It’s not often you see one of the world’s best pros being beaten in a sprint finish with a teenager just days before a world championship final. But that’s exactly what happened on a Tuesday evening in Doha, Qatar. Paying a visit to Doha Tri Club’s weekly Tuesday night duathlon at the Olympic Cycling Track ahead of this weekend’s Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship race, pro triathlete Mathis Margirier found himself getting a run for his money. He stepped in to take part and ended up in a sprint finish with local young gun Oscar Flanagan, a 16-year-old triathlete with his sights set on going the distance in multisport.
“Our numbers have skyrocketed!” The growth of triathlon in Qatar
Oscar, originally from Australia but now calling Doha home, and teammate Xavier (who hails from Canada) are two of Doha Tri Club’s younger members, both set to take part in the short course racing during the Qatar 2025 T100 Triathlon Age-Group World Championships Qatar race weekend.
The pair have both been into the sport for a while, despite their young age. For Xavier, it began with following in his parents’ footsteps. Oscar’s background is originally in running, having competed at Nationals back in Australia. After relocating to Doha, he wanted to continue running. And after meeting Xavier through school, he found his way into triathlon: “I wanted to continue running when I came here. And then I thought maybe I’ll try out triathlon. Xavier used to be in my school, and he encouraged me to get into it and now I’m doing it consistently every week.”
Doha Tri Club is one of the biggest tri clubs in the region, and they’ve seen a huge spike in interest since the announcement of Qatar as the host of the T100 Triathlon World Championship final for the next five years. “Our numbers have skyrocketed,” explained Xavier. “It’s unbelievable!”
“What we love about our club is that it accommodates all the different types of racers. We have people who race at a really high level, but we also have complete beginners. It’s so accommodating to absolutely everybody.”
Aiming high - in sport, and in business
They might only be 16, but Oscar and Xavier have already got big ambitions. Talking about their dreams in triathlon, the T100 race this weekend is just the start. “I’d like to do the full T100 distance and an Ironman in the future,” said Oscar, “I’ve qualified for Duathlon worlds but I’ll see where it takes me!” And Xavier shares similar ambitions: “I love representing my country wherever I go. The two of us have raced internationally before, I’d love to take it further.”
We’re used to seeing triathlon bring in entrepreneurial types in the older age groups, there’s something about the drive to excel across three sports which has an innate cross over with high performance in the board room. But Xavier and Oscar are already ahead of the game on that front too.
With the help of a fellow tri club member (Mo, who’ll also be competing in the T100 this weekend), they’ve been busy creating their own line of sports sunglasses specifically for triathlon: “We want these to be a bit more accessible, a bit more affordable than some of the leading brands but still the same quality. For now, we have three different models and we also make custom medal hangers!”
Inspired by the pros
Ahead of Friday’s pro race, which will see some of the best triathletes in the world do battle over 100km on the streets of Doha, professional athletes Mathis Margirier, Ellie Salthouse, Jason West and Grace Thek paid a visit to Doha Tri Club’s Tuesday night duathlon. And while Mathis might have decided to get involved thinking he’d be a shoo-in for the win, he soon found himself in a sprint finish battle with Oscar. A future superstar in the making!
Talking about the opportunity to rub shoulders with the T100 pros, Xavier said: “It’s fantastic, we can ask them a lot of questions and get a lot of good feedback. We’d have conversations with them about the experience of competing as a job. It’s been a really interesting opportunity and it opens up our perspective.”
“That’s what I love about [Qatar]. There’s so many sporting events, and this opportunity to race casually amongst the best in the world, we’re extremely grateful for the opportunities T100 has given us. To have a chat with people who are so much better than us, it just seems unreal to me, it’s a dream!”
A message to other would-be triathletes
As interest grows in triathlon, Oscar and Xavier shared a message for anyone feeling inspired by the Qatar T100 action who might be thinking about giving triathlon a go.
“Definitely try and take the first step,” said Oscar, “and then you never know, you could really enjoy it. Of course, it helps you keep your fitness up as well. But especially with this sort of club [Doha Tri Club], you get to build new social relations and you get to build a network.”
Xavier shared that sentiment, “To anyone who is looking to try a new sport, triathlon has opened so many doors for me it’s unbelievable. It’s so good for your mental health, it teaches you discipline, it teaches you consistency. I’m so thankful for triathlon and the opportunities it’s been able to bring.”
If you’re feeling inspired by this 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.
