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Triathlon's Talent Battle Ignites

T100's 2025 athletes, how to swim better next year, and why you should rotate your shoes!

Author

Matthew Sharpe
December 20, 2024

TOGETHER WITH BLUESEVENTY

Good morning everyone,

Today we’ve got a really insightful interview with pro triathlete and NCAA swimming champion, Greg Harper. There’s a few key takeaways, but my favorite was the importance of keeping the “three H’s” - head, hips, and heels - near the surface of the water in order to swim fast. It’s simple, and makes a lot of sense!

  • We’ve enjoyed our interviews with athletes like Greg, but have you? As we head towards 2025 we’d love to know why you continue to tune in to The Tempo.

Reply to this email and let us know what you like - or don’t! Any feedback is incredibly appreciated.

In today’s edition:

  • 🔥 Triathlon’s talent battle ignites as T100 announces key signings.

  • 🏊 Want to swim your best next year? Start developing your speed!

  • 👟 And why you should be “rotating” your shoes!

Thanks for being here.

-Matt Sharpe, newsletter editor

Headshot of Matt Sharpe

Have a triathlete in your life who can't stop swimming, biking, or running? Fire this off to them. Forwarded from a friend? Sign-up for free.

ONE BIG THING

Triathlon’s Talent Battle Ignites as T100 Announces Key Athlete Signings

What is it: T100 Triathlon has been slowly announcing which athletes have signed on to compete in its flagship T100 Triathlon World Tour in 2025.

Signed, sealed, delivered: After last month’s Grand Finale in Dubai, it was revealed that the top ten athletes in the final series rankings would be receiving automatic contract offers in 2025. Key athletes that will be on tour include:

  • Taylor Knibb (USA) - 2024 women’s T100 Triathlon Champion.

  • Martin Van Riel (BEL) - 2024 men’s T100 Triathlon Champion.

  • Kyle Smith (NZ) - 2nd in men’s T100 standings.

  • Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) - 2nd in women’s T100 standings.

  • Sam Long (USA) - 6th in men’s T100 standings.

Awaiting the dotted line: It’s been a slow rollout for the T100, however, key athletes have yet to be announced including:

  • Kat Matthews (GBR) - 4th in women’s T100 standings, 1st place 2024 IRONMAN Pro Series.

  • Laura Philipp (GER) - 7th in women’s T100 standings, 2024 IRONMAN World Champion.

  • Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) - 12th in women’s T100 standings. 2023 IRONMAN World Champion.

  • Magnus Ditlev (DEN) - 4th in men’s T100 standings. 2nd place 2024 IRONMAN World Championships.

  • Sam Laidlow (FRA) - 11th in men’s T100 standings. 2023 IRONMAN World Champion.

Tempo’s take: It’s an interesting mix of athletes who have committed to, and whom remain unsigned to the T100. A shift appears to be occurring where those who believe they have the skillset to succeed at the IRONMAN pro series seem to be foregoing the T100, while those who come from a short course background know they will be in an environment where they can thrive.

  • The T100 is doing its best to retain key athletes by throwing heavy six figure contracts around. But that probably isn’t enough for athletes like Lucy Charles Barclay who could race less on the IRONMAN Pro Series and make just as much money. 

And let’s not forget the draw of the Big Island. In 2025 the women’s IMWC will be back in Kona and it’s probably the main reason certain big-name female pros have yet to commit to another season with the T100.

  • We are currently in the midst of the greatest battle for talent triathlon has ever seen. And in a month or so we’ll know who has come out on top! 

Did you enjoy the "season long narrative" put forth by T100 and IRONMAN Pro Series?

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TOGETHER WITH BLUESEVENTY

Want to Swim Your Best? Develop Speed and the Rest Will Follow!

Greg Harper (USA) is an NCAA swimming champion and current professional triathlete. He had the fastest swim split at last weekend’s IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships.

  • He tells us how his secrets for nailing your race day swim, how you can level up your stroke, and why he loves his new Blueseventy Helix!

How was your preparations for 70.3 Worlds?

Preparation for worlds was super great! It was more bike-focused, but would always get in a quality swim workout each week. It wasn't perfect though, as I only got in one 50m session in the 8 weeks before. I was swimming in a 25 yard pool for the whole block. To be in peak swim shape I believe you have to swim the majority of your workouts in a 50m pool.

Were there any key swim sessions you did to prepare for a World Championship-caliber event?

No key session per se- I have such a massive history to pull from that the specifics for me don't matter too much. I don't repeat the same sets too much, however one set I always do is 40x50s (SCY this block). One of my best sessions of my block, that I swam with my buddy stroke for stroke. He was a 3:43 400IMer back in the day.

