Hayden Wilde sets sights on T100 Triathlon World Tour success as new season begins
Olympic silver medallist Hayden Wilde is racing to win, not make up the numbers, as he gears up for his T100 debut in Singapore.
The 27-year-old triathlete is stepping up to the middle distance for 2025 following his announcement as one of four 'Hot Shots' added to the men's T100 World Triathlon Tour line-up this year.
It's a distance Wilde is not as well known for, with most of his success coming in the short course format, including Tokyo 2020 bronze and Paris 2024 silver.
But with a second-place finish at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in December, the Kiwi has already proven his pedigree over the longer distances.
"For me, the target for the T100 series is obviously to win the series," he said.
"I don't want to go into the T100 series making up the numbers. I'm not there to hide and not there to just sit in the back and just wait for the last few hundred metres.
"I'm there to race and race hard and make everyone push their limits."
Wilde already has a history over the 100km distance, having been part of Team International for the Collins Cup in 2022.
From his bathroom to Singapore 🛀Hayden Wilde gets out for his first outside run in the Singapore humidity.🎥 WATCH BTS: https://t.co/O6b9bvRwXZ pic.twitter.com/9g3oMRKd2p
— T100 Triathlon World Tour (@t100triathlon) April 4, 2025
The Collins Cup, modelled after golf's Ryder Cup, takes place over the same distance as the T100 World Tour, with Wilde finishing second to 2021 IRONMAN world champion Kristian Blummenfelt in his match.
And despite having focussed closely on the Olympic distance over the past two years, Wilde noted that there has not been much change in his preparation over the two formats.
"The swim is relatively the same, it just about getting on the TT bike a little bit more," he said.
"Obviously we're riding for about 90 minutes, so it's not a heck of a lot more than we normally do in Olympic distance.
"And then the run, you can kind of wing an 18k run.
"It's an interesting distance and I feel like it caters an Olympic distance athletes to step up a lot easier than say someone coming down to it."
Already known for his racing rivalry with Britain's Alex Yee, viewers will be exposed to new rivalries this season as Wilde goes head-to-head with Belgium's Jelle Geens.
Geens pipped Wilde to the 70.3 world title at the end of 2024, adding to the Kiwi's silver collection as he continues his hunt for another gold.
And with bubbling rivalries already rearing their heads before the first race even gets underway, Wilde believes that it can only be a good thing for the sport.
"I think there will be a bit of spice and a bit of rivalry in the T100 series," he said.
"Triathlon is relatively PG and to get some characters within the sport would be pretty sick.
"I just want to make the sport exciting. I don't want to go to a race and win easily. I want to put myself into the hurt locker and use that training that I've used and apply that into the racing.
"It looks like it's going to be hard work, but I'm up to the challenge and it should be fun."
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