London, UK: Pop star-turned-West End lead Harry Judd led the way as the amateurs took the stage on Day 2 of the London T100 Triathlon, which saw more than 5,000 take part across the weekend.
From experienced triathletes tackling the T100 distance (2km swim, 80km bike, 18km run) to first-time swim, bike and run participants taking on Super Sprint (400m swim, 10km bike, 2.5km run), Sprint (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run) and Olympic (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run) distance triathlons as well as Team Relays.
Judd – who is set to star as Coach Bolton in the upcoming 20th-anniversary of Disney classic High School Musical starting on 12 October – completed the Olympic distance triathlon in 2hrs34mins [31:37 swim; 1:12:54 bike; 40:40 run].
“This is coming from a place of complete transparency and honesty, you should just do it [a triathlon]. I spoke to people out there today who have never done a triathlon before and they are out there doing it. These things seem so daunting but honestly you can do anything. The atmosphere was great and it’s a brilliantly run event . Don’t think twice, just do it.”
Alex Dowsett (pictured above), the former British professional road cyclist, took on the T100 and enjoyed the experience, finishing in 4hrs01min39secs [31:56swim; 1:59:29 bike; 1:22:12 run].
“I enjoyed it. It’s my second triathlon of this distance and I managed this much better than I managed the last one.”
“It’s longer. It sounds silly, but it’s like a longer effort at threshold. On the road cycling World Tour you’ve got mountains where you’re doing sustained periods of an hour at threshold, but nothing to this extent.”
“There’s so much polarization in the world at the moment, but sport just has this wonderful ability to bring everyone together and you feel that here. You see it on the Alpe d’Huez at the Tour as well…and that’s magical.”
Hugo Fry (above), running content creator, said: “It was tough today but I love coming here each year. It’s so much fun, the course is great and it’s so beautiful to go down Embankment without any cars. It’s really peaceful. If you’ve not tried a triathlon before I would 100% recommend you sign up to give it a go, and do the training of course.”
Fry finished in 4hrs26secs [33:09 swim; 2:17:30 bike; 1:01:20 run] and qualifies for the T100 Age Group World Championships in Qatar later this year along with everyone who finished top 10 in their respective age groups.
Angus Leckonby (above middle), who has previously held the record for the fastest and youngest man with an intellectual disability to complete a marathon, said: “It was great fun, the training is hard work. It was a really big day today and I was a bit nervous, and I don’t like to be nervous. It was such a fabulous experience, it was my first time doing T100 and it was a bit windy but really fun, I think I got around 4:49 for my time so I am really happy.” [4:49:45 Finish, 29:58 swim, 2:44:04 bike, 1:26:33 run)
Theo Baker (above), Youtuber, said: “I forgot how hard the Olympic distance is, oh my word, my legs were absolutely shot after about 4km, my goal was to send it on the bike as hard as I can because I haven’t cycled in about 7 months so I just thought lets see how it is and what my legs have got in them and I felt alright up until about 6km and then I latched onto Harry Judd for about 3.5km so he really carried me through that bit and then left me for the last 500m.
“It was amazing to take part around London, the course was absolutely unbelievable, going past Big Ben etc. The head wind was a bit tricky but the sun came out and it was really good.” [2:36:53 finish, 33:43 swim, 1:11:08 bike, 44:40 run]
Mary McCarthy (above), influencer, said: “That was so hard. The bike course in general i found harder than last year, we [James Warnock] both went way harder on the swim this year so we came out way more frazzled, I felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere by pedalling.”
“We had a little competition going on to see if James could beat me by more than 10 minutes otherwise the other person would get a tattoo and … James won, someone shouted at me on the course saying you are only 12 minutes behind and it ruined my whole race. [2:29:29 finish time, 26:25 swim, 1:16:13 bike, 40:42run]
James Warnock, influencer, said: “That was way harder than last year, the headwind on the bike was just terrible. The extra two hills this year alongside a tough run made it feel really hard.”
“I don’t know what our difference in time was but I know I won. Tattoo to be decided, maybe a jam pot.” [2:14:58 finish time, 27:40 swim, 1:03:46 bike, 36:59 run]
In the battle of the triathlon TV commentators, it was the T100’s Matt Baker (above right) who prevailed ahead of the WTCS’s [World Triathlon Championship Series] Will McCloy. The younger man finishing in 4hrs31mins38secs [38:13 swim; 2:28:02 bike; 1:19:05 run] and Will in 4hrs38mins27secs [32:42 swim; 2:27:29 bike; 1:30 run].
17-year old Hymayan Rob (above) was doing his first ever triathlon and taking on the T100 distance (2km swim, 80km bike, 18km run) dressed in a Tuxedo [on the bike and run], to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s. The idea had been sparked by watching Will Wade do this year’s London Marathon in one.
“We were doing it to raise as much awareness as possible on behalf of my grandma, who sadly passed away in February – and raising money for the Alzheimer’s Society and it’s honestly been an incredible journey. I could not be happier with the way today turned out.”
