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Danish Aquabikers Lead All Time National Championship Medal Table … But Do They Truly?? 🤔

Take a look at the top of the All Time Men’s Major Championship Medal Table and you will see it is topped by two Danish athletes - Birger FREDERIKSEN and Tommy NIELSEN. They are well acquainted with the podium at major aquabike races, and last weekend at the Danish National Standard Championship was no different, as both men added another National title to their collections.

Tommy NIELSEN took the overall win, dominating across swim, transition and bike. This takes Tommy’s national title tally to 7, and his national and international gold tally to 12. This is the highest number of golds achieved by any athlete, male or female, since our records began in 2017.

Birger FREDERIKSEN also took his 7th national Age-Group title, which takes his total medal count across national and international championships to a remarkable 18 medals. This is 5 more than Tommy, who is now holding second place in the ranking with the same overall number of medals as Blair SAUNDERS and Álvaro CABRERO GUTIERREZ.

With 7 National titles each, based on our current records, Tommy and Birger are leaders in the national titles table. But are they really? 🤔

Our current database only goes back to 2017. Before this, there was only one country holding national championships - the US - which has held national aquabike championships since 2012. There are several US athletes that have won 6 national titles since 2017, so chances are someone has at least equalled the national championship title record, if not surpassed it.

Do you think you’ve won more national titles than the Danish men? Do you know an athlete who has? US athletes, we’re looking at you! 🇺🇸 🫵

In the women’s race, Annette RASK THOMSEN defended her overall win from last year, taking her 4th national aquabike championship win.

Results from the Danish nationals : https://www.aquabike.world/events/silkeborg-triathlon-2026/results/

Athlete Medal Count Table : https://www.aquabike.world/medal-table-athletes/

☝️Can you access https://www.aquabike.world ? 🏊‍♀️🚴‍♀️🌍

Over the last few months we repeatedly had problems with mass bot traffic. This often resulted in a server overload, making the website extremely slow or not working at all.

❌ Therefore we had to restrict accesss to the website to selected countries.

✅ Here's the full list of countries from which Aquabike.World can be accessed at the moment in alphabetical order:
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If you live in another country and want to access Aquabike.World, let me know. We can certainly add a few more countries, if needed.

OECHSNER wins big at US Long Course Nationals, but participation numbers stay low.

The US long distance - or ultra, as the Americans tend to call it - aquabike championships took place at the Peasantman in Penn Yan, NY last weekend.

Josh WOLF won the men's event, but arguably it was Stephanie OECHSNER who stole the show. She finished only 4 minutes behind the men's winner, and had the fastest swim of the day. She broke the course record in a remarkable 6:34:37 for the 3.9km swim and 187km ride.

However, unfortunately, we have to mention the low participation numbers at this event. Only 11 athletes took part, which is just a slither of the numbers we're used to seeing at the shorter distance US championships, or other national and international championships worldwide. Admittedly, this is 2 more athletes than last year, but still, these really aren't numbers to shout about.

Why are numbers so low? Is it that people just don't like the long stuff? Is it a confidence thing? Not having the time to do the training required?

It isn't just the US, although this does seem to be a standout example. Numbers in the full distance races worldwide do tend to be significantly lower.

That said, last weekend also saw the biggest ever long distance race which didn't serve as a major championship. The Nordschwarzwald Triathlon Full Distance Aquabike was taken on by 39 athletes which is good going for a non-championship long distance race.

It was a competitive one too, especially on the women's side. Recent European Champion Kristina BÜHLER, who struck gold over in the women's race in Banyoles, had to settle for third at the Nordschwarzwald Triathlon. Finnja ERNSTBERGER and Carmen GANDER finished 10 minutes ahead of BÜHLER this time round.

What are your thoughts on long distance racing? Why are participation numbers so much lower? We'd love to hear your thoughts below.👇

The issue of the aquabike finish is no new one. From dodgy dismounts to lousy finish-lines, aquabikers are often unsatisfied to say the least with the end of race experience.

To celebrate his win at the Steelman Standard Aquabike at the start of the month, Jared Gentile commandeered this finish line intended for the triathlon. In his words ‘hilarity ensued’, the volunteers made his day and encouraged him to share these pictures with us.

But jokes aside, the finish line experience can often be underwhelming for aquabikers, as your left wandering around transition trying to work out where to go, walking down the finish chute to hand in the timing chip and get your medal, and sometimes wondering where the race even finished in the first place.

Congrats to Jared for his win, and thank you for getting in touch to share the idea for this post (and your awesome images).

Finish line for aquabike? Share your opinions below.👇

Triathlon was first included in the Olympics at Sydney in 2000.

Here, Frenchman Olivier MARCEAU led the race as athletes left their bikes in T2 and headed out on to the run.

