Kate Waugh had never raced over the 100km prior to this year but has been at the podium at each of the T100 races she has contested this year.
21:11, 13 Nov 2025
Kate Waugh claimed her second victory in the T100 with victory in a record time in Wollongong, Australia(Image: PTO/T100 Triathlon)
Kate Waugh is aiming to take one step closer to the T100 triathlon title when the series heads to Dubai on Saturday.
Waugh is yet to finish off the podium in her debut season at 100km and can stretch her lead even further with those also in a podium place not in action this weekend. The Gateshead native produced the quickest-ever women’s time in the T100 to take victory in Wollongong in a time of 3:26.55 to lead the standings with two races remaining.
“I am feeling really good going into Dubai, I have had a really good block of training going into this,” Waugh said. “It is my sixth T100 now, and I am feeling like I am more and more experienced. I am coming off the back of doing my quickest-ever 100km distance, so I feel pretty confident.
“The heat is going to play a factor in how the race is, but I am feeling good for that. With Wollongong, even though there were a few people missing, I wanted to put out a performance to be proud of regardless.
“Even though I had a gap going from the bike to the run, I was still keen to push the pace because I feel really fit at the moment, and I just wanted to see how fast I could go. I really surprised myself, and I have taken a lot of confidence from that. There are still things when I break the race down, I am still needing to work, so hopefully I can continue on the trajectory I have been on all season.”
Fellow Brit Lucy Charles-Barclay sits nine points behind Waugh in second but is not racing in Dubai, having won the Ironman 70.3 World Championships last weekend. Fourth-place Julie Derron returns having missed the last three races, while Jess Learmonth is the highest-ranked athlete who was racing at last Sunday’s World Championships on the start line in the UAE.
Kate Waugh claimed her second victory in the T100 with victory in a record time in Wollongong, Australia(Image: PTO/T100 Triathlon)
Points will be crucial ahead of the Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final on 12 December in Doha. Waugh added: “I would like to get another solid race out of Dubai. It will be another hard race, especially with the heat factor and some really strong women out there.
“Jess Learmonth and Julie Derron are back racing, and they missed the last one, so it will be good to see how the dynamic plays out, and it should make for a really exciting race.
“The course is really challenging, it is an eight-lap bike course, eight-lap run course, there are some decent climbs in it, so it will be quite punchy.
“There are a lot of factors at play, and I think it is going to be about who can play an intelligent race as well and who handles the heat. I just need to stick to my guns and see where that gets me in the end.”
You can watch the Dubai T100 Triathlon men’s race on Saturday 15 November from 0730 UK or the women’s race from 1330 via our partners Eurosport, Max or Discovery+ in Europe or free on PTO+. For further information visit: https://t100triathlon.com/dubai/pro/#how-to-watch
