Back for its second edition, the 2022 Collins Cup is coming up this Saturday, from 8:30pm AEST 20 August in Samorin, Slovakia.

With the world’s best descending on the iconic x-bionic® sphere sports complex, and the event running alongside the World Triathlon Multisport Championships, we’re set for a buzzing festival atmosphere. 

The official Collins Cup Opening Ceremony and Athlete Draft has thrown up some exciting match-ups ahead of the 12 match races this Saturday which will feature four Australians in Team International; Olympians Ashleigh Gentle and Aaron Royle, along with Ellie Salthouse and Max Neumann. 

In an auditorium packed to standing room only, PTO professionals and triathlon fans alike learned the full line-up of 2022 Collins Cup matches for the first time – setting the stage for some tantalising battles. 

 
The Matches 

True greats will go head-to-head-to-head over 100km – a 2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run. We’ve got three Olympic Champions on board and a host of World Champion athletes ready to push their limits for their team. 

 
Here are the full match-ups: 

• Match 1, Daniela Ryf, Sarah True, Flora Duffy
• Match 2, Laura Philipp, Chelsea Sodaro, Ashleigh Gentle
• Match 3, Kat Matthews, Skye Moench, Paula Findlay
• Match 4, Nicola Spirig, Sophie Watts, Vittoria Lopes
• Match 5, Holly Lawrence, Jocelyn McCauley, Ellie Salthouse
• Match 6, Anne Haug, Jackie Hering, Tamara Jewett
• Match 7, Kristian Blummenfelt, Ben Kanute, Hayden Wilde
• Match 8, Sam Laidlow, Sam Long, Lionel Sanders
• Match 9, Magnus Ditlev, Rudy von Berg, Max Neumann
• Match 10, Patrick Lange, Jason West, Aaron Royle
• Match 11, Gustav Iden, Matt Hanson, Jackson Laundry
• Match 12, Daniel Baekkegard, Chris Leiferman, Braden Currie 

Some Aussie Athlete Reactions 

Ellie Salthouse – Match 5

“Well this was no surprise, this match up, but I mean, Holly and I are always super competitive so I think, yeah, it’s going to be a great race on Saturday. The rivalry is obviously going to be on the race course. Off the race course we are friends.. sorry everybody… but on the race course we’ll definitely bring it. 

“I think we have a really strong Team International this year so bringing home some extra points for them will definitely bode well on Saturday and hopefully we can bring home that coveted Collins Cup on Saturday.” 
 

Aaron Royle – Match 10 

On being at the Collins Cup: “It’s huge… I pretty much had to beg for a start for Canada and I got that, and off the back of that, that’s got me into this for sure…Just super happy to be here amongst what is probably the 18 best male and female triathletes there are. So super excited to be here and can’t wait to race these guys.” 

You can relive every moment of the Collins Cup Opening Ceremony via PTO+.

How to Watch the Collins Cup live  

Collins Cup – Saturday 20 August 8:30pm AEST
Watch the big event live, match-by-match as the athletes bid for team victory in a battle to see who rules triathlon.