Popular MetaSprint Series Duathlon returns as participants prepare for next month's Singapore T100 Races
Singapore, 17 March 2024 - Even before the crack of dawn, a buzz was already rippling through the roads along Marina Promenade.
Wedged between the aquathlon and the triathlon events as part of the MetaSprint Series, there was a familiar feel to the MetaSprint Duathlon held at the F1 Village with its main Sprint categories comprising a 3km run, 18km bike and 3km run.
The first flag off at 5am was a special “Fast” wave, curated for Muslim athletes who were due to begin their fast at 5.53am. Everyone was given a boxed UFC Refresh Coconut Water at the finish line but for those who crossed the finishing line after 5.53am, the coconut water had to be saved for breaking their fast 13 hours later.
Half an hour after the “Fast” wave began their race, the athletes from the Elite Women's category were flagged off. With an eight minute 33 second head start ahead of the Elite Men wave, the “Champion of Champions” was decided by the first male or female athlete to cross the line – and it was none other than Matthew Brittain who competed in the M35-39 age group. The Matador Racing athlete came in at 00:53:19.32 to take home the crown.
The Elite Women champion crossed the line with a time of 01:01:28.33 and if you’ve been to any endurance race, you’d have definitely heard of this household name – Yong Man Yun.
The Team Singapore athlete beat 23 other racers to the podium on Sunday morning with a pace of 2:09 min/km.
Finishing behind Brittain was Singapore’s Tey Yi Jun and Ben Khoo. Tey, who represented Tribal Triathlon Singapore crossed the line at 00:53:47.02 while Khoo came in around 13 seconds after.
The duo shared a moment of sportsmanship at the finish line as the two celebrated together.
Despite starting off in the leading pack, Team Singapore’s Bryce Chong finished in fourth place after suffering a fall in the first leg.
“We started at about 5.30am so it was pretty dark. Fortunately, I escaped without any bad injuries,” Chong said with a sigh of relief.
“Today’s course was pretty straightforward. Because it was so early in the morning, there was a little bit of headwind. Overall, everything was simple, fast and good! The last time I did a duathlon was before Covid so it’s been a while for me. Personally, I do more aquathlons and triathlons because they’re my forte. For now though, any race will do because I'm preparing for my IRONMAN 70.3 Desaru Coast race in May."
With Yong securing the top spot in the Elite Women category, Renata Berliana Aditya joined the seasoned Singaporean at the finish line as she came in second place. The young Indonesian, who competed in the F20-24 age group, came in 33 seconds after Yong. Great Britain’s Suzie Bacon then completed the top three, coming in three minutes after Aditya.
Aldrich Goh, who participated in the M20-24 age group category, commenced his race alongside wave 18 and secured an impressive second place finish within the group.
“It was so nice to be back here after a year. My legs got pretty tired but I still had a decent first run out. I maintained my pace on the bike and eventually finished second in my wave. It was a really nice course as usual. It was great to be back on Nicoll Highway! Overall, it was a good race,” he shared.
Like many who took part in the duathlon, Aldrich is using the race as a means to prepare for the T100 Triathlon World Tour on 13th to 14th April.
“For the upcoming T100, I’ll be doing the relay so I’ll just be doing the run. This duathlon has been a good training session for a pure running leg. Through this, I’ve now gotten myself in the mood for multi sport. Even though I'll just be doing the run, I’m definitely going to enjoy the t100!”
While Chong has his reservations for the predawn darkness, Sprint Relay participant Eunice Tan felt the opposite and embraced the cooler weather.
“Fortunately for me, the sun wasn’t fully up yet so I think I had the best leg,” she laughed.
The first of the Team SportPlus trio to race in the relay, Eunice ran the first 3km before tagging her twin sister, Bernice Tan who cycled the next 18km leg.
“I was super excited to represent SportPlus! I haven't done a MetaSprint event in a while as I had a lot of work commitments. Coming back into it and seeing so many familiar faces, I'm really happy. I really had a lot of fun,” Eunice smiled.
“This is my first duathlon so it was quite fun and it was really enlightening to do a relay. It wasn’t as stressful to do all three legs! It’s been a while since I last raced because the last time I did last year, I fractured my wrist so I was out for some time. I did a triathlon last month and now I'm back. I’m excited to race a few more times as the year goes on,” shared Bernice.
The final 3km run for the team was run by Cedric Chua, who with the support of the sisters, helped the team towards a second place finish.
“It was pretty good! It was a straightforward course along the river and it was just beautiful. I’ve been racing here for a couple of years now so it’s always a good memory! The last time I did a MetaSprint event was in 2021 and I did the whole series,” said Chua.
It wasn’t just the experienced athletes who got all the fun on Sunday morning. There were plenty of families eagerly watching their children compete in the youth and kids categories.
There was also the Discovery category – open to participants between the ages of 16 to 39 –
which consisted of a 1.5km run, 12km bike and another 1.5km run.
With the prestigious and eagerly awaited T100 Triathlon World Tour just around the corner, the MetaSprint series offered a tantalizing preview of what's to come.
Registrations are still open for the T100, secure your place here.
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