The announcement of the inaugural 2025 T100 Triathlon Age-Group World Championship Qatar race has created a huge spark of interest in triathlon in the country. And no one knows that better than Qatar T100 Community Captain, Daniela Sposi.

Ahead of a big weekend of pro and age group racing here in Doha, we caught up with Daniela to find out how the T100 race has grown the triathlon community here, why she wanted to volunteer as a community captain – and to get her top tips for other age-groupers getting ready to toe the Qatar T100 start line.

An opportunity to bring more people into the sport

Daniela Sposi is an Italian-British age group triathlete who’s been living in Doha for 13 years. “So far, so good,” she tells us. “Loving the city and loving the country, it’s very welcoming and super safe.”

She’s been doing triathlon since 2017, and jumped at the chance to volunteer as the local Community Captain for T100. “The role came out online and I was intrigued by the opportunity. I applied and then I got an email saying I’d been nominated. It was really exciting, and I thought it was an amazing opportunity.”

“I’ve been around the triathlon community since 2017, and I’ve seen it grow from a small amount of people. I’m a mum as well, and my son has been part of that community. It’s been really important for him to socialise, with moving to a new country, meeting new children and experiencing different cultures.”

“So as a family [triathlon] has been a great step for me, but for all of us as well. I thought [volunteering as a community captain] would be a great opportunity for me to make sure everybody gets to know triathlon and to encourage more women to take part as well.”

“Once the T100 was announced, everybody got excited”

Triathlon as a sport is still in its infancy in Qatar, but interest is growing and after speaking to Daniela and her teammates at Doha Tri Club, it seems the arrival of T100 in town has helped to turbo charge that appetite for swim-bike-run.

“The [triathlon] community was growing, but then Covid came and it kind of killed the sport with social distancing and stuff. We slowly started again, and new people were joining. But then last year when the T100 race was announced it was like ‘wow, something good is happening to Qatar!’.”

“The T100 distances are manageable, so it’s quite encouraging for people to come and try a long distance triathlon. Once the T100 race was announced, everybody got excited.”

“We got together with the committee at Doha Tri Club and we’re building a legacy towards the T100. We asked ourselves ‘what can we do? How can we encourage more people to take part and be part of the community? How can we make sure we have children taking part as well?’”

“It’s a big job, we’re all volunteers so we have jobs and families. At the end of each day we’re on our WhatsApp group planning everything. We’ve really planned the season around the T100. We started back in July and we did some summer duathlons for people who stayed in Qatar during the hot summer months. Then from September we’ve been building up to T100. We’ve done lots of workshops, including working on transitions and open water swimming. We really wanted to encourage the community to get involved.”

Tips for age groupers racing Qatar T100

Before we let Daniela get back to a busy evening at Doha Tri Club’s weekly duathlon (which had a seriously impressive turn out and set up), as an experienced triathlete and a local we asked for her top tips for anyone getting ready to race the inaugural Qatar T100 age group events this weekend.

1)      Be prepared
“Make sure you read your race guide, that’s the most important thing to do. Don’t rely on word of mouth – read the race guide!”

2)      Check all your gear
“Check your bike, your helmet and make sure all your gear is ready for race day.”

3)      Prioritise nutrition and resting up before race day
“Your nutrition is very important, so make sure you have good food during the week and getting good sleep is important as well.”

4)      Ask if you need help
“Ask people for advice, don’t be shy! Enjoy the process, we all want to get to that finish line in good shape with positive memories.”

5)      How to manage the heat
“When it’s sunny it can get very hot and humid. Make sure you hydrate really well on the bike, and keep yourself cool during the run. Prioritise your nutrition and hydration, and remember to just slow down if you need to!”

If you’re feeling inspired by Daniela's story, stay tuned for the World Triathlon Age-Group events that are on offer in 2026 and contact your National Federation for qualification details.

Sign up for your own opportunity to qualify in London next July 25-26 for the T100 Triathlon Age Group World Championship. The London T100 weekend will also the feature the return of pro Olympic racing to the capital. For more details visit the website.