Hungary enjoyed a memorable weekend on home soil as Fanni Szalai and Csongor Lehmann produced two outstanding performances to win the 2026 Tiszaujvaros World Cup.

While Szalai announced herself as one of triathlon’s brightest young talents with a dominant breakthrough victory in the women’s race, Lehmann continued his remarkable record at the iconic event by claiming an incredible sixth consecutive World Cup title.

Szalai announces herself on the world stage

Just three months after making her World Cup debut, 19-year-old Fanni Szalai delivered the biggest win of her career.

Having already won back-to-back European Cup races this season, the Hungarian carried her form into Tiszaujvaros, but few expected her to take victory against a strong international field.

The race was effectively decided in the opening stages as Szalai escaped with American Taylor Knibb and Australia’s Tara Sosinski after the swim. The trio worked brilliantly together on the bike, steadily increasing their advantage while the chasing groups struggled to organise themselves.

By the end of the 20km bike leg, the leading trio had built a commanding lead of more than two minutes.

Sosinski led out of T2, but it didn’t take long for Szalai to stamp her authority on the race. The home favourite surged clear early on the 5km run and never looked back, extending her lead with every lap before crossing the line for an emotional first World Cup victory.

Her winning run split of 16:33 was the fastest of the day.

Knibb finished second in her first World Cup appearance since 2019, while Sosinski celebrated the first World Cup podium of her career in third.

Lehmann extends incredible home dominance

If Szalai’s victory marked the arrival of a new star, the men’s race reinforced the dominance of one already firmly established.

Csongor Lehmann overcame an early scare to extend his unbeaten run in Tiszaujvaros to six consecutive World Cup victories.

After exiting the swim 13 seconds behind a five-man lead group, Lehmann looked vulnerable for one of the few times in recent years. However, a superb first transition and aggressive opening bike lap quickly erased the deficit as he bridged across to the leaders.

Once the breakaway was established, the Hungarian helped drive the pace throughout the bike, building an advantage of more than 40 seconds heading into T2.

The race was effectively settled within the opening kilometre of the run as Lehmann effortlessly pulled away from the rest of the breakaway.

France’s Tom Lerno stayed within touching distance for much of the run to secure the first World Cup medal of his career in second, while Spain’s Pelayo Gonzalez claimed third after overtaking fellow breakaway rider Mark Dévay.

Despite crossing the line comfortably, Lehmann admitted afterwards that it had been his toughest victory in Tiszaujvaros, citing the oppressive heat, the quick turnaround from Saturday’s semi-finals and the fact his training has been focused on next month’s World Triathlon Championship Series races.

A memorable weekend for Hungary

The home crowd had plenty to celebrate as Hungary claimed both elite titles.

For Lehmann, victory further cements his legendary status at Tiszaujvaros, where he has now won every World Cup race since 2021.

For Szalai, the victory could prove even more significant. At just 19 years old and only three months into her World Cup career, she has already shown she has the talent to compete with the very best.

If this weekend is anything to go by, Hungarian triathlon looks to have both a dominant champion and an exciting new star leading the way.