  • 16 50’s on :40, every 4th fast

  • 12 on :45, every third fast

  • 8 on :50, every other fast

  • 4 on 1:00- all fast

The back half of the set I was pushing 25 highs. We did a 100 easy after and did an all out 50 from a push in 24. Also, one day I decided to do an all out 500 pull and went 4:42. That's when I knew I was in pretty good shape!

Did you make any changes to your training ahead of the World Championships?

Swimming wise not much, but I wasn't afraid to really get after it once a week. This is the first time since college I've had someone to train with who can go toe to toe with me in a distance set and spanks me in IM. Some of these workouts I was working super hard to try to keep up. I took that theme across all disciplines and wasn't trying to shy away from any hard work.

What did your race-week swim training volume look like?

I do a pretty standard 20,000 yards a week. The last two weeks leading into race week were 23k, 22k. Always one longer workout 5.5k or longer each week. Usually 6 days a week in the pool, sometimes even 7.

  • Feel for the water is everything to me and I also just love an easy 2-3k float to shake out the other training. Swimming is meditation for me.

Take us through your race morning routine up until the swim start. (What did your warmup look like, what do you do that’s sets you up for a great swim?)

Easy jog with strides, a bit of activation (more leg focused). A lot of guys use bands but I never have. We had 5 minutes in the water- I did 3 beach starts and swam steady the rest of the time with a few builds to get the heart rate up. I felt good which kept me calm.

  • There was a mad dash to the line to line up on the left side. I played it cool in the back and found my spot in the middle right- the least crowded part of the start line.

Give us a quick recap of the swim. How did the tactics play out early? When did you make your move into the lead?

I went out hard and had clear water immediately. A minute in, I could see I had a body length or more on the entire field (speed wins). The first buoy was a left hander, so I decided to settle a bit, wait for the leader on the left (Marc Dubrick) to pull even and planned to slot in behind around the buoy. I ended up battling the guy in 2nd pretty hard (Josh Amberger) around that buoy.

  • We were fighting for about a minute straight (I released water from my goggles twice), and I thought, okay I guess I'll go into third to stop this madness (I wanted to be in 2nd so I could make a move on the back half). Luckily, Leo Bergere pulled around the right side and I slotted in behind him as he went to the lead. Perfect.

About 800 meters in, Leo looked back three times in a row and I knew he wanted someone to come around. I went around, pulled hard to the left and surged. That's when I got a small gap and never looked back.

It was your first race in Blueseventy’s Helix wetsuit and you had an exceptional performance. What attributes of the suit make it so great for open water swimming?

The shoulder flexibility is so big in the Helix. Coming from an elite swim background, I hear so many swimmers complain about the restriction in the shoulders. It never even crossed my mind in this suit.

  • I like the lift panels in the thighs too. Head, Hips, Heels- all need to be on the surface for fast swimming and this suit feels like I'm floating over the water!

What training advice do you have for athletes looking to level up their swim in 2025? 

Hire me to write their swim workouts of course! 🤣

Triathletes are really good at swimming a lot of medium. You must develop speed first- which is the best technique intervention from afar. Our bodies are resilient. If you practice your 25s fast (even half laps), rewire your brain a bit, elevate that ceiling, your aerobic paces will become faster and more efficient.

  • Swimming with people is incredibly important too. Get out of your comfort zone. Stop doing open turns. Practice dives and IM and sculling and focused drills. Train like a swimmer.

And most importantly, if you don't enjoy going to the pool, you will have a hard time getting better. Embrace the journey and find love in the calmness of the water. And never ever ever wear a watch when you swim.

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FAVORITES

♻️ Shoe rotation: Are you rotating your shoes? If not, you might want to! Just as it takes your body time to recover, so does the foam in your shoe! So how many shoes should you rotate? And what are the key benefits? Find out here! [Toro Performance]

⚖️ Fueling factors: Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus. And so is their fueling! This article does a great deep dive into the fueling differences between male and female IRONMAN triathletes, and explains key fueling differences! [Triple Threat Life]

👟 Fastest shoes: Gone are the days of Nike’s super shoes controlling the podiums at the biggest races. But which shoes are topping the podium? And could help you land your next PB? This list of the fastest shoes at the recent 70.3 Worlds has plenty of options! [Triathlete]

🍏 Overcome gut issues: As a neurodivergent athlete, Sam Holness has been breaking barriers and setting a Guinness World Record in his triathlon journey. But this triathlete hasn’t had it easy along the way. This article explains the secrets of how Sam overcame serious gut issues while racing, and how you can too! [The Feed]

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