EagleVail triathlete set to defend short-track XTERRA World Championship title in Trentino, Italy

When Josiah Middaugh was crushing the international off-road triathlon competition throughout his 20s, he never thought he’d someday line up with his own offspring at an XTERRA World Championship. But at 47, keeping up with the kids has become an effective motivator for staying in shape.

“I know how fortunate I am and how unique of an experience this is,” the 2015 world champion stated in advance of the 2025 XTERRA World Championships event, which kicks off Thursday in Trentino, Italy.  “The opportunity to race at this level with both sons is definitely my driving force to stay fit in my late 40s.”

Josiah’s oldest, Sullivan, is set to defend his XTERRA short-track world championship title on day 1. The EagleVail triathlete sprinted past Felix Forissier and Arthur Serrieres to claim a dramatic victory last September. He’ll go head-to-head with the rest of the World Cup’s top-30 in the fast-paced, 400-meter swim, 8-kilometer bike and 3-kilometer run. The livestream for the women starts at 6:10 a.m. Thursday, with the men going off an hour later.

“Winning the short track last year has given me some confidence that I can compete with the best in the world,” the 2022 Battle Mountain graduate said via email on Wednesday. “But the short track is more of a rust buster for the main event, which is the full distance on Saturday.” 

Sullivan Middaugh was in contention in the long-distance event last year before a crash on the bike derailed his podium plans. Josiah Middaugh ended up leading the family with a fifth-place finish, with Sullivan and Porter coming through in seventh and 23rd, respectively. Both of the USA Triathlon Project Podium athletes, whose primary focus qualifying for the 2028 Olympics in draft-legal road triathlon, said they’ve learned a lot in their past few XTERRA worlds appearances.

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“My main goal is to put together a clean race,” Sullivan Middaugh said. “If I can put together a solid race I think I will be in contention for the podium.”

“Last year I felt strong in the short track but I ran out of gas in the long course race,” said Porter Middaugh, a 2024 Battle Mountain graduate. “I think I can improve on my eighth-place finish in the short track race from last year, and I think I have potential to be in the fight for the top-10 in the full distance race.”

Porter Middaugh captured his first elite win at the Americas Triathlon Cup in Magog, Canada on July 12 and is coming off an 18th-place result in Kelowna last month. Sullivan Middaugh nabbed continental cup podiums in La Paz, Mexico in March and Calima, Columbia in June. He also made his debut on the World Triathlon Champion Series — the top circuit in the world — with a 45th-place finish in Hamburg, Germany on July 12. Josiah Middaugh said with all that’s been going on — he started a new job at Vail Health and is busy following his youngest daughter, Larsen, to various Battle Mountain cross-country meets — XTERRA wasn’t the sole focus for anyone in the family this year.

“It is a fun outlet for them and a good excuse to get on trails and on the mountain bike to add some variety to their training,” he added. “We were just remarking about how special and unique this venue is in the Dolomites in northern Italy. The mountains are absolutely stunning. At the same time, fall in northern Italy is wet and cold. You just have to embrace the elements and plan for adverse conditions on race day.”

The 29th-annual long-distance race on Saturday will send athletes from over 54 countries on a 1.5-kilometer swim, 32-kilometer mountain bike and 10-kilometer trail run around Molveno. France’s Arthur Serrières and Solenne Billouin are both gunning to complete a four-year sweep of the individual titles during the World Championship’s time in the quaint Italian village after 25 initial editions in Hawaii.

“I hope to be a man of the moment at least one more time, and I also think what I did in Molveno and in the past years give something to people and XTERRA,” Serrières told XTERRA last week.

“Having been successful here before also brings positive energy, it’s a reminder that I did it already and I can do it again on this terrain, even if I still approach it with a fresh mindset each time,” Billouin added.

Josiah Middaugh wasn’t totally sure if he’d make the overseas trip this year. But after claiming the elite win last month in Ruidoso, New Mexico — the site of the 2026 world championships — he decided to sign up. Going into battle against the European big three of Serrières, Felix Forissier and Jens Emil Sloth-Nielsen, he’s hoping at least one Middaugh can shake up the podium. No matter what, he won’t take his 24th global championship start — alongside his two sons — for granted.

“It is both surreal and nostalgic to be able to see sport through their lens as they are just beginning their careers,” he said. “It makes me appreciate everything more.”