Emily Gibbins in the Sprint Relay at the World Cup Final 2025, photo: Rob Lines
The third and final round of the 2025 World Cup had a Sprint Relay on Saturday 27th September, sandwiched by the individual sprint and the knockout sprint days.
IOF Eventor for the Competition.
All the GB athletes ran, twelve in three GB teams, and the others in mixed nation teams. There were over 50 teams in all.
The GB first team was Grace Molloy, Freddie Carcas, Eddie Narbett and Cecilie Andersen. They came 7th nation (11th counting multiple teams per country.)
Official Results in IOF Eventor
The Start, photo:Rob Lines
It was fast running all the way, and teams did not spread out as much as sometimes making for exciting spectating.
The second team of Chloe Potter, Ralph Street, Nathan Lawson and Imogen Pieters was disqualified. The third team of Emily Gibbins, Jim Bailey, Charlie Rennie and Mairi Eades was 31st. Rcahel Duckworth and Euan Tryner ran legs 1 and 2 for "Mixed 3".
For GB 1, Grace and Freddie had very strong runs, with the team third after both one and two legs, behind Switzerland and Norway.
Grace Molloy at the runthrough, photo: Silvan Schletti
Freddie Carcas, photo: Rob Lines
Eddie Narbett, photo: Rob Lines
At the start of the last leg GB were 39 seconds down on the leading team, and there were five teams in the gap. Finland led, then it was Norway, Sweden, France, Czechia and Switzerland. Switzerland were 31 seconds down on the leaders but had World Cup WInner Simona Aebersold on the anchor leg. Simona had won the individual sprint the day before by 30 seconds ahead of her leg 1 runner Natalia Gemperle.)
Simona caught up and with a km to go the win became neck and neck between Simona and Hanna Lundberg of Sweden. Right near the end Simona made a small mistake and that, plus the effort she had put in earlier in the leg, was enough for Hanna to take the sprint finish. Sweden 1st, Switzerland 2nd, Norway (Pia Young Vik) 3rd, Finland (Venla Harju) 4th, France (Cecile Calandry) 5th, Czechia (Tereza Rauturier) 6th. Just over a minute was the spread for the first six. Cecilie, who was carrying an injury, was passed by some second teams but held on to 7th nation place by nine seconds.
Cecilie Andersen, photo: Silvan Schletti
Chloe Potter, photo: Rob Lines
Chloe Potter ran first leg for GB2, finishing only 47 seconds behind the leaders. They were coming in thick and fast, that was only 22nd place!
Ralph Street, photo: Rob Lines
So Ralph Street had plenty of runners to help pace his race, and he finished in a stream of them in 15th, somewhat spectacularly as he "made a 360" by somersaulting the changeover barrier. Pictures from IOF TV....
Nathan Lawson starts his run, photo: IOF TV
Nathan Lawson, photo: Silvan Schletti
Imogen Pieters, photo: Silvan Schletti
Emily Gibbins ran leg 1 for GB 3, coming back a minute and a half down, just ahead of Germany, Belgium and Austria 2. Jim Bailey and Charlie Rennie ran the middle legs, and Mairi Eades the last, for a team result of 31st.
Charlie Rennie, photo: Rob Lines
Rachel Duckworth, photo: Rob Lines
Euan Tryner, photo: Rob Lines