A bold headline sets the stage: Hayden Wilde clinches his first world title with a flawless T100 victory in Qatar.
News
12 December, 2025 04:12 PM
Wilde capped a remarkable season on the T100 Triathlon World Tour by winning the Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final in Lusail on Friday, capturing the World Title he has chased all year.
Entering the day with a clear lead over Belgian Jelle Geens and German Mika Noodt, the New Zealander never faced serious challenge and glided to his sixth win from seven T100 starts this season.
That triumph earned maximum points and formed a bold statement for 2026.
“It’s pretty special—from Singapore to a spell in hospital, and then back to victory across a string of races, finishing here in Qatar feels like a fitting finale. It’s been a long season, but it’s nice to close it out on a high note.” Wilde added.
“I’d love to see more short-course athletes mix it up with us, you know, guys like Matty Hauser and Alex Yee if they want to come over and have some fun. I’m really fond of this format; it highlights how strong you can be on both the bike and the run.”
HOW THE RACE UNFOLDED
France’s Vincent Luis and the USA’s Morgan Pearson sprang into action during the 2km swim to form an early lead pack of eight, which included Belgium’s Jelle Geens (runner-up in the T100 Race To Qatar standings) and 2024 T100 World Champion Marten Van Riel. Wilde, the five-time T100 winner from New Zealand, started about 40 seconds back.
On the 80km bike leg, Wilde soon bridged into the front group, which also featured heavy hitters Mika Noodt and Rico Bogen from Germany, and Van Riel. Pearson lost ground, while Mathis Margirier from France surged forward. Midway through the ride, Bogen hit a dusty corner and briefly went down but recovered quickly, and Geens faded from the lead.
After entering T2 in the lead, Wilde was first onto the 18km run, seemingly set for a dominant march to victory. Bogen chased just behind, with Van Riel, Margirier, and Noodt forming a tight quartet. Geens trailed by about 2:18, while Pearson sat 2:43 back, though the American soon proved fastest on the run, clocking a pace just under 3 minutes per kilometer.
With about 10km remaining, Van Riel briefly slowed to pick up a special-needs bottle, while Margirier and Noodt stayed glued together. Van Riel rejoined as the group reassembled around Bogen, now a quartet heading toward the halfway point—1:20 adrift of Wilde, with Pearson a further 25 seconds behind.
Pearson overtook the pack with roughly 7km to go, moving from sixth to second. Margirier tried to tandem with him, separating Noodt and Van Riel, but within 3km the two chasing pairs were back ahead of the Frenchman. Van Riel then surged forward to claim the podium position for the first time in the run.
Behind Wilde, the action intensified but Wilde’s victory remained secure. The Kiwi crossed the line for his sixth win of the season and claimed the T100 Triathlon World Championship title with a perfect 2025 record. He earned $25,000 for the Qatar win, added to $125,000 won in other races this year, plus $200,000 for securing the T100 Race To Qatar overall.
Pearson battled to finish second, moving up to fourth in the T100 Race To Qatar standings. Van Riel finished third, relinquishing his 2024 world title but ending sixth overall in the T100 standings. Noodt finished fourth, securing second place in the overall T100 standings, while Margirier rounded out the top five, ending the season seventh overall.
Related Event
Dec 11 25 - Dec 13 25
Results
1
Hayden Wilde
NZL
03:06:08
2
Morgan Pearson
USA
03:07:23
3
Marten Van Riel
BEL
03:08:14
4
Mika Noodt
GER
03:08:28
5
Mathis Margirier
FRA
03:08:50