England Rugby Star Robshaw Tackles First Triathlon Alongside Strictly Pro Dancer
On Saturday, Former England rugby captain Chris Robshaw did his first ever triathlon.
Competing alongside his BBC Strictly Come Dancing co-star and professional dancer Julian Caillon, they both did an Olympic distance triathlon, which included a 1.5km swim in Royal Victoria Dock, a 40km bike ride around the Docklands and then a 10km run around London’s Excel Centre.
“I was excited when I got here,” said Robshaw, who finished in 3hrs14mins59secs (38mins13secs swim; 1hr31mins21secs bike; 53mins31secs run).
“But then I got in the water, and honestly, on my first lap, it’s like I forgot how to swim.”
“I couldn’t breathe, and it was so hard. That first lap was so hard. I thought I might not get back in. Then I got back in and the second lap was all right, and the bike and the run were actually the quickest I’ve done. To finish with 3:14:59, I’m really pleased with that, considering I wanted to do sub-four hours.”
“It’s been a great experience. The crowd’s been amazing. I’m still in one piece, which is important…and loved it.”
The two were raising money for the Kerslake-Robshaw Foundation, (https://www.justgiving.com/page/chrisr-julianc), which funds projects across the UK that help young people facing barriers build confidence, improve wellbeing, find belonging and unlock their potential.
Australian Caillon (above) has now done four triathlons. “This was actually my first Olympic distance triathlon. I’ve done a couple of other distances, but this was my first Olympic and my first T100 Triathlon event, and I was really, really excited for it.”
He finished in 2:38:38 (32mins swim; 1h14mins49secs bike; 44mins44secs run)
“Today was really good. I had a lot of fun. I went the wrong way on the swim [laughs] which happens to me every time. But, no, it was an awesome vibe. The weather was great. It was a lot of fun. I was a bit crampy on the run, but apart from that, yeah, awesome finish. Here in the Excel as well, finishing off and everyone cheering for you. Yeah, it was a really, really fun day.”
Caillon continued: “The Kerslake-Robshaw Foundation is obviously Chris and Camilla’s foundation, and they use sport and music to help young people and so we’re trying to raise money, raise awareness as well. It’s a great cause. They do a lot of great work with the community.”
Concluding, Caillon said: “I think triathlon can help everyone in so many different ways. I think the beauty of it is you’ve got three disciplines. So you’ve just got to hope that you’re somewhat good at one of them! But, to be honest, I think the community aspect is what’s drawn me into it.”
On Saturday afternoon, the world’s best Olympic distance triathletes competed in the first World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) races in London since 2015, with French superstar Cassandre Beaugrand blitzing the run to win in the women’s Sprint distance race to record her third victory of the season and Australian Matt Hauser winning the men’s race to chalk up his third victory this year. More details here: https://triathlon.org/news/thrice-as-nice-as-cassandre-beaugrand-wins-wtcs-london
Notes To Editors:
- Broll of Chris Robshaw and Julian Caillon here: https://f.io/Pv100idm and pictures here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/upnmtqdzjtbhe39f8rydo/AN1fqNYStdo6g5J8VTGuG0Y?rlkey=ukjkxjqljag1jdlk2c5p2znli&st=pe4aee1d&dl=0
-ends-
For Further Information:
PTO – Anthony Scammell E: [email protected]
About Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO)
The PTO is a sports body that is co-owned by its professional athletes, seeking to elevate and grow the sport of triathlon and take it to the next level. Its T100 Triathlon World Tour was introduced in January 2024 and is designated by World Triathlon as the ‘official World Championship for long distance triathlon’. This is part of a 12-year strategic partnership with the sport’s international governing body to develop the sport and it will grow further in 2027 with the launch of the new Triathlon World Tour. The T100 Triathlon World Tour is a season-long schedule of World Championship level races competed over 100km (2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run), where the world’s best triathletes go head-to-head in iconic locations. In 2026, the T100 Tour will deliver its 9-stop T100 Race To Qatar to: the Gold Coast (21-22 March), Singapore (25-26 April), Spain (23-24 May), San Francisco (6-7 June), Vancouver (15-16 August), French Riviera (19-20 September), Dubai (12-15 November), Saudi Arabia (November) & Qatar (11-12 December). T100 weekends are ‘festivals of multisport’ and feature a range of opportunities for amateur athletes of all levels to get involved. From experienced amateurs tackling the 100km distance to first-time swim, bike and run participants taking on single discipline, untimed events. For more information visit www.t100triathlon.com
World Triathlon
World Triathlon is the international governing body for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of triathlon and all related multisport disciplines around the world, including duathlon, aquathlon, cross triathlon and winter triathlon. Triathlon made its Olympic debut in Sydney 2000, with a third medal event, the Mixed Team Relay, added to the programme at Tokyo 2020, while para triathlon was first added to the Paralympic programme at Rio 2016. World Triathlon is proudly committed to the development of the sport worldwide, with inclusion, equality, sustainability and transparency at our core as we seek to help triathletes at all levels of the sport to be extraordinary.
