Verena Steinhauser (r.) unexpectedly made a second Olympic appearance. © FITRI/Tiziano Ballabio

Double Olympic surprise for Steinhauser

On Monday morning, Verena Steinhauser was unexpectedly allowed to compete again at the Olympic Games in Paris. The Brixen native impressed with a brilliant performance in the German triumph in the mixed triathlon.

August 05, 2024

From: fop

Verena Steinhauser only found out about her nomination for the mixed relay on Sunday. This meant that she had disappointing 39th place in the individual race not expected. But it was not just the call-up that was a surprise, but also the subsequent performance in the competition. Steinhauser finished sixth with Italy's relay team, surpassing the good eighth place at the last Summer Games in Tokyo.

At one point it even looked as if the Azzurri could sensationally intervene in the medal race. Gianluca Pozzatti had already brought Italy close to the top three in the opening phase, but a botched running session by Alice Betto threw the outsiders back to ninth place. But the ups and downs continued: Alessio Crociani catapulted Italy back to fourth place with an incredibly strong performance in the water.

Germany beats everyone

Last to go was Verena Steinhauser into the race. At this point, the medals already seemed to have been awarded to Germany, the USA and Great Britain. On the three sections of 300 meters of swimming, 7 kilometers of cycling and 1,8 kilometers of running, the 29-year-old from Brixen gave it her all to improve Italy's performance from the 2021 Summer Games. Steinhauser slipped briefly again and again, but held sixth place in both transitions and finally maintained this place in the sprint to the finish. In the end, the South Tyrolean crossed the finish line just three seconds behind the fifth-placed Portuguese.

Germany's Laura Lindemann (l.) was the first to cross the finish line. © APA/afp / FRANCK FIFE

The German triathletes won the thrilling three-way battle for gold. The quartet of Tim Hellwig, Lisa Tertsch, Lasse Lührs and Laura Lindemann triumphed in the sprint to the finish against the US team and bronze medal winners France. It is only the third Olympic medal for the German Triathlon Union at the Summer Games.

Bacterial infection slows down Belgium

The medal decision on Monday was the conclusion of the triathlon competitions in Paris with start and finish at the Pont Alexandre III. This was overshadowed by countless training cancellations due to the poor water quality of the Seine. After taking part in the individual competition, the Belgian triathlete Claire Michel fell ill. It is said to be a bacterial infection. Due to Michel's absence, Belgium had to cancel its triathlon team's participation in the mixed relay at short notice.

Olympics 2024, Mixed Triathlon Result