Kate Waugh admitted she was so nervous and full of self-doubt ahead of her crunch T100 World Triathlon Tour Final that she had a little cry before stepping onto the Qatar start line.
With emotions running high, the 26-year-old Brit had endured a torrid night of just three hours’ sleep in the lead-up to a season-defining showdown with title rivals Julie Derron and Lucy Charles-Barclay.
Nerves, however, did not get the better of the 2024 Olympian as she powered away from her two main rivals with an epic run that saw her take the tape and secure her first-ever triathlon world title.
Mentally, physically and emotionally Exhausted
Shattered and relieved at having achieved her goal, Waugh crashed to her knees shortly after crossing the finish line – her utter mental, physical and emotional exhaustion all coming to a rather unpleasant head as her first act as the new T100 World Champion was to throw up.
“I guess I did it. I got the job done… but it wasn’t pretty,” she said moments later as the immensity of her achievement started to sink in. “I was really doubting myself before the race. I was giving it all the talk on the outside, but inside, I was terrified. I think I even had a little cry before the start of the race because I was just so nervous.
“Everyone was just telling me to stay composed and to stay chilled, but nothing was really working because I only slept three hours last night.
“I knew today that it was going to take absolutely everything, and it quite literally did. I have never thrown up over the finish line before. I am slightly mortified and do not want to see any of those photos.”
Seven T100 podium finishes for Waugh
Having finished on the podium for all six of her T100 races over the course of the season – including wins in Singapore and Wollongong – Waugh went into the final with a slender six-point lead over Derron, and with LCB a further three back.
Derron’s impressive win in Dubai last month, where she comfortably beat Waugh into second place, and the fact that LCB had recently won the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in such incredible fashion were clearly playing on Waugh’s mind as she desperately tried to focus on the job at hand.
Indeed, she revealed post-race how she had sought help from a mind coach to give her the edge in a T100 discipline, which was almost double the distance of the Olympic 51.5km that she had been used to prior to this season.
“It has been a long season, and it has been hard to hold it together for this length of racing,” she said. “It was my seventh T100, and I had started to doubt if I’d asked too much of myself this year. Obviously, Julie and Lucy are incredibly strong athletes and super strong mentally also.
Mental coach helps Waugh keep focus
“I have always thought that T100s are quite long races, and I have struggled to stay focused for that length of time. I’ve done some work with a mental coach to help me bring myself back when I am drifting out, and I was really focusing on that today.
“I was just trying to get it done lap by lap, half lap by half lap, and break things down into manageable chunks because when you think of the whole 18km it is slightly overwhelming.”
And it clearly worked, as she steadily moved behind the dangers of her rivals and then just about managed to hold off a late push from another fellow Brit, Georgia Taylor-Brown.
But it was about this time that she started to feel the sickness and needed to stay calm in order to get herself over the line.
Really starting to suffer
“On the last lap, I really started to suffer,” she said. “I was getting a bit wobbly, and my head started swimming. I can’t lie, it was a really, really tough day, and I am absolutely buzzing that I managed to get the job done.”
With family and friends there to watch her title-winning performance, she is now looking forward to spending the festive season at home and recharging the batteries for next season… the perfect Christmas present at the end of a fantastic debut T100 season.
Qatar T100 results – Pro women
Friday 12 December 2025 | 2km swim · 80km bike · 18km run
| Pos | Athlete | To Leader | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kate Waugh (GBR) | – | 26:28 | 1:55:37 | 1:07:13 | 3:31:30 |
| 2 | Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR) | +0:21 | 26:35 | 1:56:31 | 1:06:16 | 3:31:50 |
| 3 | Julie Derron (SUI) | +1:02 | 27:43 | 1:55:58 | 1:06:30 | 3:32:31 |
| 4 | Ellie Salthouse (AUS) | +3:22 | 27:33 | 1:56:04 | 1:08:12 | 3:34:51 |
| 5 | Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) | +3:38 | 26:25 | 1:55:28 | 1:10:35 | 3:35:08 |
| 6 | Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) | +4:01 | 29:13 | 1:58:22 | 1:05:21 | 3:35:30 |
| 7 | Holly Lawrence (GBR) | +4:58 | 26:31 | 1:57:28 | 1:09:53 | 3:36:27 |
| 8 | Jess Learmonth (GBR) | +5:17 | 26:27 | 1:55:31 | 1:12:11 | 3:36:46 |
| 9 | Sara PĂ©rez Sala (ESP) | +5:44 | 26:32 | 1:57:48 | 1:10:18 | 3:37:14 |
| 10 | Caroline Pohle (GER) | +5:50 | 27:43 | 1:55:55 | 1:10:54 | 3:37:19 |
Overall standings and prize money
| Pos | Athlete | Races* | Qatar Pts* | Total | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kate Waugh (GBR) | 6 | 55 | 183 | $200,000 |
| 2 | Julie Derron (SUI) | 5 | 41 | 163 | $170,000 |
| 3 | Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) | 4 | 33 | 152 | $150,000 |
| 4 | Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) | 7 | 30 | 137 | $120,000 |
| 5 | Jess Learmonth (GBR) | 7 | 24 | 120 | $110,000 |
| 6 | Ellie Salthouse (AUS) | 4 | 37 | 97 | $90,000 |
| 7 | Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR) | 3 | 46 | 90 | $85,000 |
| 8 | Taylor Knibb (USA) | 3 | 0 | 90 | $80,000 |
| 9 | Lucy Byram (GBR) | 5 | 16 | 89 | $75,000 |
| 10 | Holly Lawrence (GBR) | 4 | 27 | 85 | $70,000 |
*Best four regular-season results plus Qatar points count towards final tally.
