Yo Yo Yo says “No No No” to T100 San Francisco – triathlon superstar Sam Long explains why

Triathlon superstar Sam Long knows his limits and has decided to ditch plans for a “crazy” hat-trick of races.

The 29-year-old with the trademark “Yo Yo Yo” catchphrase was down to race the T100 in San Francisco this Saturday.

But he’s skipping the event to focus on his next two races, where he first hopes to give Lionel Sanders a run for his money at IRONMAN 70.3 Eagleman on June 8 and then head to Vancouver for his next T100 on June 13.

“It would be a little crazy”

Explaining his reasons in a pink jacket, mock press conference in a new YouTube video posted on Sunday, which is embedded below, Long said: “Many of you may have noticed I’m on three start lists. I’m on T100 San Francisco, I’m on 70.3 Eagleman, and I am on T100 Vancouver.

“Now, these are three weeks in a row. I’m not going to do all three of these. It would be a little crazy. It would be kinda cool to go and attempt all three of them.

“But it would be a lot because it starts only two weeks after I just finished St George and Chattanooga [back to back]. So here’s what I’m going to do – I am skipping T100 San Francisco. Then I’m going to line up another double. I’m going to do 70.3 Eagleman and T100 Vancouver.”

Long already has one race win under his belt in 2025, at IRONMAN 70.3 Chattanooga, but it was his second-place finish behind Sanders eight days prior at IRONMAN St George that captured the attention.

And Long, who has spoken about his bromance with his big rival before, is keen to renew that rivalry at Eagleman.

He said: “I’m trying to win races to earn money to provide for my family and that means picking courses that suit me. And I’m trying to balance media attention. I feel that my schedule now is better.

“Energy through my veins”

“At Eagleman I’m lining up against Lionel Sanders and that rivalry, that duel is going to continue. I want to race with that. I want to push us both higher. It offers much better media attention, and then Vancouver back to back suits me.

“There’s a personal factor for me too. I have to do things that excite me. That puts energy through my veins. This new schedule does that. And for my family, doing San Francisco is tough.

“It means packing up the family several times. Doing it this way eliminates a whole travel day and reduces a lot of stress. And I need to test my swim! Chattanooga swim got cancelled. So I need these mass start swims.”

“Missing a big opportunity”

Long raced San Francisco last year but admits he is not a fan of the course and that this played into his thinking too.

He said: “A lot of you are going to say I was only a minute back at T100 San Francisco last year and so I’m missing a big opportunity.

“But I didn’t love the overall course there. It’s really tight. The roads are really narrow. It allows for a lot of drafting opportunities which isn’t really my whole thing.”

Long, who admits podium finishes at T100 events could be tough for him this year, says he is essentially swapping San Francisco for the French Riviera T100 on August 30.

He sees that as the perfect warm-up to his big focus for 2025 – the IRONMAN World Championships in Nice on September 14, where Sanders will again be one of his big rivals.

He said: “The date of France has moved. Originally it was going to be June 25th-ish and now it’s two weeks before IRONMAN World Champs in Nice, and for me it looks like one of the most awesome courses, one of the most amazing venues.

“Going full throttle”

“I’m already going to be over there in the Nice area, so there is no travel and it’s a perfect way to test riding there in France going full throttle on a race course. That’s the perfect race and essentially a direct swap.

“And the other reason is that the Canadians love me and the Vancouver race looks incredibly awesome. I think I have a great chance there.”

Long is under contract to compete at five T100 events this year and finished eighth at T100 Singapore in April.