Lucy Charles-Barclay reigns supreme in London T100

There were three British women in the top four, but the London T100 firmly belonged to hometown hero Lucy Charles-Barclay, who picked up one of the best wins of an already stellar career.

The 31-year-old former Ironman world champion gained retribution after having to drop out of last year’s event mid-race through injury – heartbreak that was compounded a few weeks later when she was forced to withdraw from her Ironman title defence on the eve of the race.

This time, however, it was all smiles in the sunshine thanks to a typically tenacious performance that denied Kate Waugh a second T100 victory of the season, with the USA’s Taylor Knibb in third and another GB athlete, Jess Learmonth, in fourth.

Unlike Charles-Barclay’s previous high-profile wins, this was not one she led wholly from gun to tape. Whether it was Learmonth in the swim, Knibb on the bike, or Waugh on the run, the lead ebbed and flowed throughout an intriguing 100km, with Charles-Barclay being there when it mattered.

Yet for much of the 18km run it looked like it might not happen, after Waugh, who won the first race of the series in Singapore, established and then retained a stubborn 15-second gap until the final lap of five alongside the Victoria Dock.

“It feels amazing to get my first T100 win on home soil,” a jubilant Charles-Barclay said. “Last year was so devastating, but I think this was probably the most fun win I’ve ever had. On the run I thought, ‘I’m at least going to get a podium, which is miles better than not finishing.’

“I felt I stayed strong, kept my pace and could see Kate in front and thought I might be able to get her. I left it to the last lap and when I went past I knew I just had to go and not look back. That’s definitely what I did! To have a home crowd support me all the way to the end really helped me push. Brits always bring the level of energy up.”

In finishing runner-up, Waugh also further justified her decision to include 100km racing as a focus following the Paris Olympics. It is now three podiums in three outings for the Gateshead-born athlete as she chases the $200,000 top prize in the T100 Race to Qatar series.

Charles-Barclay’s victory was the local highlight on the fourth stop of nine on the world tour, but in the men’s race there was an even more remarkable comeback performance as New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde won by over a minute from Germany’s Mika Noodt.

The Kiwi Olympic silver medallist, who has duelled so often with Britain’s Alex Yee over standard distance, suffered a horrific bike crash a little over three months ago in Japan that, at the time, looked to have ended his season.

Despite a punctured lung, breaking six ribs and his scapula, Wilde was a late addition to the start line in Docklands, but showed his class to come to the run leg with only Rico Bogen ahead. The gap never looked enough for the German and, once Wilde had made the pass, he controlled his effort to the line in London’s ExCeL for an emotional triumph.

“I wasn’t afraid of the race at all. I’m used to racing these guys. I know what the level is. I knew what my level was going into it,” Wilde said. “You have a big injury, you have three months off and you do have some negative thoughts in your mind. That was the first swim-bike I’ve had since Singapore. Three months without doing that, you’re always a bit cautious.

“I didn’t even realise I had two plates in my back after three weeks. My team has been incredible. Obviously it wasn’t just me doing it. But you have to put in the discipline.”

It was the second year of T100 racing in London, which also saw thousands of amateurs take part over the weekend, from super sprint to 100km distances, in one of the world’s biggest triathlons.

With many first-time triathletes taking part, the mass-participation event in east London has long been a gateway to introduce people to the sport, but with venue hire and road closure costs rising, numerous organisers have struggled to make it work financially.

With entry numbers well down on pre-pandemic levels, the Professional Triathletes Organisation acquired the event last year to try to breathe new life into it, a situation helped by its latest round of funding that has seen an estimated $40 million invested, chiefly from SURJ Sports Investment, a sports investment arm of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), and founding investor Michael Moritz.

While every age-group competitor would have their own tale from the racing, the day belonged to Charles-Barclay. Heartbroken after last year’s withdrawal – the first of her career – the win looks to put her on course to challenge not only for more T100 honours, but also for a chance of reclaiming her Ironman world title in Hawaii in October.

“I feel like this year I’m finally getting back to my old self,” she added. “I’ve just been consistent in training and we’re finally starting to see that in racing. Coming into this race I knew I was in good shape, I just wanted to play it down because last year was so low. To be able to pull it together and have a solid day just feels amazing.”

View the full results for the London T100 professional men’s and women’s races.