The first two months of the year have already passed (we know, it doesn’t seem two minutes since New Year), and although for many athletes’ race season is still several months away, many have already stood on a start line in 2026.
New Zealand and Australia have already seen plenty of aquabike races this year, where more and more triathlon clubs are including aquabike options in their traditional club races. We’ve also had racing in South Africia, the US, and the first aquabike race of the year for Brazil was held last weekend.
A first for the Northern Marianna Islands
The standout ‘first’ of 2026 so far has to go to the Northern Marianna Islands. They held their first ever aquabike race at the start of January. This sprint distance event comprised of a sea swim in the Pacific off PauPau Beach, followed by a ride along the beautiful north-west of the island.
The men’s race was won by Christian VILLACRUSIS and the women’s race by Shawna BRENNFLECK.
In our 2026 preview blog, we mentioned all the countries who are set to host their first ever aquabike event in 2026. The Latvian Triathlon Federation has recently released their calendar, which shows two aquabike races. These will be the first ever aquabike races in Latvia, and we look forward to hearing more details about these events.
The biggest events of the year so far
From some smaller, newer events to some of the larger and more established. The first big race of the year was Tauranga Half in New Zealand. The middle-distance race started on Pilot Bay Beach before heading out for a flat and fast 90km ride. This year, 93 competitors crossed the finish line, and it proved to be a competitive and high performing race. The win went to aquabike newbie Fred CLATWORTHY in an incredible time of 2:35:04, followed by Stephen SHELDRAKE and Michael GLYNN (both multiple medal winners at world championships). The women’s podium was made up of Amanda WOODD (winning in 3:04:02), Deirdre LACK and Elizabeth HAYES.
Next, we had another race in New Zealand, albeit slightly hillier this time. Challenge Wanaka welcomed 47 aquabikers to Glendhu Bay, and again we saw some incredible performances. Youngsters topped the men’s podium, with Guy YARRELL winning in 2:40:39, followed by Hunter GOUGH. Both are in 18-24 age category. Third went to Cathal GUINEY, aged 25-29. The women’s race was won by Arna CRAIG in 3:25:11, almost 20 minutes ahead of Jen HODGSON in second. Caroline HARMSWORTH came in third.
Some more incredible racing
Jennifer ZENKER won the 2024 World Long Distance Championships, but didn’t race last year. She’s started her season strong, with overall wins in both the St Kilda and Sandringham standard distance aquabikes in the 2XU Triathlon Series. She took the overall win by 4 minutes in both events, and had an even larger margin on her closest female competitor.
Looking ahead
March is full of aquabike racing across Austrlia, New Zealand, the US and Africa. Towards the end of the month, Brits will get their first taste of racing with some pool based aquabike races before the UK and Europe launch fully into aquabike season in May.
Any races booked yet? Find your next event here.