Susana Luaces and Daniel Tolosa won the Aragon Championship. In the team competition, Peñota Dental Alusigma Triathlon took first place overall, and Jab Triathlon Helios won the regional title. Joaquín Marco was the first local triathlete to finish.
The Mequinenza Half Triathlon has achieved another organizational success, confirmed by the positive feedback from the 130 triathletes (116 men and 14 women) who took part in this sporting event, according to a press release from the town council.
The event, which featured international participation from athletes from Poland, France, and Argentina, in addition to those of Spanish nationality, returned to its original dates and resumed competition after a year's hiatus. The hot 2024 edition was marked by wind that forced a ten-minute delay to the start, as gusts recorded in the early morning moved the buoys marking the swimming course, requiring them to be repositioned.
In the men's category, Guillem Rojas, from Peñota Dental Alusigma Triathlon, and Mikel Ugarte, competing independently, engaged in a thrilling duel for the final victory. The race was decided in the last 5 kilometers of the running leg, with Rojas staging a comeback. He had finished third in the swimming leg and second in the cycling leg, behind Ugarte, who had been fourth in the swimming leg and first in the cycling leg. Ugarte began to lose time to the eventual winner around kilometer 10 of the run. The Catalan triathlete secured the victory with a time of 3 hours, 49 minutes, and 02 seconds, finishing 1 minute and 11 seconds ahead of the Basque triathlete. Third place went to Pello Osoro, another favorite from Eibar and also a member of the Peñota team. Osoro, who had recently recovered from injuries sustained in an unexpected training accident, was crowned Spanish Duathlon runner-up in Híjar in February.
Judith Corachán, of the ANb Triathlon Team, took the victory in the women's category with a time of 4 hours, 10 minutes, and 46 seconds, followed by Poland's Alicja Ulatowskay, 18 minutes and 54 seconds behind, and Ariadna Arisó, of Club Natació Barcelona-Fast Triatló, 21 minutes and 50 seconds behind, who completed the podium. The Catalan athlete, the reigning Spanish triathlon champion, proved far superior to her rivals, especially in the cycling and running segments, after the three triathletes finished the swimming leg just one second apart. In the team competition, the victory went to Peñota Dental Alusigma Triatlón, based in Portugalete, Biscay, followed by Jab Triatlón Helios from Zaragoza and Indarpak Kirol Kluba from Iurreta, also in Biscay.
Regarding the Aragon Middle Distance Championship standings, which were held concurrently with the Mequinenza Half Triathlon, the victory went to Daniel Tolosa of Stadium Casablanca Mapei, who finished eleventh overall in the men's category with a time of 4 hours, 6 minutes, and 7 seconds. He was followed by Miguel Berné and Héctor Francés, both from Jab Triatlón Helios. In the women's category, Susana Luaces of Estudener Triatlón Europa was crowned champion with a time of 4 hours, 58 minutes, and 53 seconds, finishing eighth overall in the women's category, ahead of Yolanda González of Mayencos Brico Jaca Triatlón and Denise Alvarado of Triatlón Polideportivo San Agustin. The team classification was led by Jab Triatlón Helios, followed by Z5 X-TREME and Estudener Triatlón Europa. Finally, the award for best local triathlete went to Joaquín Marco with a time of 5h 52' 55”.
The 6th Mequinenza Half Triathlon, co-organized by the Mequinenza Triathlon Club and the local council, was a resounding success thanks to the collaboration of the Traffic Division of the Civil Guard, Civil Protection, the medical services, and nearly fifty volunteers who assisted the organizers, who wished to emphasize their essential participation in the smooth running of the event. The organizers also wished to highlight the role played by several local organizations in Mequinenza and Fayón, including the Mequinenza Women's Association "La Dona," the Mequinenza Association of Retirees and Pensioners, the Mequinenza Cycling Club, the Fayón Sports Association, and the Fayón Town Council.
Once the test was over, the prizes were awarded to the winners of the different categories in a ceremony held in the middle of the transition zone, in which Montse Gimeno, deputy mayor, Miguel Llop, councilor for sports and information and communication technologies, Luis Esteve, councilor for youth, festivities and events and Débora Bravo, councilor for urban planning and services, and the also councilors Manel Molina and José María Algueró participated.
