Triathlete Youri Keulen will ‘go to hospital’ to win Singapore T100 again

SINGAPORE – Youri Keulen was crowned men’s champion of the Singapore T100 Triathlon in April 2024, but the Dutchman does not remember the last 500 metres of his race.

The 26-year-old passed out after

crossing the finishing line at Marina Bay

due to the heat and exhaustion and had to be put on an intravenous drip. He was subsequently taken to the hospital for further checks and missed all the post-race celebrations.

He recalled waking up in the medical tent and calling his parents in the ambulance in tears.

He said: “At that moment, I realised, ‘Okay, I’ve done something special. I’ve been thinking a lot about it and I was sad that I couldn’t have the medal ceremony, give the kids a high five or engage with the crowd but on the other hand, it is what it is, I can’t change it.

“The last 500 metres, I was like vision black and I can only kind of imagine and remember from the videos, but that clear thought is not there any more.

“This year, I have the chance to change it, so let’s aim for that.”

On April 6, Keulen will get the chance to do just that as he attempts to claim back-to-back titles in what he calls “the hardest race I’ve ever done and will probably ever do”.

In the 2024 edition, he was added to the roster as a wildcard entry and exceeded expectations by winning in Singapore, which is part of the seven-leg tour.

He added: “My dream came true here and I was really surprised about myself… I was so in control that whole day, and it felt like the surroundings didn’t exist.

“I was just in like a bubble and me doing it, and at one moment, that bubble burst and this is actually real.”

Keulen said the physical recovery took three weeks, but he struggled mentally in the aftermath.

He said: “Mentally it’s a bit of a longer process, because all of a sudden you’re a new name in the triathlon world and people start to recognise you, people want pictures with you and I really love that part of it, but you need to get used to that as well.

“I was 25 years old and all of a sudden I had to act mature, you know, like sponsor deals, the media and everything. I had no experience with that before – it was all a new world for me.”

He would suffer for his craft again, if he had to. After the 2024 incident, he posted a photo of himself in hospital on Instagram with the caption “sending yourself to hospital just to win” – the story drew flak from commenters.

Responding to his critics, Keulen said: “I’m just someone that it happened to, and I will do it again tomorrow. If I can win on Sunday and I have to go to hospital, I will do it again, because that’s what I’m racing for, and that’s what I’ve been born for.”

Paris Olympics silver medallist Julie Derron will be mindful of Singapore’s heat and humidity when she makes her debut here on April 5.

The 28-year-old Swiss athlete said: “It’s really a balance between knowing how far to push and how far is too far. My goal is to finish the race first of all, and then to finish as high as possible.

“What’s obviously gonna be challenging is the conditions, the heat, the humidity. That’s something we don’t race in that often. So you really have to be mindful about how far you push your body.”

The pro women’s race will be held on April 5 and the men’s a day later. Close to 7,000 participants will also compete in the triathlon, duathlon and music run over the two-day event.

As the T100 comes to the end of a three-year deal in Singapore, Professional Triathletes Organisation chief executive Sam Renouf said that the event could return as they are in talks for an extension.

He said: “Our intention with Singapore is that this is not a travelling circus that changes around very regularly.

“We see a lot of benefit in finding the right home for the events and then truly making it a home, coming back to the same time of the year, the same venue, year in, year out, because that’s how you build a legacy and that’s how you grow a sport.”