Paris still far ahead of the Dutch mixed relay team: twelfth at the World Championships

For a long time the Netherlands have been fighting for a real top spot – in particular Mitch Kolkman proved particularly strong today – but in the final round of the World Mixed Team Relay Championships in Hamburg, the Dutch team lost valuable time and positions. Richard Murray, Rachel Klamer, Mitch Kolkman and Rani Skrabanja eventually finished twelfth in a race won by Germany.

Round 1 – Richard Murray battles through the peloton

The first leg was not the most successful for the Netherlands; Richard Murray fought for what he was worth, but he came out of the water in the twentieth and therefore in the backfield. At that point, he was 15 seconds behind, but it was just enough to get into the peloton on the bike. Australia, Portugal and Germany separated from the rest of the field as they raced and Murray eventually knocked out the second Dutch athlete 30 seconds behind. The Netherlands were then twelfth.

Round 2 – Rachel Klamer consolidates, gains a place

Rachel Klamer just did what she had to do in the second run; she lost neither time nor places. The hope may have been to make up time, but the Dutch lag remained about the same in swimming, cycling and running; she scored Mitch Kolkman 41 seconds behind and was then eleventh. At that time, Germany, Switzerland, America, Portugal and New Zealand were in the lead.

Heat 3 – Mitch Kolkman strong and doing good business

Mitch Kolkman was – like yesterday – still very strong. In swimming he gained three positions and gained seconds and also continued to gain positions in cycling and running. New Zealand and Germany were currently leading the race, but Kolkman moved up to sixth, sending Rani Skrabanja into the final heat in a nice starting position. The backlog of the Netherlands was then 42 seconds.

Round 4 – Rani Skrabanja loses time and positions

As Germany went solo in the last heat and took control of the race, Rani Skrabanja had to do everything to get the Netherlands a good ranking. It worked well while swimming, but Skrabanja struggled more while cycling. Once back in the transition zone, she was ninth and her backlog was 1:05 minutes. Things went even faster during the race; in the end, Skrabanja finished twelfth 1:54 minutes behind.

The competition was won by Germany. New Zealand and Switzerland came second and third.