Record participation of over 8,000 athletes at Dubai T100

Dubai: France’s Quentin Amaral and Nika Rimaj of Croatia emerged as winners in the amateur men’s and women’s division respectively in the Dubai T100 festival held on Sunday. The event was attended by over 8,000 competitors took on challenges ranging from first-time youth aquathlons to the gruelling 100km triathlon distance.

Amaral secured a blistering time of 3 hours 26 minutes, 20 seconds while Hungary’s David Andor (03:34:51) bagged the runner-up spot and Dutchman Bryan Van Rutten (03:36:09) completed the podium places. In the women’s division, Nika took gold with an impressive time of 3 hours 54 minutes and 52 seconds with Russia’s Antonia Faustova (04:01:11) in second and Croatian Lora Zulicek Dumancic (04:05:17) in third.

The Amateur T100 saw passionate age-group athletes tackle the same demanding 100km course (2km swim, 80km bike, 18km run) as the professionals, crossing the identical finish line with the Burj Khalifa towering in the distance.

Among the finishers were Nick and his son Rio Watson, who lives with a rare chromosome condition. The father-son duo crossed the finish line together, embodying Team Angel Wolf’s “Inclusive Impactivity” mission. Meanwhile, daughter Tia Watson stormed to first place in the female 16-19 age category.

“Every time I race with Rio, I’m speechless,” said Nick Watson. “Not just because of what we achieve together, but because of how included Rio is by everyone around us. Hearing people cheer his name, the way the T100 organisers embraced us from the start line, that’s what true inclusion looks like. This event brought us so much joy as a family.”

Record run

Dubai-based endurance athlete Ghani Souleymane joined today’s Dubai T100 to celebrate his remarkable achievement of completing 100 consecutive T100 distance triathlons, earning him a place in the Guinness World Records as the first person ever to accomplish this extraordinary feat.

Souleymane took to the start line alongside the age-group field to soak up the atmosphere after three months of relentless dedication that saw him cover 200 kilometres in open water, 8,000 kilometres on the bike, and 1,800 kilometres on foot — all while raising funds for Al Jalila Foundation to support children with cancer.

“This celebration today is the best in my life,” said Souleymane. “It’s the best way for me to celebrate with the community, because without the community, I couldn’t have done the 100. Their support, their sharing, their donations is what kept me going. I just want to say a huge thank you to the whole team of T100 for supporting me from the zero till I completed the challenge and giving me the opportunity to celebrate with the community and be here today.”

The Music Run

Saturday evening saw The Music Run transform Meydan into Dubai’s Fittest Party, with almost 5,000 participants taking on the 5km speaker-lined course before celebrating at the Music Village and Finish Line Party featuring live performances by Sam Withers, Black Murphey, and Jesse Lawrence.

From first-time runners to seasoned fitness enthusiasts, participants of all ages moved to the beat along a route lined with speakers pumping out music from start to finish, proving that fitness and fun are the perfect combination.

School Aquathon

Friday’s inaugural Dubai T100 School Aquathon brought together 600 enthusiastic young athletes from 30 schools across the UAE, competing across five age categories in events tailored to introduce students progressively to multisport competition.

In the fiercely contested 13-14 age categories, William Brian dominated the male division with an impressive time of 12:28, while A. L. D Stein claimed victory in the female race, crossing the line in 13:06. The senior 15-17 categories saw Abdulla Aljneibi take the male title in 13:32 and Maria Fenics earn top honours in the female division with a time of 15:27.

Dr. Abdulrahman Nassir from the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) attended the event and presented awards, emphasising the importance of youth sport development in Dubai’s educational landscape. The overwhelming success establishes the School Aquathon as a landmark event on the UAE’s youth sports calendar, promising to inspire the next generation of multisport athletes.

Race to Qatar

Saturday’s professional races provided pivotal moments in the Race to Qatar, with Switzerland’s Julie Derron claiming victory in the women’s race ahead of Race to Qatar leader Kate Waugh, while USA’s Morgan Pearson took the men’s title.

With the penultimate races complete, attention now turns to next month’s Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final, where increased points weighting means the world championship titles remain wide open.

“We’re thrilled to be back here at Meydan. The atmosphere is absolutely electric,” said Sam Renouf, CEO of the Professional Triathletes Organisation. “We’ve had just over 8,000 athletes competing over the last three days. The T100 is all about going to iconic locations around the world, and Dubai is a fantastic host. We’re honoured to be part of the Crown Prince’s Dubai Fitness Challenge initiative, and just seeing the level of engagement of the local population here, how they’ve embraced triathlon, it’s wonderful for us. We’re thrilled to be announcing that we’ll be back next year.”

Following Dubai’s spectacular conclusion, all attention now turns to Doha for the inaugural Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final on December 12-13. With over $8 million in athlete compensation across the season and world championship titles on the line, the stakes have never been higher as the world’s best triathletes prepare for one final showdown to determine who will be crowned T100 Triathlon World Champions.