Swiss star Julia Derron (SUI) chased down the returning British T100 World Champion Kate Waugh (GBR) on the run to record her first T100 victory of the season in Vancouver. Georgia Taylor-Brown took third to put two Brits on the podium.

Second in Vancouver last year to American Taylor Knibb, Derron would not be denied the top step this time around despite a valiant performance from Waugh – who was returning from a calf injury that has dogged her season to date meaning this was only her first T100 race of the year. In this race Waugh finished with a swollen elbow after slipping into a fence on the last run lap.

Third was British Olympic champion Georgia Taylor-Brown and fourth was home favourite Paula Findlay, caught by Taylor-Brown with just over 5km to go, but not before she’d taken the lead on the bike and given a vociferous Canadian crowd plenty to cheer about.

The result means that Derron takes the lead in the T100 Race To Qatar on 64 points, with Simmonds in second on 62 points and Taylor-Brown in third on 61. Athletes select their best three finishes plus the Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final. 

What happened in the swim

With an air temperature of 21°, the beautiful Locarno Beach launched the professional women into the 2026 Vancouver T100. Reigning T100 World Champion Kate Waugh (GBR) led at the start of the swim, and was joined by Taylor Spivey (USA), Imogen Simmonds (SUI), Lena Meissner (GER) and Sara Pérez Sala (ESP) in the leading group, with Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR) leading the next group seven seconds behind after the first lap.

At the end of the swim, Spivey was leading, followed closely by Waugh, Sala, Meissener and SImmonds. The gap to GTB’s group grew to 41 seconds behind the leader. A long run in the sand to T1 followed the 2km swim. Spivey lost time in transition, with Briton Waugh leading onto the bike by three seconds to German Meissner.

What happened on the bike

The 80km bike leg took the athletes along the Spanish Banks with 5 laps of 14.1km taking in the University of British Columbia Campus. Swiss superstar Julie Derron made her way through the field, having started the bike with an almost 90 second deficit. She fought her way back to the front of the race, joining Paula Findlay (CAN), Waugh and Simmonds with over half of the 80km bike left to ride, and left T2 second with a 48 second gap to close to leader Waugh.

Canadian Findlay worked her way through the field from 13th after the swim all the way to leading her home race at the 55km to go mark. Waugh eventually retook the lead and pulled out an advantage of 48 seconds over Simmonds and Derron heading into T2, and Findlay was not far behind after recording the fastest bike split of 2:01:13.

What happened on the run

A smooth transition ensured Waugh maintained her lead to start the 18km run back along Locarno Beach and Spanish Banks Beach Park. Derron immediately left behind compatriot Simmonds to chase down Waugh and the victory. Simmonds was soon joined and overtaken by Findlay, who then began to increase her buffer to the Swiss for that final podium place.

Derron took the lead from Waugh with just less than 9km to the finish. With less than 6km to go, Findlay was overtaken by the 2026 Spain T100 Triathlon winner, Georgia Taylor-Brown, who moved onto the podium.

“I’m a bit known to not wear socks on the T100 course, and that makes a difference in transition,” said Derron. “I was flying out there. I really felt good. I knew that I had a chance to catch Kate, and I just kept going until the finish line and to come away with the win is amazing.

“I had so much good energy coming back here. I had so much fun here last year. I love racing in Canada. To come back and just feel really comfortable and happy to be here, excited to race, It just makes a difference. It helps to execute a good race.”

Derron was victorious in Vancouver, crossing the finish line in a time of 3:33:26, almost 2 minutes ahead of Waugh on her return from injury. The final podium place was taken by Britain’s Taylor-Brown, 3 minutes down on Derron, with home heroine Findlay a further 27 seconds behind in 4th.

Georgia Taylor-Brown said: “I nearly got to the lead group, but not quite. We were close, and then, yeah, I don’t know. We just had a big line of girls. It just became really messy and back and forth and, like, freewheeling and then we lost contact with the lead group, So, it was a bit frustrating, but that’s my fault, you know. I just didn’t make the right moves at the right time. But I found it really hard today.”

“I’m really happy with this performance today. The run was the best part. I mean, there’s still quite a lot to work on. My swim wasn’t great. My bike was ok, but overall it was decent. I’m happy enough. I’m not, like, super happy, but I’m happy enough.”