although the participants approach these starts with a sense of distance and humor, the competition for the top positions is very fierce.

Results: Sprint distance | Olympic distance | Sprint distance Relays | Olympic distance Relays

Sunday – the decisive clash in the middle distance

At 8:00 AM, the most prestigious competition of the weekend began – the PRO middle distance (1.9 km swimming, 90 km cycling, 21.1 km running), which, as every year, was part of the Challenge Family series.

The elite of competitors from all over the world lined up at the start. In the PRO men’s category, Marcel Bolbat from Germany won in 3 hours, 44 minutes and 3 seconds, who fought a thrilling battle with Louis Woodgate from Greece (3:46:46), overtaking him only in the second part of the race. Third at the finish line was Norwegian Marius Bjerkeset (3:47:56).

Among the women, the Swiss Nina Derron was unrivaled in a time of 4:15:41. Behind her, French Julie Iemmolo and German Julia Skala fought a fierce battle for second place. In the end, the French representative was 5 seconds faster.

The competitors both emphasised the excellent organisational conditions – despite the changed cycling route due to the renovation of the Siennicki Bridge, it was fast and safe.

Results: Middle Distance | Middle distance Relays

The Polish representatives did a great job

In the prestigious PRO category, both the best Polish woman Agnieszka Gadomska and the highest ranked Pole Tomasz Brembor took fifth place.

– Two weeks ago I made my debut in the “half” in Warsaw. And I made a quick decision to try my hand at PRO. I am very happy, the race went well – I had no crisis moments, even though I am just getting to know this distance. But I know that I still have a lot of work ahead of me. For the last three years I have won here in the sprint distance, I really like coming back here. This is a special place for me – the organizers, my coach Jakub Czaja, who is from Gdańsk, our big team is always here, the atmosphere itself, the sea, which I love – this is one of my favorite events in Poland – said Agnieszka Gadomska.

– Overall, I am happy with the race. The cycling route was in a sense a street criterion – six loops of about 15 km. You had to stay focused the whole time, especially in the second part, when there were definitely more competitors on the route. It was definitely an interesting experience. There were a few more bursts than usually happens at this type of distance. At the beginning of the race, I was a bit tired of cramps, but later I managed to get back to my rhythm and eventually finished in fifth place – said Tomasz Brembor.

Atmosphere, awards and development of the competition

The results and great atmosphere are not the only reasons why the Gdańsk competition attracts the world’s elite triathletes every year. The first edition in 2021 won the Race Of The Year title among 35 events of the entire Challenge Family series in the world, three years ago the finisher zone of the Gdańsk competition was considered the best in the series, and last year in a survey of the competitors themselves, the LOTTO Challenge Gdańsk powered by PGE received the Gold Award title.

During the entire weekend, athletes and fans praised not only the level of sports, but also the family atmosphere, the finisher zone and the energy that each part of the event brought. The consistently high level of organization, the involvement of volunteers and the excellent location on the Baltic Sea make the LOTTO Challenge Gdańsk powered by PGE one of the most important triathlon events in this part of Europe.

The competition is also a great promotion of Gdańsk as an open, active city with a soul. The organizers have already announced the next edition, which will take place from June 19 to 21, 2026. In Gdańsk, the triathlon not only won the hearts of competitors, but has become a permanent fixture in the calendar of Polish sports events.

Sponsors and Partners of the event:

Title partner: Totalizator Sportowy owner of the LOTTO brand

Presenting partner: PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna

Host city: City of Gdańsk

Strategic partner: Self-government of the Pomeranian Voivodeship

Official Time Keeper: BALL

Swimming stage partner: Port Gdańsk

Cycling stage partner: ABUS

Running stage partner: Brooks Running

Nutritional partner: AronPharma

Title partner of Aquathlon: Trefl S.A.

Media partners: RMF FM, RMF MAXX, Trójmiasto.pl and TriathlonLife.pl

More information www.facebook.com/challengegdansk