For a measure of just how impressive Hannah Berry’s T100 Triathlon World Tour debut was, we revert to the superstar who finished just ahead of the Kiwi No.1 in Singapore. We’ll circle back to another global name or two later to emphasise the point.
But first, said Lucy Charles-Barclay after celebrating her comeback from eight months on the sidelines with the season-opening bronze medal at sweltering Marina Bay Sands: “The girls had me working so hard on that run… I really dug deep to get on that podium.”
Chief among “the girls” was Berry who finished just 26 seconds adrift of the former full Ironman and 70.3 world champion in 4th. It capped a memorable day for the Kiwis with Sunshine Coast-based Amelia Watkinson overcoming a bike spill to claim 8th, making the most of a wildcard entry into Singapore after her own back-end of 2024 injury challenges.
Berry had been 48 seconds behind LCB starting the run, making up critical seconds in T2 after producing the 4th fastest bike split to go with a lead pack swim.
Anyone predicting the Mt Maunganui 34-year-old might drift backwards on the run was proved pleasantly surprised too with Berry’s 1:14:07 split for the 18k the day’s 6th best.
After starting the run in 5th place 48sec behind Charles-Barclay, she was able to reduce the deficit on the Brit by a further 22sec and make up a place in the final standings as Jessica Learmonth (GBR) uncoupled spectacularly/scarily after producing the leading swim and bike spits.
Learmonth’s first to 13th demise was a tough watch and underscored Berry’s fight, especially as the Kiwi’s only other experience in the heat and humidity of Asia was an adventure race in China back in 2017. Remember too that Flora Duffy, Miami T100 winner India Lee, fellow Brit Lucy Byram and Finn Minttu Hukka all succumbed to the “brutally hot” conditions, as Berry described them.
Charles-Barclay articulated the struggle: “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.”
It’s little wonder Berry was smiling as she crossed the finish line in 3:53:35. While the $10,500 (NZ$18,764) payday was nice, the confidence gained from a fast start to her rookie T100 campaign was priceless.
“Yeah, I mean, really good. Surprised myself out there today,” she said.
“I was thinking like a top 10 would be a good result. So to get a top five is…yeah, I’m so stoked.” – BERRY
Berry earned her T100 contact after a breakout 2024 that saw her finished 4th overall in the inaugural Ironman Pro Series, the brand’s swift riposte to the formation of the T100 series.
She prepped for Singapore with second in last month’s 2025 IM Pro Series opener at 70.3 Geelong and looks to have found her feet in the T100 quickly despite admitting beforehand to feeling “nervous to see how I stack up against strong competition in these challenging conditions.”
“It’s been really good start to the year. I think it’s just building from last year. Just been really consistent. Haven’t had too many sort of disruptions in training, which I think is just key.
“You just gotta stay consistent, keep chipping away and eventually you’ll see progress.”
The former Ironman NZ and defending Ironman Cairns (and Asia Pacific) champion has spent the first quarter of 2025 focusing on speed gains to add to her renowned full distance endurance.
It was there for all to see in Singapore, even if Berry barely got any TV time to the frustration of her fans watching back home in NZ.
The impressive part of Berry’s run was that the focus wasn’t only forward facing on Charles-Barclay. The Kiwi had ample heat from behind too.
Defending champion Ashleigh Gentle (the aforementioned ‘global name’) started 2mins and 4secs down on the Kiwi rookie out of T2 but could make up only 26sec in the final wash-up. The Aussie was reeled in by U.S. Olympian Taylor Spivey who roared up into 5th with a 1:10:51 run split
That was bettered only by Brit Kate Waugh who scooted home in an impressive 1:10:37 to win not only opening the T100 of 2025 in 3:45:18, but her very first long-distance race full stop.
Austrian wildcard Lisa Perterer was second in 3:51:58. The 6min 40sec between LCB and Perterer was the T100’s record margin of victory on a podium that few could of predicted.
What happens next is a fascinating prospect, especially as defending T100 titleholder Taylor Knibb, a late scratching from Singapore due to ‘personal reasons”, is expected to start round two in San Fran on May 31-June 1.
Will you race San Fran too, Hannah, to protect your 4th place in the overall standings?
“Not planning to do that one, but I’ll head over to Europe and probably do some of the European ones,” Berry said looking ahead to rounds three through five at the French Riviera (June 27-29), Valencia (Sept. 20) and London (Aug. 9-10). There after follows Las Vegas (date TBC), Dubai (Nov. 15-16) and the ‘Race to Qatar’ finale in Doha on December 12-13.
“So that’ll be a challenge to head over to the other side of the world for a Kiwi, but yeah, I’ll probably head over a little early and try and get acclimatised, so I’m ready.”
THEY SAID IT…
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.”
