Kiwi Hayden Wilde ‘feels fantastic’ for being the first to win consecutive S’pore T100 titles

SINGAPORE – Known as the “Maltese Falcon” for his aggressive racing style and resilience, Hayden Wilde lived up to his moniker on April 25 by delivering a triathlon masterclass at Marina Bay.

Racing 100km on the hottest day of the month, when temperatures soared to 35 deg C and humidity rose to more than 70 per cent, he finished top to become the first athlete to retain his Singapore T100 men’s crown.

The 28-year-old New Zealand native completed the 2km swim in the Marina Bay Reservoir, 80km bike ride, and 18km run – almost double the Olympic distance (1.5km swim, 40km cycle, and 10km run) – before striding past the finishing line in 3hr 21min 58sec.

Although this was more than three minutes slower than his 2025 winning time of 3:18:11, he was more dominant in 2026, finishing a record six minutes and 21 seconds faster than England’s Samuel Dickinson (3:28:19). In the previous edition, his winning margin was just over two minutes.

While two of the 19-strong field did not finish the race, with some sprawled on the floor after crossing the line, the “Maltese Falcon” was absolutely flying.

Looking regal in his green suit and bucket hat, he tapped the hands of his supporters in the final stretch, spread his arms and mimicked the manoeuvring of a steering wheel as he created history at the F1 Pit Building.

Barely panting as he fielded questions at the media mixed zone, Wilde said: “It feels fantastic (to retain the title). It was harder this year and I needed to make sure I raced my own race out there today. We started earlier this year so we were in the heat for a lot longer, and we got cloud cover only halfway through the run.

“It was super hot out there and obviously the run speed was a bit lower, but I just kept to my numbers and made sure I was doing my own race out there.”

Extensive heat preparation and humidity training helped his cause, as he sat in saunas and did bike exercises in bathrooms to get used to the climate.

His adaptability and experience also came into play on race day. Moving into the lead in the cycling leg after coming in fifth from the water, he even pulled off a rescue move by balancing his water bottle on the back of his seat with his back, after it came off its holder.

Wilde, who has an Olympic silver from Paris 2024 and won bronze at the Tokyo Games in 2021, also shared that his power meter, which provides real-time data to aid pacing during the cycle leg, disconnected during the race.

He said: “I didn’t have any power... so that was quite hard. I was just going by heart rate and making sure I was being as aerodynamic as possible, and getting some opportunities to take risks as well.”

Dickinson also had to overcome bike issues en route to placing second.

He said: “I was having to smash the gears to change up and down. The connection was a bit dodgy, so that meant that coming out of that turn, it didn’t change. I hit it too many times, and then it changed all at once, and that made the chain drop off completely.

“At that point I just had to stay calm. Jump off, put it back on, don’t panic, don’t do anything silly. Just stay calm and don’t try to close the gap straight away. Try to close the gap really slowly, so that I don’t spike the core body temperature.”

In third place was Germany’s Mika Noodt (3:29:11), who managed to improve on his ninth-placed finish in 2025.

The 25-year-old, who arrived eight days earlier to prepare for the race, said: “I wasn’t that confident going into this race and I was thinking maybe Singapore just doesn’t suit me.

“The bike leg was very punchy, and I felt like I’m more of a diesel engine, especially when I race against Hayden on the bike. Here, he really smashed me and destroyed us today. But mentally I was so much better than the last couple of years.”

Despite missing out on the podium, Australia’s triathlon world champion Matthew Hauser (3:30:27) was happy to meet his target of finishing in the top five behind fourth-placed Dutchman Menno Koolhaas (3:29:54).

The Singapore T100 debutant, who was hit by a car during a training ride in Australia in early April, said: “I will give myself maybe a B-plus. I got to be happy with that (fifth) on a really tough day... Definitely the legs went earlier than I expected and I started to feel it after halfway on that bike.

“Overall my body was in third gear the whole time and I just couldn’t get to that next level. But it’s all learning, and that’s what I came here to do – to humble myself and be a student of the sport again.”

Outside of the elite race, most participants were pleased with their experience on April 25, which featured the amateur sprint triathlon and youth aquathlon.

Spaniard Santiago Juarez Gil, a 16-year-old who finished second in the amateur sprint triathlon, said: “It’s unique swimming in the Marina Bay Reservoir and cycling and running around the Formula One track. It was a very well-organised race, although the finish line can be made more accessible to the spectators.”

The Singapore T100 race weekend continues on April 26 with the amateur long duathlon, standard duathlon, 100km triathlon and Olympic triathlon.