Last year, Harvard track & field and cross-country alumna Lisa Tertsch made her Olympic debut. Though she fell short of the podium in the women’s triathlon with an early crash, she struck gold in the mixed relay. Fast forward to this year, Tertsch has rewritten her story. On Sunday, she broke away from a stacked field at the 2025 World Triathlon Championship Series in Wollongong, Australia to claim her first-ever world title, finally fulfilling her immense potential.

During a media interaction, the athlete was asked if she had envisioned such a victorious outcome for herself. Tertsch replied, “To be honest, not. I just focused on what I could do every day. And of course, I was like playing a bit around with the points and knowing where everyone had to finish. But I never expected the race to play out like that.” The German standout stayed at the forefront throughout the 1500m swim, 40km bike, and 10km run, surging at the finish to outpace her competition, in Italy’s Bianca Seregni by 14 seconds.

France’s Emma Lombardi claimed the third position, 26 seconds adrift. Lastly, Olympic Champion Cassandre Beaugrand and Britain’s Beth Potter entered the finals tied atop the world championship standings, with Tertsch in fourth. However, Sunday changed everything as Tertsch is now the World Champion meaning she’s scooped up the world triathlon title for the first time. When asked how she keeps track of what’s happening around her, she emphasized, “I just try to focus on myself and try to stay calm and try to stay patient.”

She further added, “And of course I saw what was happening, but I try not to think too much about it. Because I still had my own race to do, and it was quite hard. So yeah, I don’t know. It still feels a bit surreal.” Last year was tough for Lisa Tertsch, as she nearly failed to leave a mark in the women’s triathlon at the Olympics. But the past is behind her, now, she has been crowned the new champion. So, how did she achieve this remarkable feat? How did the race unfold? Let’s find out.

Lisa Tertsch ruled the race from the very start

The Harvard alumna had already made her mark on the global stage last year, securing gold with Germany in the mixed team relay at the Paris Olympics and twice claiming victories on the World Championship circuit. However, she wanted more, and a World Championship medal now seemed well within her reach. Lisa Tertsch set the pace early, leading after the opening swim lap and slipping to second after the second, only to surge ahead through the first transition onto the bike.

France’s Cassandre Beaugrand stayed hot on her heels, just a second behind, but despite her relentless push, she couldn’t reel her in. The cycling leg featured a six-rider breakaway: Tertsch, Beaugrand, Beth Potter, Bianca Seregni, France’s Emma Lombardi, and Britain’s Jessica Fullagar. The German standout stayed firmly in contention, narrowly edging Lombardi by just two seconds after the second transition.

The final leg of the triathlon was the 10 km run. Beaugrand faded and eventually withdrew, while Potter fell back, leaving Lisa Tertsch, Seregni, Lombardi, and Fullagar to battle for the win. At the end of the race, the athlete topped the World Championships standings with 3,886.26 points, ahead of France’s Leonie Periault on 3,577.04, with Potter third and the U.S.’s Taylor Spivey in fourth.