World Cup victory in Australia
German triathlete achieves something historic
October 19, 2025 – 12:08 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
After her Olympic relay victory last year, Lisa Tertsch now achieved her next coup: she became world champion.
With an impressive performance, Lisa Tertsch was crowned the new triathlon world champion in Australia. At the final of the World Cup series in Wollongong near Sydney, the 26-year-old from Darmstadt beat the international competition – and wrote German triathlon history.
Tertsch not only secured the day’s victory over the Olympic distance of 1.5 km swimming, 40 km cycling and 10 km running in 1:56:50 hours, but also the overall title for the first time. It was their second win of the season – at the right time.
“I can’t believe it. I didn’t expect that. I’m absolutely overwhelmed,” said Tertsch after the race. During the preparation, she concentrated entirely on herself and the factors that could be influenced, she explained: “Of course I knew what kind of constellations would be possible, but I never expected that the race would develop like this.”
The starting position before the race was clear: only if both the Olympic champion and defending champion Cassandre Beaugrand from France and the British Beth Potter did not make it into the top five would Tertsch have any chance of winning the title. Exactly this scenario occurred: Potter only ended up in 16th place, Beaugrand had to give up on the run – the way was clear for Tertsch’s surprise victory.
Both competitors were unable to keep up with the Germans’ pace on the demanding running course. Tanja Neubert from the German team also impressed in ninth place, while Selina Klamt was eliminated after a fall on her bike.
After a good start to the season with an opening win in Abu Dhabi and third place in Yokohama, Japan, Tertsch initially lost his stride as the season progressed. But in the fall, the German champion found her way back to her old strength over the sprint distance and achieved the final coup with third place in Karlsbad, Czech Republic and second place in Weihai, China.