Todd Giorgio finished second in the 2025 Multisport National Championships June 8, 2025, in Omaha and earned a silver medal for his 1 hour, 18-minute, 52-second performance in a 5k run, 20k bike, and a 2.5k run duathlon. Giorgio’s win qualifies him for the world championship competition for Team USA in the following year. At this point, he’s unsure if he’ll travel to Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, in 2026.
Giorgio, a professor of biomedical engineering, is competing in Pontevedra, Spain, later this month because he placed in the nationals last year. His wife and two sons will tag along. “We have leveraged the world competitions for vacations in Romania, Spain and Australia. This month, after completing the world competition in Spain again, we will all head to Nice and vacation in the south of France,” he said.
JUNE 25 UPDATE : World competition results from Pontevedra are in. Giorgio was the “second fastest American in the world in my age group! But only mid-pack, overall.”
The duathlon in Omaha was his fifth national championship in the 65-69 age group, qualifying him for Team USA each year. He has traveled to Targu Mures, Romania; Ibiza, Spain; and Townsville, Australia.
Giorgio started competing in duathlons after a 2019 win a Music City Marathon cyclorun (bike-run). “I won the male overall, not just my age group. I have a Hatch print poster as an award that hangs in my Engineering Science Building office,” said Giorgio, also a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and cancer biology.
When Giorgio stood on the podium with the female winner he noticed what looked to be her U.S. Olympic race suit with her name and USA on the front and back. “I asked her about the race suit, and she told me that I was fast enough to go to nationals. I had no idea that there was such a thing. If I placed high enough, I could go to worlds, be on Team USA and get the Team USA race suit as she was wearing.”
Giorgio is a competitive guy. He got a coach and planned to go to 2020 nationals in Tuscaloosa because qualifying that year would send him to worlds in Townsville and he had spousal buy-in. Nationals cancelled that year due to Covid. He went to Tuscaloosa in 2021.
“I qualified–barely. But Australia would not have us for worlds that year–lingering Covid concerns. The worlds location moved to Targu Mures, but that was even more awesome,” he said. I met lots of fun folks on Team USA and from other countries and it gave me the motivation to try and qualify for future years.”
This year Giorgio got distracted. He had all the travel arrangements for Omaha but had failed to register for the event. “After some panic, I got things worked out. Because I did not register in advance, I didn’t appear on the pre-event start list, so my friends assumed I wasn’t attending this year. They were surprised and it was fun to connect with them on site.”
Giorgio knew he was on a good race this year because there were no bikes already in transition for his age group when he approached the second run. “I had finished the bike, but most of my competition were still on the bike course, so I suspected that I had a chance at the podium. My second run mantra was ‘don’t let anyone pass you.’”
World competitions offer difficult courses, pleasant locales
The bike course in Romania climbed to a castle and descended on cobblestones for five laps. Part of the run course along the main promenade made a U-turn in front of a church. “The night before, the run course changed because we would have been too close to the church on a Sunday. I was so confused by the changes that I actually did six bike laps. That did not help my placement.”
“Ibiza was an absolutely gorgeous location. Part of the run was along the beach. The bike course included one long hill and a long descent back, not very technical but a tough fitness test.
“I stayed at the Team USA hotel and that was a terrific experience. When you get a note that says ‘Team USA run at 7.00 tomorrow, meet in the lobby’… Well, I mostly train alone, so to get to the lobby and see 50 of my Team USA teammates all ready to run as a group? Goosebumps.”
Townsville is a beach town and offers a relaxed environment, Giorgio said. “I was glad not to do a triathlon after reading the signs about every 100 meters along the beach that identifies each of the common jellyfish and what to do after each encounter.”
Most of these signs had a station that provided the right wash for each type of sting. “For jellyfish type 1, maybe rinse with vinegar, apply cold towels, watch for increasing rash. For one of those jellyfish, the instructions started with call 000 (the 911 there), then ‘is your victim breathing?’ Yikes.” The second run course included a cliffside portion that overlooks the ocean. “It was a challenge to focus on the race while getting glimpses of the views.”
The 2026 World Triathlon Multisport Championships, which includes duathlon events, will be held November 13-22 in Abu Dhabi and take place on Hudayriyat Island. The island offers cycling routes with various loops designed for experienced riders, showcasing the island’s natural beauty. Giorgio has plenty of time to consider traveling to UAE.
Contact brenda.ellis@vanderbilt.edu