Olympic champ Beaugrand on Wollongong DNF and why showing vulnerability is not a weakness

Cassandre Beaugrand said her body “just shut down for no real reason” as her hopes of retaining her WTCS world title evaporated in Wollongong last weekend.

Everything had appeared to be on track for the Olympic champion – she was right up there as usual in the swim, was then part of an elite six-woman front group on the bike and the same on the run… until it wasn’t.

For to the surprise of nearly everyone watching, Beaugrand was the first to struggle to go with the pace as her usual fluid stride was replaced by laboured steps. A few metres became 10 seconds and before long she was dropping through the field and would end up being a DNF.

That meant she went from joint first in the overall standings to off the podium as Germany’s Lisa Tertsch produced the performance of her life to win both the race and snatch the 2025 world title.

‘Racing with heart’

Reflecting on her day, Beaugrand took to Instagram with a candid and emotional message, acknowledging both her disappointment and perspective.

She wrote: “I’ve always been my own toughest critic, but today, I’ll try not to be. All these years, I’ve worked hard to be the best triathlete – the most complete athlete I could be – by racing with heart, in a way that made me proud.”

The French star admitted she may have made some practical missteps – joking about “overfeeding” before the race – but said she had no regrets about her attacking policy or her decision to race sparingly in 2025.

“Every time, I gave everything I had – passionately and offensively. I also know I didn’t make my life any easier by choosing to race such a low number of events this year. I knew it was a challenge, and that everything had to be almost perfect for me to fight for the title again.”

Triathlon bubble

Beaugrand revealed that she felt strong and confident heading into the Grand Final but that things unravelled suddenly once the run began.

“I was in great shape, wasn’t afraid to take risks, and this time… I lost the race and the overall. That’s sport. You can feel amazing and then suddenly your body just shuts down for no real reason.”

The moment Cassandre Beaugrand’s title hopes started to fade [Photo credit: World Triathlon]

She added that she wanted to show more honesty and vulnerability: “For a long time, I thought that opening up or showing vulnerability might be seen as weakness in sport. But it’s not… Sometimes it feels so hard being in this bubble where it seems like winning or losing means everything… but there’s so much more than just triathlon.”

Looking ahead

Beaugrand ended her post by thanking her supporters and congratulating her rivals, while hinting that some much-needed downtime is next on the agenda.

“I know this race doesn’t define my season – or everything I’ve done before this. It’s just a post-Olympic year, and now it’s time to listen to my body and mind (they’ve been whispering for a while 😅). Because yes, I’m human too 🙃

“Congrats to the girls who delivered a great season and Grand Final 👏 Can’t wait to rest a bit more this time, recharge, and come back hungrier ❤️‍🔥”

After a perfect 2024 which confirmed her as one of the sport’s defining talents, Beaugrand leaves 2025 empty-handed but with perspective – and the promise that she’ll be back.