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(Photo: Bartlomiej Zborowski/T100)
2. Two big triathlon series on the same weekend 🏊♀️ 🚴♀️ 🏃♀️
On opposite sides of the world, the triathlon world had two big races mark the start of two big (and competing) series. Confusing? Slightly! Fun? Sometimes!
The PTO's T100
In Singapore, the Pro Triathlete Organization's T100 world tour kicked off the 2025 season with a hot and humid 100km race that featured world champions and gold medalists. British Olympian Kate Waugh surprised the field and won her debut race by over six minutes as the conditions and early season pace got the best of multiple athletes.
How T100 works:
- Nine 100km races, culminating with the world championship in Qatar in December
- 20 of the best athletes signed season contracts & face-off against wildcards
- Athletes must race a minimum of five events towards the season title
- $2 million in race prize money + an extra $3 million for the overall series bonuses
Ironman's Pro Series
And in California, Ironman's Pro Series hosted its first N. American event at the big name 70.3 half-Ironman race in Oceanside. Paula Findlay took the title for a second time, pulling ahead of Jackie Hering on the run to win by just 19 seconds.
How the Ironman Pro Series works:
- 17 Pro Series races + the world championships — both full Ironman-distance and half-distance
- Any professional Ironman athlete can race and earn points towards the series standings
- Athletes count their five best scores for the season
- In addition to each race's prize money, $1.7 million in series year-end bonuses
WATCH: 'Iron Will' follows multiple athletes during last season's drive to the Ironman World Championship
ALSO THIS WEEKEND: Meanwhile, in London: Olympic and world champion Cassandre Beaugrand won the Supertri E World Championships (a stadium-based, virtual super-sprint triathlon)
3. A reminder from Tour of Flanders: Always take concussions seriously 🧠
🥇 This weekend, Lotte Kopecky became the first woman to win the Tour of Flanders three times in a row. But earlier in the race Elisa Longo Borghini was forced to pull out after crashing and suffering a concussion.
Olympic champion Kristen Faulker also missed the first part of the season while recovering from a concussion she got during a training ride.
Why is it so important to take the time you need for concussion recovery?
1. Because even a mild concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury. You don’t have to lose consciousness or feel symptoms right away for it to be serious.
2. Concussions can affect:
- Reaction time
- Balance & coordination
- Memory & focus
- Mood & sleep
And symptoms can take hours—or even days—to appear.
3. Continuing to ride or compete with a concussion = major risk. Healing takes time and a second head injury before your first heals can cause second impact syndrome—which can be life-threatening.
Long-term risks of ignoring a concussion:
- Chronic headaches
- Cognitive issues
- Depression or anxiety
- Ongoing fatigue
It's also important to understand that concussions can exhibit worse and different symptoms in female athletes than in male athletes. Women are shown to report more severe symptoms and those symptoms last longer, but it's not clear yet why that is. (Some studies have shown that when you control for time to first medical visit, the sex differences disappear — meaning female athletes need timely treatment and resources!)
LEARN: The last consensus statement on concussion in sport
LISTEN: Looking for more insight on how to handle your own concussions? Check out our Brain Storm podcast series |
