Tumble costs Australia in team triathlon

Germany has won a three-woman sprint to snare the Olympic triathlon mixed relay gold medal, as Australia fought at the rear of the high-speed race.

Laura Lindemann beat American Taylor Knibb and British triathlete Beth Potter to win in one hour 24 minutes 39 seconds, with the British claiming silver in a photo finish.

A spill from Natalie Van Coevorden cost Australia any hopes of contending and they were 12th in 1:28:50.

The British won the gold medal when the event made its Olympic debut in Tokyo.

Potter led at the start of the last of four mini-triathlons, but Knibb and Lindemann turned it into a three-nation duel.

The race consisted of a 300m swim, 7km cycle and 1.8km run at Pont Alexandre III, the same venue for last week’s individual triathlons.

Each team member did the mini-triathlon and handed over to the next triathlete.

Luke Willian started for Australia and was sixth, 12 seconds behind Great Britain.

But Van Coevorden stumbled in the swim-bike transition and she dropped back to the rear of the race.

When she handed over to Matt Hauser, seventh in the triathlon last week, Australia were nearly two minutes behind the leaders.

At halfway, Germany and Great Britain shared the lead, but Potter was by herself in front at the start of the final leg thanks to a strong third leg from Sam Dickinson.

Hauser had the seventh-fastest time for the third leg – he was also seventh in the individual race – and handed over to Sophie Linn.

New Zealand’s individual silver medalist Hayden Wilde crashed on the first leg, meaning a Trans-Tasman duel at the back of the field.

There had been some uncertainty around whether the race would be postponed, given the ongoing concerns about water quality in the River Seine.

Belgium pulled out of the event on Sunday, saying Claire Michel had been sick after last Wednesday’s individual triathlons. They did not confirm Michel’s illness.

Rain on Wednesday and Thursday last week had caused bacteria levels in the river to rise again.

The Belgian committee said it “hopes that lessons will be learned for future triathlon competitions at the Olympic Games.”

“We are thinking here of the guarantee of training days, competition days and the competition format, which must be clarified in advance and ensure that there is no uncertainty for the athletes, entourage and supporters.”

The Australian team reported their four triathletes were healthy after their races last week.

The men’s race last week was changed from Tuesday to Wednesday, the same day as the women’s competition, with athletes unable to swim in the river until the day of the race.

There was also no swim training in the river between the individual and team triathlons because of pollution concerns.