Ellis gunning for world top 100 spot

Kira Ellis is plotting a new mission following her triumphant performance in the Europe Triathlon Junior Women Cup over the weekend in Riga, Latvia.

The 19-year-old triathlete said she wants to step into the elite level and crack into the top 100 in the world ranking of the International Triathlon Union.

Making it to the top isn’t easy.

In fact, during the height of her international career, six-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Kim Mangrobang barely made it to the top 100 despite actively joining competitions to gain ranking points with the guidance of Portugese mentor Sergio Santos.

But Ellis is determined to work hard to barge into the prestigious list headed by elite triathletes from European countries like Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy and Belgium.

“There’s a lot of work to do but I think I’m healthy now. That was a good start in my new season of racing. So hopefully, we can build it up,” said Ellis, who took a six-month break to recover from a shin splint injury.

“I think I need to be in the top 100 in the world. I know I still have a lot of catching up to do but I love the challenge. It’s going to be really fun so, yeah, I can’t wait.”

Ellis pulled off a shocker when she ruled the prestigious European event despite having a long layoff. Prior to her title conquest, her last tournament was the 2024 World Triathlon Championship Finals that was held in Torremolinos, Spain on 20 October 2024.

But she hardly showed any rust as she posted an impressive performance of one hour, five minutes and seven seconds to outshine even the most feared young triathletes in Europe.

Her clocking was so impressive that it even eclipsed the performance of 1:05:34 that

French-Cambodian powerhouse Margot Garabedian notched when she conquered the gold medal in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia in 2023.

With that, the Triathlon Philippines celebrated her feat, saying that she has a solid chance to land on the medal podium — or even bag the gold medal — when the biennial meet unwraps in December in Chonburi.

“Yes, she has a good chance for a podium finish in an individual triathlon event. It’s going to be a challenge against Margot Garabedian of Cambodia and Louisa Marie Middleditch of Singapore,” triathlon chief Tom Carrasco told DAILY TRIBUNE in a short message.

“The French-Cambodian will be tough as she is the defending champion of the individual event.”

Still, Ellis remains unfazed.

She said she will see action in some international events, including the Asian U23 Junior Championship in Jordan from 30 October to 1 November to prepare for the biennial meet.

After all, the Filipinas, through Claire Adrona and Mangrobang, had been ruling the women’s individual event since the 2015 edition of the SEA Games in Singapore, until Garabedian rose with a dominant performance in their home turf two years ago.

“I’ll have a tournament in Japan in September and in November we have the Asia U23 Junior Championship so that will be really good to have,” Ellis said.