European Multisport Championships: A Weekend in Banyoles (Part I)

Spanish summer is usually more about relaxing than working. But this weekend, the athletes competing at the European Multisport Championships definitely didn't get much of a chance to relax.

The small Catalan town of Banyoles welcomed both professional and amateur athletes from all over Europe. I had the opportunity to visit the event, soak up the atmosphere, and in this blog I'd like to share everything that caught my attention.

A relatively young championship

The European Multisport Championships are still a fairly new event in the triathlon world. The first edition was held in 2016, meaning this year marks the 10th anniversary of the championship.

So, what exactly is multisport?

In reality, the championship brings together almost every endurance discipline governed by World Triathlon, except the traditional Olympic-distance and Sprint triathlons (as well as the Mixed Relay). Instead, athletes compete in a variety of events including Middle Distance Triathlon, Aquathlon, Duathlon, Cross Triathlon, Cross Duathlon, Aquabike, and several other formats.

I happened to attend the final day of competition, featuring the biggest and most popular race of the week: the Middle Distance Triathlon, where several hundred elite and age-group athletes lined up at the start.

Why I came to Banyoles

The championships took place not far from where I live. With the launch of my website approaching, I wanted to create something a little different, and I thought the European Championships would be the perfect event to write about: something interesting for me to experience and, hopefully, for you to read.

There was another reason I wanted to come: several of my friends were racing. It was a great opportunity not only to watch the competition but also to cheer them on.

We'll talk about the competition in the next blog. Stay tuned!