Four wins for Magda Nieuwoudt and three wins for Mathis Margirier: both athletes experienced a great season in 2023 and were stronger than ever at Challenge Family races. On top of their wins came some impressive second place finishes as well, making Nieuwoudt and Margirier the winners of the Challenge Family World Bonus standings, taking home a US$25,000 bonus each.
Margirier’s wins this year included OTSO Challenge Salou, Challenge Vieux Boucau and The Championship. In addition, the Frenchman finished in second place at Anfi Challenge Mogan-Gran Canaria and Challenge Peguera-Mallorca earning a total of 1,300 points. It was Margirier’s thrilling finish at Challenge Vieux Boucau, that went viral around the world, that ensured he stayed ahead of closest rivals, Caleb Noble (1,200 points) and Thomas Bishop (1,000 points).
Just like Margirier, Noble also had a spectacular season: he finished fourth at Challenge Wanaka just missing the podium there, but then struck with a win at Challenge Taiwan and Challenge Gunsan-Saemangeum. Finally, Noble also added a second-place finish at Challenge Davos and third-place at Challenge Canberra. His second place finish within the Challenge Family World Bonus standings earns him US$16,500.
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Caleb Noble took the win at Challenge Sunsan-Saemangeum
Thomas Bishop led the Challenge Family World Bonus standings for a long time in the beginning of the season, but he ultimately finishes third with a cash bonus of US$12,000. Bishop owes that third place to a second place finish at Clash Miami, a win at Challenge Puerto Varas, a fifth place finish at The Championship, a win at Challenge Wales and a second place finish at Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee.
Menno Koolhaas (850) and Frederic Funk (825) finished the rankings in fourth and fifth place, winning US$6,000 and US$3,000, respectively. Koolhaas came to two stunning victories this year: he became European Champion Long Distance by winning Challenge Almere-Amsterdam and only some months before he also won Challenge Geraardsbergen. At Challenge Gdansk, Koolhaas finished fourth. For Funk, the season included a third place finish at The Championship, victories at Challenge Walchsee and Challenge Samarkand, a sixth place at Challenge Peguera-Mallorca and a fifth place at Challenge Vieux Boucau.
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Menno Koolhaas crowns himself European Champion at Challenge Almere-Amsterdam
Women’s Challenge Family World Bonus rankings: Magda Nieuwoudt supreme
Magda Nieuwoudt had a season in which almost everything she touched turned to gold. The South African triathlete finished second at Challenge London, but went on to win Challenge Fréjus, Challenge Gunsan-Saemangeum, Challenge Davos and Challenge Sanremo. Thanks to that domination, Nieuwoudt ends the season with 1,450 points in the Challenge Family World Bonus standings and the US$25,000 cash bonus.
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Magda Nieuwoudt breaks the tape at Challenge Sanremo
Behind Nieuwoudt, Imogen Simmonds and Els Visser share second place: they both finished the season with 1,200 points, sharing the prize money for second and third place and so both taking home US$14,250. Simmonds came to three wins this season (Challenge Cagnes-Sur-Mer, Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee and Challenge Barcelona) and two second places (Challenge Peguera-Mallorca and Challenge Vieux Boucau). Visser became European Champion Long Distance by winning Challenge Almere-Amsterdam and also won Challenge Canberra. Besides her two victories she also finished second at Challenge Wanaka, fourth at Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee and third at Challenge London.
With no fewer than three wins, Lucy Byram can also look back on a phenomenal season. The young British athlete kicked off the year perfectly with victories at Clash Miami and Challenge Puerto Varas, and some months later also managed a win at Challenge Wales. In addition, she finished sixth at The Championship and third at Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee, finishing in fourth place in the Challenge Family World Bonus standings with 980 points, winning US$6,000.
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Lucy Byram wins Challenge Wales (pic by John Smith)
Margie Santimaria finished second at Challenge Salinas just last weekend, entering fifth place within the Challenge Family World Bonus standings at the very last moment. With 845 points, Santimaria is good for a $3,000 cash bonus. In addition to her second place at Challenge Salinas, Santimaria finished fourth at Anfi Challenge Mogan-Gran Canaria, took the win at Challenge Geraardsbergen, finished ninth at Challenge Roth, third at Challenge Samarkand and fifth at Challenge Peguera-Mallorca.
