GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
Filipina Kira Ellis rules Europe Triathlon Junior Cup
Philippine bet Kira Ellis dazzled at the 2025 Europe Triathlon Junior Cup over the weekend, outshining the 16-woman field to bag the gold medal on Saturday in Riga, Latvia.
The youthful national team mainstay stamped her class with a winning time of 1:05:07, breezing through the swim in 12:04, powering the bike leg in 34:27, and capping it off with a 17:36 outing in run.
Luca Vanderbruggen of Belgium captured the silver with a close total time of 1:05:17 while Germany's Sarah Walter picked up the bronze with 1:05:22.
The tournament featured a lap of 750-m swimming, four laps of 22-km biking, and two laps of 5.1km running.
"A few weeks before Riga, my coaches and I were still debating whether I was ready to compete. I hadn’t really done any interval sessions—mostly just steady runs—so we weren’t sure where my run would stand," Ellis said in an Instagram post.
"But to me, just getting on to a start line again was all I’ve wished for. Based on my swim and bike training, I knew I had a shot at the podium, but I tried not to put too much pressure on myself and just enjoy racing again."
Back in the 2023 Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia, Ellis along with Matthew Hermosa, Erica Burgos, and Inaki Lorbes ruled the aquathlon mixed team relay competition.
—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA Integrated News
