Ukrainian Marina Kirik became the world champion in aquathlon (photo).

Ukrainian athlete Marina Kirik became the world champion in aquathlon. She defeated two Australians and took first place. This was reported by World Triathlon.

“The sun was wonderful. I am very happy. I did not expect this before the race, because it was my first Time participating in such a format - run-swim-run - so before the race I was very excited and did not know what to expect, but I liked it. I did my best, and I am very happy with the victory,” she said at the finish.

The aquathlon was held in the format of “run-swim-run”, where a 1 km swim in the sea was alternated with a 2.5 km run. In the first swim, Kirik was in the lead. She showed a time of 8:21 and entered T1 transition first, with Australian Kelsey Mitchell breathing down her neck. A great transition allowed Australian Claire Splenell to break away when the group of five athletes descended to the beach.

It was in the water that Kirik dominated. She pulled away from her fellow leaders and opened up a 20-second lead with a time of 12:58. Splenell was next with a time of 13:18. Once the lead was secured, for Kirik it was simply a matter of running a clean final leg, which she did.

Mitchell had to recover from a slightly slower swim, and she kept Splenell in her sights. In the battle between the two Australians, Mitchell showed the best result - 8:42, approximately three seconds faster than Kirik. However, this turned out to be not enough. Splenell held on and won the silver medal. After the race, Mitchell was disqualified. She received a penalty for putting on a swimming cap before arriving at T1 and not completing it by the end of the swim. As a result, Australian Clara Muny moved up to third place and won the bronze medal.

Recall that Ukrainian triathlete Marina Kirik is a master of sports in Ukraine in swimming. She is a multiple champion and medalist of Ukrainian swimming championships in the pool and open water.

In particular, Kirik is a bronze medalist of the World Aquathlon Championships and silver medalist of the European Aquathlon Championships. In addition, the athlete is a multiple medalist of Ukrainian triathlon championships and cups, Ukrainian champion in triathlon relays, participant in world and European cups in triathlon in Asia and America.

Kirik is also a member of the Ukrainian national triathlon team from 2021 to the present.