Lin Wins Beijing World Cup to Claim China's First Triathlon Gold

China’s Xinyu Lin made history at the 2026 World Triathlon Cup Beijing by outsprinting Hungary’s Márta Kropkó in the final 150 metres to secure China’s first ever World Cup victory. Kropkó finished five seconds behind to take the silver medal, while Great Britain’s Kate Waugh claimed the bronze medal.

The triumph in Beijing crowned a successful period for Lin, who won the Asian Games a month prior and secured a spot for China in the women's race at the LA28 Olympic Games. Competing on home soil in front of a home crowd, she also added 500 points to her Olympic Ranking.

The event took place amid heavy rain that left the roads at Yanqi Lake waterlogged and filled with potholes, creating challenging conditions on the demanding Olympic distance course. During the competition, Kropkó led the 1500m swim and formed a breakaway on the bike course with six other athletes, including Lin and Waugh.

Transitioning to the run, Kropkó and Lin established control alongside Waugh, eventually leaving the rest of the breakaway behind. Kropkó wore swim goggles to protect her contact lenses from the rain. Lin ultimately surged past Kropkó in the final metres, recording the fastest run of the day with a time of 33:51. Meanwhile, Anqi Huang finished fourth for China, equalling the best result by a Chinese woman in Series history.