In the latest World Championship event in Germany, Tilda Månsson finished fifth – her best result so far.
After four out of eight events, she is currently sixth in the overall standings.
She is only 21 years old and the driving force is not money. A victory in the London triathlon this year, where anyone can participate, would have given around 70,000 kronor, for example. A competition Månsson believes she would have won overwhelmingly.
I think so. But no, now the focus is on competing well and becoming as good as possible. In the World Championship series, they have prize money anyway, and then I also have private sponsors, she says ahead of Sunday's World Championship event in France.
"Not living extremely well"
Hampus Månsson, coach and older brother, adds:
It's absolutely not a sport you can live exclusively on. Tilda gets by, but can't live extremely well. The SOK support (Swedish Olympic Committee) does, however, mean that you don't have to chase prize money everywhere.
Her goal is clear:
To one day make it to the podium in the World Championship series, says Tilda Månsson, whose triathlon journey began in Väsby.
There was a children's group that started triathlon in Väsby when I was ten years old. I came, tried it, and since then I've been hooked.
"Stick and paint"
Nowadays, it's a full-time commitment. Tilda Månsson lives triathlon from morning to evening.
Since I don't study or work with anything else, it's focus and training all the time. When I'm not training, I try to relax, I like to stick and paint.
The intense schedule also affects her social life.
I mostly get friends through training. Outside of that, it's mostly being alone. But it's quite nice.
Her high school years were special, but her performance in school didn't suffer.
I've always found it easy in school. I had good contact with the teachers, so it was always possible to solve with competitions and camps.
"Arguing"
The fact that her coach is also her older brother is both special and challenging.
Yes, we argue. Maybe that's why it's gone so well. But it's just fun, I have nothing to complain about, says Hampus.
One should be proud too. I try to just see that it's the same person regardless of the result, she's more of a sister to me than a triathlete.
In the Olympic Games in Paris last year, Tilda Månsson finished 23rd. In the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles 2028, the goal is to compete for medals.
I try not to think about the next Olympic Games already. Of course, it's a big goal, but Hampus always says that to me: We shouldn't think about that now, but instead focus on one season at a time, she says and continues:
I would be very satisfied if I managed to finish top ten in the World Championship series this year.
The World Championship series in triathlon is decided in a series of eight events and a final.
Remaining events: France on August 31, the Czech Republic on September 14, and China on September 26.
The final will be held in Wollongong, Australia, from October 15 to 19.
In triathlon, swimming, cycling, and running are combined directly after each other. The total time after the three stages counts.
There are several different distances, where the most common are sprint and Olympic distance.
In sprint, you swim 750 meters, cycle 2.1 miles, and run 5 kilometers. In Olympic distance, it's 1,500 meters of swimming, 4.2 miles of cycling, and 10 kilometers of running.
