The New Zealander returns to the site of his dramatic second-place finish 12 months ago, where he lost out by one second to Belgian rival Marten van Riel.
And having also come second in the London leg of the series last year, Smith, who was victorious in Challenge The Championship and Challenge Wanaka events in 2024, wants to make sure he is top of the podium this time around.
“Right now, everything that I’m doing and everything I’m geared towards is about winning,” he said.
“That’s the way I get motivated. That’s the way I wake up every day to do the sport.
“This is one of the hardest sports in the world, so I think you need to have those lofty goals to get you out of bed in the morning.
“If you ask me on Sunday morning, what I’d be happy with, it might be very different to now. But at the moment, I’m going to say that winning is the only goal.”
Smith arrived in San Francisco looking to take confidence from his performance in last year’s event.
Despite narrowly missing out on the top step of the podium, his display showed him what he could do among the world’s elite.
“Last year was my announcement back at the highest level,” Smith continued.
“I almost didn’t believe that I could win at the highest level before that.
“Obviously, when it came down to that sprint, to lose by that much is bittersweet, but it gave me so much confidence and gave me the belief back in myself that I can be here.
“This year, I feel like I’m physically in as good a shape as I was last year. But this time, I’m coming in with the belief that I can do it as well.”
The event in California is the second T100 race of the 2025 campaign and Smith’s first.
He missed the first race in Singapore having not fully recovered from Rhabdomyolysis – a condition caused by muscle injury which results in muscle weakness, pain and swelling.
“I’ve bounced back really well,” he added.
“I felt like I went back to square one and I was nervous for this race.
“But it’s amazing what you can do in seven weeks. The body is amazingly resilient.
“I’ve had a really good, consistent, solid block coming into this race.
“I’m a little bit out of practice on the racing field, after not racing for six months, so I’m looking forward to getting back out there and blowing out some cobwebs.”
Watch the world’s top 20 female and top 20 male triathletes race live in the San Francisco T100 over the legendary Escape From Alcatraz course on Saturday 31 May. The broadcast starts at 0545 local time, 1345 in the UK, with the races starting 15 minutes later. You can tune in live for free globally on PTO+ or watch on partners channels such as TNT Sports 2 in the UK, Max or Discovery+ in Europe, or beIN in North America. For more details visit www.T100Triathlon.com
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