Britain’s Kate Waugh produced a stunning performance to clinch the season-opening Singapore T100 Triathlon today in what was her first Long Distance triathlon race.
On her way to a 6min 41sec winning margin – a new T100 record – the T100 debutante beat favourites including two-time Singapore defending champion Ashleigh Gentle as well as fellow Briton Lucy Charles-Barclay, who finished third. Wildcard Lisa Perterer also rose through the ranks to claim the silver.
The top 10 of the Singapore T100 are as follows.
- Kate Waugh – 3:45:18
- Lisa Perterer – 3:51:58
- Lucy Charles-Barclay – 3:53:09
- Hannah Berry – 3:53:35
- Taylor Spivey – 3:54:39
- Ashleigh Gentle – 3:55:12
- Grace Thek – 3:56:42
- Amelia Watkinson – 3:57:22
- Marlene De Boer – 3:58:28
- Megan McDonald – 4:04:19
How The Race Unfolded
It was a fierce battle from the start in the warm waters of Marina Bay as Charles-Barclay and compatriot Jessica Learmonth surged to the front. The duo pushed the pace early, stringing out the field, but the main contenders held strong. The lead group at the 1km Aussie exit included Flora Duffy (BER), Kate Waugh (GBR), Julie Derron (SUI), India Lee (GBR), Taylor Spivey (USA), Hannah Berry (NZL), and Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) – all within just 11 seconds. The rest of the field trailed by 30 seconds.
On the second lap, Learmonth continued to press, thinning the group to Charles-Barclay, Derron, Waugh, and Spivey. Duffy dropped back slightly, while Gentle and Lee were nearly a minute behind.
Out of T1 and with ice dumped over their heads to fight the tropical heat, Learmonth led with Waugh close behind. By 25km into the 80km bike, Waugh was the only athlete within a minute, just 15 seconds adrift. Charles-Barclay sat 1:40 back, followed by Derron at 2:18 and Gentle and Lee at 2:45. Duffy was notably off pace at 5 minutes down.
At 40km, Learmonth still held a 20-second lead over Waugh. Charles-Barclay had slipped to 2:36 behind, with a chase group of Lee, Gentle, and Lisa Perterer (AUT) over 4 minutes back. Berry and Derron hovered around the 5-minute mark. By 60km, Waugh continued on the heels of Learmonth, still within 20 seconds, while Charles-Barclay had drifted 3:30 off the pace. Perterer led the chase behind at 4:20, ahead of Berry, Gentle, and Lee.
In a tough twist, both Flora Duffy and India Lee stepped off the course over the next 10km, officially recording DNFs and scoring no points towards the 2025 T100 Race To Qatar standings.
After a commanding solo ride, Learmonth hit T2 first – but cramps struck immediately. Waugh seized the moment, taking control at the start of the 18km run and quickly pulling away. Perterer arrived in third, 3:43 back, with Charles-Barclay another 20 seconds behind. Berry and Gentle followed at 5 and 7 minutes down, respectively.
By the 5km mark, Waugh had stretched her lead to 1:33 over Learmonth. Perterer held firm in third at 4:12, with Charles-Barclay slipping to 4:36. Berry and Gentle remained off the pace, and the defending Singapore champion wasn’t making gains.
At 8km, Learmonth began to falter – her pace dropping to a jog and even a walk – allowing Perterer and Charles-Barclay to move past.
Heading into the final 6km, Waugh was in complete control – over 6 minutes ahead of Perterer, 7 ahead of Charles-Barclay, 8 over Berry, and 9 clear of Gentle. Learmonth slipped out of the top 10 and would finish in 13th.
With a wave to the crowd and a smile on her face, Waugh celebrated down the blue carpet to claim the title of 2025 Singapore T100 Triathlon Champion in 3:45:18 – securing 35 points, US$25,000, and the top spot in the T100 Race To Qatar Standings. Her 6:41 winning margin is the largest in T100 history, sending a clear message to her competitors.
Wildcard entry Perterer delivered a breakout performance, finishing second in 3:51:58 to earn 28 points and US$17,000 – marking herself as a new threat on the T100 scene.
Battling the heat, Charles-Barclay claimed third in 3:53:35, taking home 25 points and US$13,000 – a good start after a 2024 blighted by injury.
In fourth, Berry defied expectations of being a long-distance-specialist, making a strong T100 debut to earn US$10,500 and 22 points. Rounding out the top 5 was Hot Shot Spivey, who secured US$9,000 and 20 points – forcing returning champion Ashleigh Gentle into 6th.
Key Quotes
Kate Waugh
“I’m over the moon, I’ve got goosebumps right now. It was just an incredible day, just one of those days where everything seemed to go right and I’m absolutely buzzing. I’m just so grateful to be here and I felt so lucky to be able to enjoy that last kilometre because the support in Singapore was incredible. Life as a professional athlete can definitely be a roller coaster. I went through some low moments last year where I genuinely didn’t know I even wanted to do the sport anymore. So to come back here and get the biggest win in my career was a really special moment. It’s definitely kind of relit a fire in my heart and I’m just so grateful. I prioritised the aid stations and ran with a bottle for pretty much 18km, took my time through that and I think it really paid off. It was very hot. There were times where I was only about halfway through the run and I thought ‘Oh my goodness, this is really savage’, but I stuck to my game plan and it paid off. I was just trying to keep (Jess) in sight and I was confident in my run fitness going into this. It’s twice as long and I felt twice as brutal… but I’m excited to learn more and hopefully grow and develop more as a T100 athlete.”
Lisa Perterer
“I still can’t believe it, 2nd place. I came to this race as a wildcard with no expectations, I just wanted to have fun, enjoy and make full use of this opportunity. The swim was okay, but on the bike, I felt comfortable and I just did my own race. I wasn’t sure if it would work out but I told myself it was my opportunity to take it. The first steps of my run didn’t feel good, my leg was cramping a little but I told myself, ‘Okay Lisa just do your best, don’t care about the others’. The last time I went up and down on the bridge again, I told myself now I can enjoy and finish the race. I really enjoyed this last 2km and I just couldn’t believe it. Everyone asked me about the heat (because) there’s a lot of snow where I was born in Austria. I do a lot of indoor training, that’s my heat prep. I didn’t do any specific heat prep but I just love the heat and I know exactly how far I can go in it. It’s my first time in Singapore and I enjoyed it a lot. I like the city, the food and the people, and I would love to stay longer. It’s been an incredible experience.”
Lucy Charles-Barclay
“To be honest after last season, it was just a win to get back to the start line so to get a podium in the first race back, I’m definitely over the moon. The girls had me working so hard on that run and I really dug deep to get on that podium, it’s all I wanted at the end of the day. I had a pretty good block coming in and just before traveling out, I got sick and I wasn’t sure if I would get on the plane but I had done so much work and just wanted to get back to racing. I didn’t want to have to miss another race in the T100, so I got on the plane, dosed up on vitamin C and just hoped for the best to feel a bit better to get on the start line. I was confident I could get through it but in these conditions it was just so tough. It was brutal all day. As you probably saw in T2, I had to sit on the floor, every muscle in my leg cramped and I was like holy hell, this run is going to be horrific. Everything was cramping the whole way through and the girls were closing down and I knew the gaps were so small. I just had to keep digging. I put in so much work for this that I just can’t give up on the day so I’m really proud to fight till the end.”
