Spanish Star ‘Privileged’ To Take On World’s Best At Spain T100 Triathlon

May 22, 2026

Pamplona-Navarra (May 22, 2026) /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – Spanish star Sara Pérez Sala is looking forward to the ‘privilege’ of racing the world’s best triathletes at her home T100 race in Pamplona, Navarra.

Sala will take on a world class field including PTO World #1 Julie Derron (SUI), Belgium’s Hanne De Vet and British Olympic champion Georgia Taylor-Brown in tomorrow’s Spain T100 Triathlon [Saturday 23 May], which starts at 1205 local time.

Speaking at this morning’s press conference in the famous Plaza del Castillo, she also talked about wanting to inspire the next generation of Spanish female triathletes.

“I think it’s a privilege to be the only Spanish girl on the start line, because it’s very difficult to be on the start line at a T100. You feel a bit more pressure, but it’s very important to enjoy the race, enjoy the atmosphere and everything. And I would like, in the future, more Spanish girls taking part in this kind of race.”

De Vet also anticipates a fierce battle tomorrow, saying that “it’s going to be a very exciting race” and highlighting the appeal of the course, “one of the most incredible” she has ever competed on.

Pamplona City Council’s Sports Councillor, Maider Beloki, highlighted the event’s importance for the city: “It’s a pleasure for Pamplona to host an event of this caliber,” and she assured that “we’re going to see a great sporting spectacle which puts Pamplona on the map in the sporting world.”

The president of the Spanish Triathlon Federation, José Hidalgo, emphasized the international scope of the event, which “will be broadcast on all five continents,” making it “a fantastic showcase.” He also noted that “the triathlon world is going to discover Pamplona.”

Similarly, the Director General of the Navarre Institute of Sport, Jorge Aguirre, described the event as “one of the most important competitions in international triathlon” and stressed that “it projects a powerful image of Navarre abroad,” reinforcing the community’s identity: “We can truly say that Navarre is a community defined by triathlon and for triathlon.”

At the international level, World Triathlon president Antonio Arimani praised the strategic impact of the event, noting that “Navarra is positioning itself at the starting point” of growth that will benefit “the entire sport of triathlon,” as well as consolidating its position as “a benchmark for the coming years.”

Finally, PTO CEO Sam Renouf reiterated Spain’s key role on the T100 circuit: “Spain has been part of T100 since the beginning,” highlighting that the country “offers fantastic events”.

Who To Look Out For Tomorrow  

Swiss ace Derron is looking to kick off her T100 season with a win. “I missed Gold Coast, so now if I want to really figure in the overall series, I have to race all the remaining races,” she said. “I want to try and take each race individually, prepare as well as I can, and then we see what the end of the year brings. One thing I learned last year, that you never know what can happen in a year.”

“The course in Navarra is fantastic. It’s beautiful. You can find everything, hills, down hills, technical parts. The lake is beautiful, and the run course is amazing too, and the people are so special. It is super, super, super good.”

British star Georgia Taylor-Brown believes she’s ready to win again. “I felt like I couldn’t win anymore, now I feel like I can win again,” she said in our pre race interview.

Speaking about her debut season on the T100, Taylor-Brown said: “Looking back at the season last year for T100, I was actually pleasantly surprised by the end. To finish second in Qatar and then fourth in Dubai, it was getting better, you know. I was really happy with it.”

“I knew I wanted to try T100 last year, but I was like, “Well, I’ll try it, but I really don’t think I’ll like it.” And then obviously I came back for more, and here I am again for more and hoping to do the rest of the season. So, yeah, I obviously like it, so I’m glad that I tried and I didn’t just say, “No, not for me.” I was like, “At least I tried,” and then actually I was like, “Yeah, I do like this. It’s good… It’s a challenge.”

You can watch Georgia’s full interview on T100’s YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj3-c-246QE&t=72s

The full list of professional women competing in the Spain T100 Triathlon is here: https://stats.protriathletes.org/race/spain-t100/2026/participants

How To Watch 

The Spain T100 starts at 1205 local time on Saturday 23 May with the live broadcast beginning at 1200.  Fans in Spain can watch live on Eurosport. Fans can also watch free of charge globally on TriathlonLivetv. Outside of Europe the T100 Tour will remain available free to watch on YouTube. For a full breakdown of where to watch, please visit: https://t100triathlon.com/how-to-watch/

The Spain T100 Triathlon weekend will also feature the Spanish Middle Distance National Championships, which are being hosted in Pamplona-Navarra for the fourth time [2017, 2022, 2024]. These take place on a similar course to the professionals, including a glorious 2km swim in the Alloz Reservoir, a rolling 80km point-to-point bike course on beautiful roads across Navarra and  leading to Pamplona, before an 18km run around the historic town culminating in the iconic Plaza del Castillo. For more information, visit: https://t100triathlon.com/spain/event-info/

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For Further Information:

PTO – Anthony Scammell E: Anthony.Scammell@protriathletes.org
FETRI – Daniel Márquez E: daniel.marquez@triatlon.org

About Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO)

The PTO is a sports body that is co-owned by its professional athletes, seeking to elevate and grow the sport of triathlon and take it to the next level. Its T100 Triathlon World Tour was introduced in January 2024 and is designated by World Triathlon as the ‘official World Championship for long distance triathlon’. This is part of a 12-year strategic partnership with the sport’s international governing body to develop the sport and it will grow further in 2027 with the launch of the new Triathlon World Tour. The T100 Triathlon World Tour is a season-long schedule of World Championship level races competed over 100km (2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run), where the world’s best triathletes go head-to-head in iconic locations. In 2026, the T100 Tour will deliver its 9-stop T100 Race To Qatar to: the Gold Coast (21-22 March), Singapore (25-26 April), Spain (23-24 May), San Francisco (6-7 June), Vancouver (15-16 August), French Riviera (19-20 September), Dubai (12-15 November), Saudi Arabia (November) & Qatar (11-12 December).  T100 weekends are ‘festivals of multisport’ and feature a range of opportunities for amateur athletes of all levels to get involved. From experienced amateurs tackling the 100km distance to first-time swim, bike and run participants taking on single discipline, untimed events. For more information visit www.t100triathlon.com

World Triathlon

World Triathlon is the international governing body for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of triathlon and all related multisport disciplines around the world, including duathlon, aquathlon, cross triathlon and winter triathlon. Triathlon made its Olympic debut in Sydney 2000, with a third medal event, the Mixed Team Relay, added to the programme at Tokyo 2020, while para triathlon was first added to the Paralympic programme at Rio 2016. World Triathlon is proudly committed to the development of the sport worldwide, with inclusion, equality, sustainability and transparency at our core as we seek to help triathletes at all levels of the sport to be extraordinary.

About FETRI 

The Spanish Triathlon Federation is a private entity of public utility, egalitarian, inclusive and socially committed to the environment and sustainability. She leads the practice of triathlon, paratriathlon and their different disciplines, being represented in the governing bodies of the most important international institutions of this sport. Throughout his more than 30 years he has achieved multiple successes for Spanish sport, including nine World Championships, a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympic Games and more than 30 victories in the World Series, among others.