Jamie Riddle

Jamie Riddle was born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa but trains in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape Province known for its vineyards, nature reserves and as a go-to destination for some of the world’s best triathletes.

›

The South African is an exciting racer to watch and relishes the chance to be in any and every breakaway. I don’t like saving the legs! It is how he describes his all-action attitude to the swim and the bike, and it’s worked well for him to date.

With a father who was an Ironman 70.3 age-group world champion, growing up riddle was looking up to the best long course pros including two-time Hawaii winner and super league co-founder Chris McCormack, but it was watching the London 2012 Olympics and the success of the Brownlee brothers that cemented his career ambitions.

Results are improving all the time. Last year’s under-23 African champion after victory in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh, riddle just missed out on the senior title, having been pipped by 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Henri Schoeman.

It followed 2019 regional success at junior level in Mauritius avenging a fourth place from three years earlier in Bloemfontein with riddle also winning the South African junior national title. A first world cup start came in cape town in 2018 was followed by a world triathlon championship series bow in November in Abu Dhabi last year, and he has continued to gain experience with WTCS run-outs in Leeds and Hamburg in 2022.

Selected for South Africa’s Commonwealth Games team, Riddle showed his quality as a swimmer to a global audience, exiting the water in second place on the individual leg before being part of a three-man breakaway involving New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde – with Riddle eventually holding on for sixth. Riddle was arguably even more impressive in the first leg of the mixed team relay in Birmingham, where there was clear water back to the chasers over just 300m.

Riddle credits often been thrown in at the deep end of racing for accelerating his career. Much of the credit also goes to his swim coach Nico Montavon, whose stroke correction moved him from mid to the front of the pack in just a matter of weeks. For such an explosive racer, the Super League Triathlon Championship format should suit him perfectly.