PONTEVEDRA, Spain – Arizona Triathlon will have two student-athletes participating in the U23 Triathlon World Championships in Spain on Sunday, Sept. 24 at 7:45 a.m. (MST). Lydia Russell will compete as part of Team USA while Laura Holánszky will represent Hungary in the race. The event begins with a 1,500-meter swim before transitioning to a 40-kilometer bike ride with a 10-kilometer run to end on a course that runs through the historic town along the northwest coast of Spain.

"I am incredibly proud to see these two represent our program on the world's stage but also represent their home countries," said Arizona Triathlon head coach Wes Johnson. "A big part of my vision for Arizona Triathlon is to be an Olympic-level program, having student-athletes compete at the highest levels. We recruit and compete against the best of the best from across the world, and to have Lydia and Laura accomplish this goal in the first year of our program means a lot."

Russell competed in the U23 Women's Americas Triathlon in Veracruz, Mexico earlier this month, finishing in 15^th place as the top American athlete. She joined the Arizona Triathlon program as a junior in its inaugural season after competing as a cross country student-athlete at the University of Oregon.

Already with two races under her belt for the Wildcats, Holánszky has been a key contributor in the ASU Dual Meet and the Battle of Fort Worth. She posted the team's second-fastest run and swim times in the program's first-ever meet in Tempe before logging a top-20 time in TCU's event last weekend.

The Wildcats have two remaining competitions on the 2023 schedule, beginning with the Western Regional Championships in Springfield, Missouri on Saturday, Oct. 14. The inaugural season of the program will conclude at the NCAA Championships on Saturday, Nov. 11 up Interstate 10 in Tempe.