Three races, three different distances, three podiums, and $200,000 earned all in the span of 13 days. What a remarkable run it’s been for Kiwi star Hayden Wilde!

It started with second place at Supertri Jersey on September 6th. Seven days later, Wilde became the Ironman 70.3 World Champion in Nice. Then, with just six days to recover, he headed down the Cote d’Azur to Frejus and Saint Raphael and won the Ekoi French Riviera T100.

Second, first, and first, with prize money of $75,000 for Supertri, $75,000 for Nice, and $50,000 for T100, totalling $200,000. And September is not over yet! Wilde still has one more race on the calendar: the World Triathlon Championship Finals in Pontevedra on September 27th.

Ekoi French Riviera T100: Two Podiums for the Kiwis

Wilde wasn’t the only one to have a standout day at the Ekoi French Riviera T100.

About three months ago, Kyle Smith moved to Andorra to train alongside Wilde, his lifelong mate and fellow New Zealander. Smith said the two got along like a “house on fire.”

The move came after what Smith described as two incredibly difficult years. In 2025, he was diagnosed with celiac disease after struggling with stomach issues. At the end of the year, he crashed his bike and broke his collarbone, requiring surgery.

The health struggles continued into 2026. Just four months ago, Smith was in hospital battling stomach issues and, by his own admission, staring down the barrel of retirement.

“I lost all the belief that I would ever come back,” Smith said after the race. “I was that unfit.”

Smith credits Wilde, along with Jan Frodeno, with being a life raft during some of those darkest moments, helping him believe that returning to this level was still possible.

Then, because apparently the previous two years had not thrown quite enough at him, Smith was hit by a bus the day before the French Riviera T100.

He woke up on race morning sore and decided, in his words, to “screw it and just send it and see what happens.”

What happened was his first T100 podium in more than two years.

Smith finished third behind Wilde and Jelle Geens, marking his first podium since taking second at T100 London on July 28th, 2024.

There was something fitting about sharing it with Wilde.

During the run, the two training partners agreed to work together, with Wilde helping set the pace. Wilde joked afterwards that they had established a point at which the arrangement would end and “we are not friends.” With just under 6km to go on the run, Wilde suspended the friendship and pushed on to separate himself from Smith.

The Kiwi method seems to be working. Wilde went on to win, while Smith held on for third, with Jelle Geens splitting the pair in second.

For Smith, however, the result represented far more than a podium. After two years that took a considerable mental, emotional, and physical toll, he struggled after the race to express what it meant to finally be able to say two words again: “I’m back.”