T100 debutant Hayden Wilde delighted to claim men’s elite victory in hot and humid Singapore

SINGAPORE – As Hayden Wilde approached the Singapore T100 finishing line at Marina Bay, he slowed down to a walk, soaking in the applause and exchanging high fives with the spectators who had lined up along the final stretch.

An impressive final run leg during which he clocked the fastest average pace of 3min 12sec among the 19-triathlete field gave him a comfortable lead in his maiden T100 event, leaving him with time to take in the celebrations, before grabbing the finish tape and lifting it above his head.

But it was not as easy as it looked as the star-studded field not only battled each other but also the sweltering conditions, with temperature reaching almost 34 deg C amid the high humidity.

It was little wonder Wilde was overjoyed to claim his first title of the series in 3hr 18min 11sec, ahead of Frenchman Leo Bergere (3:20:45) and reigning T100 Triathlon World Tour champion Marten van Riel (3:21:33).

“It’s really nice. It’s nice the hard work in winter went well but for this sort of race, it’s really hard to know where you are in a sense – it’s super hot and once you go over the line, it’s hard to recover,” said the 27-year-old, who took home the winner’s cheque of US$25,000 (S$33,500).

“The next few races will be a lot different, but I’m just really happy to take this one and set the season off to a really good high.”

The New Zealander’s win comes a day after fellow T100 debutante Kate Waugh dominated the women’s race, claiming victory by a margin of 6min 40sec.

The world No. 169 Wilde, runner-up at the Paris Olympics and the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in 2024, is among eight participants competing on the 2025 T100 Triathlon World Tour as “hot shot” athletes.

Hot shots are proven triathletes who did not automatically gain entry to the next series or qualify through their Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) world ranking.

While Wilde claimed the title comfortably enough, the 100km race featuring a 2km swim, an 80km bike ride and 18km run was anything but straightforward.

There was stiff competition at the start, with Wilde ninth behind Frenchman Vincent Luis after the swim.

The pack dispersed during the bike leg, with Rico Bogen attacking from the front. But Wilde kept pace with the German as they headed up the Benjamin Sheares Bridge with 31.7km remaining.

As temperatures reached nearly 34 deg C, the battle at the front also heated up as Wilde and Bogen traded leads before the German finished the cycling section with a six-second edge in 1:49:40.

Hot on his heels, Wilde seized his opportunity in the run, overtaking Bogen just 1.3km in, as the German faded to finish in 10th place.

Late charges by 2024 Olympic bronze medallist Bergere and Belgian van Riel in the run pushed them to podium places but Wilde was peerless in front.

With 1.2km to go, he flashed a thumbs up to the broadcast camera as he passed the ArtScience Museum on his third and final lap, before sealing a comfortable victory.

Even though he had started his heat preparation in January, Wilde said that it was “impossible” to prepare for these conditions, noting that he had spoken to the local athletes from Singapore, who said it still is not easy racing in these conditions despite living here their whole lives.

He said of the punishing conditions: “It’s the humidity that eats your body from within and it’s hard work.

“It’s probably the biggest gaps we’ve seen in this sort of racing, massive time gaps and it just goes to show how hot it was out there.”

Van Riel showed why he was one of the world’s best, even if he did not expect to finish on the podium.

In order to secure his spot at September’s Ironman World Championship in Nice, France, the 32-year-old chose to compete in Ironman South Africa last week.

He accomplished his goal with second place, despite suffering from a bout of food poisoning.

While it made things tougher coming into the T100 season opener in Singapore, he was glad to get off to a good start.

He said: “I’m super happy I could start my season like this in the T100. This sets up super well for the rest of the season... But the boys up front, Hayden and Leo, showed they’re going to be very strong competitors so I’m going to have to up my game in the next races.”