French pair Lea Fernandez / Ugo Fleurot dug deep and found gold in the sand of Ammoudara Beach, where they were crowned champions of Triathle Mixed Relay event. 

The last Triathle event at the 3rd Mediterranean Beach Games “Heraklion 2023” proved as hard-fought and spectacular as expected, due to the windy weather and big waves, which conditioned all athletes’ efforts. 

All three French mixed pairs dominated the event and finally it all came down to which of them would earn a spot on the podium. It was all or nothing for them, as rules allow only one pair from each country to win a medal. 

Fernandez / Fleurot proved to be the strongest among the French teams and won the 1st place with a total combined time 19:25.0, after a thrilling last-meter fight with compatriots Clemence Reboisson / Jean Baptiste Mourcia (19:27.7 combined time, +2.7 seconds difference). The third French pair, Aziliz Naour / Cedric Chatellier, came behind in 3rd spot of overall ranking (19:42.5 combined time, +17.5 seconds difference), but didn’t win any medal either. 

Italians Alice Rinaudo / Emanuele Tromboni followed the French teams and claimed silver with a total time 19:53.0 (+28.0 seconds). This was the second medal for each of them in the tournament, as Tromboni had already won gold in Men’s Triathle and Rinaudo silver in the Women’s event one day before. 

Egyptians Habiba Ramadan / Youssef Amer earned the bronze medal (20:17.6 total time, +52.6 seconds), despite being 5th in overall ranking. 

Host country Greece was represented by Ariadni Naskari / Nikolas Papadimitriou, who finished 9th overall and 6th taking into account one team per country (21:06.6 total time, +1:41.6). 

The Mixed Relay event featured 10 mixed pairs from six countries (Egypt, Spain, France, France, Italy, Portugal and Greece), which faced the challenge of three rounds of 600m running (1,800m total), two rounds of 50m swimming (100m total) and two rounds of five-point laser pistol shooting, aiming for 10 accurate shots in total. 

Winners’ quotes: 

Ugo Fleurot (France, gold medal winner): “It is the first time that I compete in Triathle and it was really tough for me. Especially running in the sand was challenging for me. I wanted to win for my teammate Lea Fernandez and I am happy we made it. I am also proud that three French teams finished in the three top spots, although only one could earn a medal, unfortunately for them”. 

Emanuele Tromboni (Italy, silver medal winner): “The weather conditions were tougher today and we also had to overcome tiredness, but I had a strong partner, so we had the idea of winning a medal since the beginning. It was a 50-50 effort, we earned it together”. 

Habiba Ramadan (Egypt, bronze medal winner): “I am so excited for this medal! I wasn’t expecting that because the competition was very hard. This is the first international competition medal for me. Everything here in Heraklion is great, we are happy to be here”.