New Zealand's Hayden Wilde has been crowned king of the T100 World Triathlon series after rounding out his season in perfect style.
By Penny Miles for rnz.co.nz
Wilde won the final race in the Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship final in sweltering conditions this morning capping his sixth victory of the season.
The victory in the grand final race secured Wilde the overall T100 Triathlon World Title for the 2026 season.
Morgan Pearson of the United States finished second, more than a minute behind the blazing Kiwi who clocked a winning time of of 3h 06m 08s.
Wilde used his trademark speed on the run to pull clear and cruise to his near-perfect victory.
It has been a remarkable season campaign for Wilde who won the first race in Singapore but suffered a horrific bike crash when he was bit by a truck in Japan.
"I am proud of myself to get back to the start line and get back to the form," Wilde said.
"It is always the most daunting thing - can you get back to where you were? I was really happy to finish off here.
"It's big kudos to my team and my partners to help push me along through the process."
Wilde returned to racing less than 100 days after the Japan crash, marking a winning comeback securing victory at the T100 London race.
He won further titles in T100 meetings at the French Riviera, Spain and Wollongong.
In the lucrative circuit, Wilde's win in the grand final is paying dividends.
He pockets the season bonus of US$350,000 (NZ$603,032), with another US$40,000 (NZ$68,918) winner's cheque for the Qatar race win.
Britain's Kate Waugh won the women's race.
Triathlon is becoming an increasingly crowded landscape with World Triathlon, Challenge Ironman and the Professional Triathletes Organisation all running their own race series and world championships.
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