Kyle Smith has been handed a just reward for his T100 supershow in San Francisco with a golden ticket to the next big middle-distance showdown in London next month.
The 26-year-old New Zealand star was part of one of the sport’s most epic sprint finishes in recent years when he went right to the line with Belgian ace Marten van Riel at the end of a brutal 100km test in California earlier this month.
Eventually Smith lost by a whisker as both men lunged for the tape, but he came away with his reputation further enhanced following a magnificent performance.
Smith added to sensational field
Now Kyle will get the chance to prove that was no fluke after being handed a wild card for T100 in London on Sunday July 28.
He will line up against a star-studded field which includes American ‘Big Unit’ Sam Long, Danish superstar Magnus Ditlev and two-time Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee. Not to mention the likes of Spanish great Javier Gomez and fit-again Aussie star Max Neumann.
The other wild card for London will go to Dutch star Youri Keulen, who has already enjoyed significant T100 success so far in 2024. He claimed an excellent fourth in Miami in March, before grabbing a sensational victory in Singapore in April.
T100 start list – Pro Men
With the addition of Smith and Keulen as wild cards, the field for T100 London looks like this:
- Sam Long (USA)
- Magnus Ditlev (DEN)
- Mathis Margirier (FRA)
- Peter Heemeryck (BEL)
- Rudy Von Berg (USA)
- Rico Bogen (GER)
- Alistair Brownlee (GBR)
- Jason West (USA)
- Aaron Royle (AUS)
- David McNamee (GBR)
- Frederic Funk (GER)
- Clement Mignon (FRA)
- Ben Kanute (USA)
- Leon Chevalier (FRA)
- Sam Laidlow (FRA)
- Javier Gomez (ESP)
- Max Neumann (AUS)
- Daniel Baekkegard (DEN)
- Kyle Smith (NZL)
- Youri Keulen (NED)
T100 London Course
The marquee London race features a closed-road course taking place entirely within central London, with the women racing at 2pm local time on Saturday 27 July and the men at 2pm local time on Sunday July 28.
Starting and finishing at the ExCel London Exhibition Centre, the swim is in the sheltered Royal Victoria Dock; there’s a multi-lap bike course from Docklands to Westminster and back; and it finishes with a multi-lap run around the Docklands.
Wildcards for both the men’s and women’s pro races will be announced at the end of this week.
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