| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1998 (age 26–27) |
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Weight | 66 kg (146 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Sport | Triathlon |
| Coached by | Kosta Poltavets Carlos Prieto Kai Reus |
Youri Keulen (born 1998) is a Dutch triathlete. [1]
Keulen was born in Maastricht, Netherlands, in 1998. [2] He competed as a middle-distance runner before transitioning to triathlon. He was a three-time Dutch national age-group champion over 800 metres as a teenager. After leaving the Dutch federation who focussed more on the Olympic distance triathlon, Keulen based himself in Girona, Spain, and developed a coaching team made up of Kosta Poltavets, Carlos Prieto and former professional cyclist Kai Reus. [3]
Keulen finished first at the Ironman 70.3 Mallorca in May 2022 but was later disqualified from the official results after confusion over a penalty. He subsequently won the Ironman 70.3 Switzerland on June 19, 2022. [4] [5] [6]
Keulen placed sixth overall at the 2023 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in Lahti. [7] Shortly afterwards, he defeated a world class field including Alastair Brownlee, at the inaugural Challenge Barcelona event in Spain, which had a 1.5km swim, 60km bike and 15km run. [8]
In 2024, competing as a wildcard, he placed fourth at T100 Miami. [9] Keulen won his first T100 Triathlon event in Singapore in April 2024, competing as a wildcard athlete. [10] [11] However, such was his exhaustion at the finish in extreme conditions he was unable to make the podium, and was temporarily hospitalised. [12] Still feeling the effects of Singapore he was unable to finish the IRONMAN 70.3 Mallorca three weeks later and then finished 14th at IRONMAN 70.3 Switzerland. [13] He placed eleventh at the T100 Grand Final in Dubai in mid-November 2024, a finish which saw him end the season in ninth place in the overall standings. However, he was ruled out of the 2024 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships due to illness. [7]
In October 2025, he placed third at the T100 Series event in Wollongong, Australia, finishing behind Hayden Wilde of New Zealand and runner-up Mika Noodt of Germany. [12]