What unfolded at the Dubai T100 was unlike anything I’ve seen in elite triathlon. Three athletes, including race leader and favourite Hayden Wilde, overshot the bike course and unknowingly added 8km to their race. Later, uncertainty over the run lap count created confusion at the finish, leaving athletes, officials, and fans unsure of the true order of results.
Where the Chaos Started
The swim was the only part of the day that resembled a typical race. A lead pack – Morgan Pearson, Vincent Luis, Marten Van Riel, Jonas Schomburg, Sam Dickinson, and Wilhelm Hirsch — exited the water together, with a chase group featuring Mika Noodt and Wilde 1:16 behind. Fans wondered whether that early gap might finally pressure Wilde’s five-for-five T100 winning streak, but the Kiwi answered quickly. He erased his deficit on the bike, surged into the lead, and looked poised for a sixth straight win.
Then came the turning point. Approaching T2, Wilde – along with the two athletes directly behind him, Mathis Margirier and Marten Van Riel – rode past the transition and unknowingly completed an additional 8km loop. In that moment, all three were effectively taken out of podium contention.
Confusion on the Run
Dickinson, sitting fourth on the road, was the first to reach T2, and immediately looked puzzled by the empty bike racks. With Noodt arriving just seconds later, the race appeared to flip on its head, suddenly elevating new contenders into podium position.
Noodt moved to the front early in the run and looked ready for his long-awaited breakthrough T100 victory. But Pearson, who had entered T2 more than three minutes down, was charging hard. By the 12km mark, he had closed the gap and swept past Noodt, setting up what looked like a decisive run to the tape.
Meanwhile, as Wilde began his run, cameras showed him glancing around in confusion and asking other athletes what had happened, clearly stunned to learn that he, Margirier, and Van Riel had completed the wrong bike distance.
And the confusion wasn’t over. In the closing kilometres, the broadcast suddenly cut to Mika Noodt breaking the tape, looking unsure as he crossed the line in first. Vincent Luis appeared to finish second, followed by Dickinson, with Wilde seemingly in fifth. Moments later, Morgan Pearson, believing he had secured the win, arrived at the finish to find several athletes already there.
Where Final Results Landed
With multiple athletes filing protests – including Pearson and those who unintentionally over-biked – officials conducted a formal review. Following World Triathlon guidelines, final placements were determined based on each athlete’s position at the completion of the seventh lap of the eight-loop run course, the last point with consistent and verifiable timing.
This adjustment accounted for Pearson having run an additional lap and for the differing on-course directions between him and Noodt (who was sent to the finish after seven laps). However, it did not change the outcome for the three athletes who completed the extra 8km on the bike, an issue that fell outside the scope of the rulebook and therefore remained unchanged.
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Final Placements
- Morgan Pearson
- Mika Noodt
- Gregory Barnaby
- Jason West
- Vincent Luis
- Sam Dickinson
- Jonas Schomburg
- Hayden Wilde
- Filipe Azevedo
- Pieter Heemeryck
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