T100 Triathlon
We had the opportunity to sit down with Youri Keulen following his announcement that he will make his Ironman debut this May in Brazil. It marks a significant step for an athlete whose recent rise has been as compelling as it has been hard-earned.
This rise is perhaps best traced back to the 2024 Singapore T100. Entering the race as a wildcard, Keulen delivered a statement performance, stunning both fans and competitors with a breakthrough victory.
“I missed my own win, though,” he said with a laugh tinged with concern, recalling the effort that pushed him beyond his limits, collapsing at the finish line before being transported to hospital.
It was a dramatic moment, but also a defining one.
Not because it changed his love for the sport, which has always been there, but because it shifted how the sport began to respond to him, bringing recognition, stability, and the kind of support that allows an athlete to pursue bigger goals, race more widely, and fully commit to the demands of the sport.
Now, the next step is here.
In just a matter of weeks, Keulen will make his Ironman debut, and with it begin the pursuit of a coveted spot on the start line at the Ironman World Championship in Kona.
Why Ironman, Why Now
“Why Ironman, and why now?” we asked, as Youri Keulen prepares to make his full-distance debut.
“Since 2020, Kona has been the biggest dream for me,” he said.
“Before that, I had my eyes on the Olympics, but I later realized my strengths were better suited to long-course racing. Now, there’s something about Kona that captivates me more than any short-course race ever could…more than the Olympics, even.”
“I think watching Gustav [Iden] win there in 2022 was the biggest inspiration for me,” he continued. “That was the moment it really hit home…how much I could truly see myself there, racing that course. I had three workouts scheduled that day, and I normally start early in the morning, but I didn’t get going until 4pm because I was so caught up watching the race!”
All-In on the Middle Distance First
While the Ironman World Championship has always been the long-term goal, Keulen has been deliberate in how he has approached it.
After his sixth-place finish at the 2023 70.3 World Championship in Lahti, Finland, his fiancé encouraged him to fully explore his potential at the middle distance before moving to the full distance.
“Sixth place is great, but it’s not a win,” Keulen said with a smile.
Rather than splitting focus, he committed to seeing how far he could go.
At the end of the 2023 season, back-to-back wins at Challenge Barcelona and Challenge Peguera Mallorca provided enough income to invest in a dedicated training camp ahead of the inaugural T100 Triathlon World Tour event in Miami, along with the travel required to compete as a wildcard.
A fourth-place finish in Miami allowed him to reinvest again, this time into his preparation for Singapore, where he delivered his breakthrough victory.
This marked a turning point. Keulen was no longer racing one event at a time, but beginning to build a financially sustainable career – one that would allow him to invest fully in both his performance and long-term potential.
“My decision to go all-in on the first two T100 events in Miami and Singapore was very intentional,” he said. “I knew I wanted to be part of the T100 series, and to succeed as a wildcard, I had to make an impression right away.”
“My Ironman dream was still there, but things change. The sport evolves. The T100 was new, and especially after my Singapore win, I believed I could do well at the distance.”
“I devoted 2024 and 2025 to it,” he said. “In 2025, I was sixth in the series standings after London…and I believed I had a podium in me.”
He went on to secure that podium in Wollongong, moving into fifth place in the series standings heading into Qatar.
“Qatar was not my best race. I was empty by then and I had my worst swim of the year,” Keulen said. “But I still ended the season in great spirits. And the very first thing I said to my coach when I crossed the line in Qatar was: ‘I’m ready to try an Ironman.’”
Preparing for the Full Distance
As Youri Keulen prepares for his full-distance debut, he does so in an environment designed to support his dream, training alongside two of the sport’s top triathletes, Marten Van Riel and Vincent Luis.
In recent years, Keulen shifted from working remotely with a distributed coaching team to an integrated, in-person training environment based in Girona. That change, he says, has reshaped not only his preparation, but also his day-to-day experience of the sport.
“Up until the end of 2024, I had a team of four great coaches, each bringing unique expertise, but I needed a change,” he explained. “It’s amazing training with Vince and Marten. The three of us are dreaming of Kona this year.”
“Being able to train with guys who have done the full distance and know what it takes to compete with the best in the world is game-changing.”
Keulen will open his Ironman campaign at Ironman Brazil, with a clear objective: secure a qualifying slot for the Ironman World Championship.
Lake Placid remains a potential second opportunity, necessary if Brazil does not yield a qualifying slot, and a strategic option even if it does.
“It will depend,” he said. “I’ll give myself a week after Brazil to think about it.”
“If I feel there’s value in racing again – understanding the demands of the distance and the dynamics of a stronger field – I’ll go. If not, and I feel I’ve learned enough, I can focus on refining tactics in training with Marten and Vince.”
The Next Chapter Begins
As Keulen looks ahead, he describes it as the “most important and challenging” chapter of his career.
It is the goal that has quietly shaped his path for years.
He has taken the long way here, developing, refining, and building a foundation through years of progression, marked by breakthrough performances along the way.
Now comes the transition: to carry that forward and evolve again to meet the demands of the full distance.
As we finished the interview, he returned to a moment that still stands out.
“Right before the swim start in Singapore, my coach said to me, ‘This is the first step to Kona…if you can master today, you’re halfway there.’ He was referring to the heat and humidity. But I honestly believe those words made my race.”
In that moment in Singapore, we saw what Youri Keulen is capable of when Kona is the “why.”
Now, the distance changes. The goal does not.