Lorcan Redmond has put together a stunning performance at the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Junior Men’s race to claim second amongst a highly competitive field in Lausanne, Switzerland yesterday evening.

Speaking to ITU Media, Redmond said that he was thrilled to walk away with the silver medal, particularly in such a demanding and challenging race.

“It came down to the run…but I think I made my surge a bit early, I got excited but I’m very happy with how I ended up in second,” Redmond said.

“It’s been a long time coming. I’ve visualised this race for years and years.”

“I’ve always wanted to get a medal at Junior Worlds for seven years or so. To finally pull it off is a great feeling.”

After a tough swim, Redmond knuckled down on the bike in a sizeable chasing pack alongside teammates Oscar Dart and Josh Ferris. Keeping the pace on, the Aussies reeled in the leaders to put themselves in prime position heading out on the run. 

With the field beginning to break up midway through the run, Portugal’s Ricardo Batista took his chance to make a break, with Redmond giving chase right to the finish line to claim second in 00:55:12. 

Australian teammates Ferris and Dart held strong throughout the majority of the race to claim 18th and 33rd, respectively.

Charlotte Derbyshire gave a valiant effort in the Junior Women’s race to finish 20th, with Italian duo Beatrice Mallozzi and Costanza Arpinelli taking 1st and 2nd.

Despite the restart of the race due to a false start, Derbyshire refused to have her nerves shaken and emerged from the water mid-field. A quick first transition saw the Queensland-based triathlete find herself in good company in the second chase pack, before jumping off the bike and finishing strong in 20th.

Teammate Emily Jamgotchian finished in 53rd after an unfortunate crash early on the bike, with Ellie Hoitink unable to finish. 

Brandon Copeland put forward a courageous performance to take fifth in the Under 23 Men’s race.

With a world-class field lining up on the start line, including defending Under 23 World Champion Tayler Reid (NZL) and Mixed Relay specialist Seth Rider (USA), the Australians knew they would need to fight tooth and nail every leg of the race. Matthew Hauser and Matthew Roberts got the Australians off to a cracking start, setting a blistering pace in the swim to exit inside the Top 5 and take control of a small lead pack.

Coming out of T1 back in 27th, Copeland had his work cut out for him on the bike. The New South Welshman pushed hard to make his way up through the chasing packs to join the now 26-strong lead pack alongside Hauser and Roberts heading into T2. 

Taking advantage of his fast transition, Copeland made no secret of his intentions for a Top 5 finish, joining Csongor Lehmann (HUN), Ran Sagiv (ISR) and Vasco Vilaca (POR) in chasing down Spain’s Roberto Sanchez Mantecon. With Hauser and Roberts continuing to push their way through the field, Copeland did his best to hang on to the leaders to claim fifth in a physically demanding race. 

Hauser pushed hard right to the end to take 9th, while Roberts claimed 18th. Teammates Luke Burns and Callum Mcclusky took 29th and 45th, respectively.

Spain’s Roberto Sanchez Mantecon took out the Under 23 Men’s race in a commanding fashion that saw him dominate the run leg from start to finish to take the win in 01:50:19.

Kira Hedgeland and Joanne Miller put together class performances in the Under 23 Women’s race to take home 5th and 11th, respectively.

Making her intentions clear from the outset, Hedgeland put down a quality swim to emerge from the water in second position and secure herself a spot within the lead group on the bike. Rolling turns through the eight lap bike course, Hedgeland held strong amongst the leaders, with teammate Miller working hard in the second chase group to close the gap.

As Miller worked her way up the field on the run, Hedgeland found herself sitting in third and fighting off attacks from Lisa Tertsch (GER) and Kate Waugh (GBR). Despite fighting hard, the Australian was quickly overpowered by eventual bronze-medallist Tertsch, before sprinting home to 5th. Miller claimed an honourable 11th, with France’s Emilie Mourier taking the win. 

Milan Agnew did not finish after being lapped out on her penultimate bike lap.

The Australian Junior and Under 23 teams will now turn their focus towards Sunday’s Mixed Team Relay events.