In the same year that he won the Triathlon World Championships, Olivier finished in 7th place in the first ever Olympic Triathlon. And if it had been an Olympic Aquabike …

Olivier has hung up his professional race shoes, but has now started a new career in the best of all multisport disciplines … aquabike.

We chatted to Olivier fresh from his first aquabike win at Triathlon des Gorges de l’Ardeche.



Images: Instagram

European Aquabike Championships 2026. The race.

With a water temperature close to 30C and an air temperature of 36C, it was a hot one in Banyoles. With several former overall World and European championship winners on the start line, the men’s race was one of the strongest we’ve seen at a European championship.

Hugo VILELA ORTIZ had a 90 second lead coming out of T1, followed by Valerio CHINEA MIRZOYAN, then another minute to the rest of the bunch, led by Yevgen SLAVNIY.
With a selective bike course in challenging conditions waiting for the athletes, it’s not a big surprise the race was decided on the road.

Frenchman Paul VANOTTI put in an incredible performance to take the win, despite coming out of the water 6 minutes behind the leader. In 2nd place was Igor FRANKO. This is the first time the Ukranian has been beaten in an aquabike race since he started competing in 2024. The fight for bronze was an exciting one, with only 52 seconds separating the next 5 athletes. Tommy NISELSEN took third, despite loosing all his nutrition and serving a 2 minute time penalty. He finished exactly 2 minutes behind the winner.

In the women’s race, Brits Georgia HAMBLETT and Hayley DAVIS led out the swim but, as with the men’s race, the bike leg decided the winners. Prerace favourite Kristina BUHLER started her bike leg more than 8 minutes behind the fastest swimmers, but went on to take the win. Behind her youngster Mathilde AUDRERIE and Pilar RARO GARNES completed the podium.

There were no surprises in the overall medal table, with Team GB dominating with 28 medals overall, 19 by female athletes. France and Spain came second and third.

Read the full race report here : https://www.aquabike.world/european-aquabike-championships-banyoles-2026-race-report/

Banyoles. The ‘Capital of Triathlon’, if you believe Europe Triathlon’s championship announcement, although there are quite a few spots worldwide that could lay claim to that title. Yet as a hosting location for international short distance events for over 35 years, and middle distance races for over 20 years, there is no doubt Banyoles has cemented its place in the multisport world.

19th July 2026 saw the European Age Group Aquabike Championships come to Banyoles.

There had been scepticism over sections of the bike course, especially a bidirectional single track bridge. However, feedback course-wise has been overwhelmingly positive, with roads wide enough and a good surface in most places.

The same cannot be said for organisation. Wave start times and presentation timings changed numerous times, resulting in some athletes missing their waves or being DQd for starting in the wrong wave. There were also several empty spots on the podium after the ceremony was brought forwards 2 hours.

A highly competitive race in a beautiful location, hot and hilly with, unfortunately, an ugly side.

In Torremolinos in 2024, several athletes in the same ag-group reported punctures before they started the bike leg - highly suspicious. In Banyoles, one of the top ranked athletes reported what was another obvious attempt of manipulation on his back tyre. Fortunately, this attempt failed due to his tubeless system, but still concerning.

As competition in the aquabike world, increases, lets hope this management strategy doesn’t catch on.

Read the full race report here: https://www.aquabike.world/european-aquabike-championships-banyoles-2026-race-report/

My apologies that it took almost two weeks, but here it finally is, the

📣 2026 European Aquabike Championships Race Report 🏊🚴🇪🇺

When Europe Triathlon announced the host city for this year’s European Multisport Championships, they called Banyoles the “Capital of Triathlon” in Spain 🇪🇸. A big call since there are quite a few spots with a long tradition of big triathlon events in the country. As a hosting location for international short distance events for more than 35 years and also middle distance races for more than 20 years, Banyoles certainly has its place there. With a race organizer having several decades of experience in multisport, you should expect a smooth and well-organized event. Though on the other hand, we’re in Spain…

In my race report you can read more about how the organisational shortcomings lead to some athletes being disqualified 😮, how the men’s and women’s races unfolded 💪 and how another attempt of bike manipulation failed 🧐.

👉 Read the full race report at

European Aquabike Championships Banyoles 2026 - Race Report - Aquabike.World When Europe Triathlon announced the host city for this year’s European Multisport Championships, they called Banyoles the “Capital of Triathlon” […]

European Aquabike Championships 2026 ☑️

We hope you’ve all had chance to cool down, get some rest and catch up on the World Cup ⚽️ 🥵

Results and stats from the championships will be shared across our socials soon, but in the meantime, huge congratulations to everyone who competed in very difficult conditions. ☀️