Triathlon New Zealand Mixed Relay Team Take Gold!

02 September 2019

The ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Lausanne, Switzerland was completed overnight with the New Zealand team of Hannah Kinghton, Tayler Reid, Ainsley Thorpe and Hayden Wilde winning the final event, the Junior/U23 Mixed Relay.

In last years Grand Final on the Gold Coast, New Zealand was in a photo finish for the Gold Medal only to be disqualified for a technical error. Redemption was on their minds with Reid, Thorpe and Wilde all part of last years team.

Knighton lead the team out on the first leg with a strong 300m swim, 4.8km bike and 1.37km run against Junior and U23 athletes. Knighton handed over to her teammate Reid who closed the small gap early into the bike after a strong swim.

Reid would hand over to Thorpe in 4th place with New Zealand amoungst a group of athletes forming a big lead at the front of the race. Thorpe would maintain that placing at the handover to Wilde and after a good swim Wilde was able to catch the front bunch on the bike with 5 countries battling it out for podium spots. Just before T2 Wilde was able make a break buiding a 7 second lead into the run. Wilde held onto his lead to celebrate with his teammates on the finish line.

Knighton was thrilled to be part of the team and to win in what was her first major ITU Mixed Relay event and after coming 4th in the individual Junior Womens event on Friday. "It was insane, the team was so good, it was a new event for me and they'd all raced together before so it was so great to have their support and to learn from them".

Reid who finished 23rd in the U23 individual event on Friday said it was hard work. "It's mental, I'm up to my eyeballs in lactate, drowning in the stuff. Everyone was just sending it as we didn't quite get what anyone wanted in the individual race, epic".

Thorpe, who has been a big part of New Zealand's recent Mixed Relay success as a lead out athlete says the new role was great experience. "I havent raced the third leg so it was a whole new experience and I felt good, we came here wanting redemption after being dq'd last year, we just wanted gold".

It was Wilde who had a double celebration, taking the Gold on his birthday. "I had one of my best swims and went well on the bike. I didnt realise that I had such a gap going into T2 and I was stoked to hold on for the win to celebrate with the team".

Hamish Carter, General Manager of Performance at Triathlon New Zealand said that the Mixed Relay team delivered another really impressive performance. "The Mixed Relay team continue to impress with what they are able to deliver under pressure as such a young group".

Carter says that this performances just kicks off what has been a really great season for a young New Zealand team whilst acknowledging that it's been a hard season. "Hannah Knighton and Brea Roderick in the Junior Women and Ainsley Thorpe in the U23 Women all in the top 10 which bodes well for the future of triathlon in New Zealand. Some of our other athletes have come to Switzerland with a little bit more fatique in their body than they would have liked. It's an Olympic qualifing year and the Tokyo Test event carried a pretty significant priority and for that reason some haven't fired as they would have liked".

Results

Junior/U23 Mixed Relay
1st Team New Zealand

Junior Women
4th Hannah Knighton
10th Brea Roderick

Junior Men
15th Saxon Morgan
21st Lachlan Haycock
22nd Dylan McCullough

U23 Women
9th Ainsley Thorpe
DNF Kiri Atkin

U23 Women
11th Kyle Smith
23rd Tayler Reid

Elite Men
25th Hayden Wilde
DNF Sam Ward
DNF Ryan Sissons

Photos from the Junior/U23 Mixed Relay event can be found here. Please Credit ITU Media / Ben Lumley More photo options and interviews available on request.

About the Athletes

Ainsley Thorpe comes from a strong sporting family and is from Auckland but is currently based in Cambridge. Ainsley had her first World Cup Race in 2018 and has been a key part of New Zealand’s success in the mixed relay format.

Brea Roderick is 17 years old from Methven and is currently in Year Twelve. Brea has been competing in triathlon for the past three and a half years and last year competed in the Youth Olympic Games. Brea really enjoys the variety of the three disciplines in triathlon.

Dylan McCullough is 18 years old and from Auckland but is currently based in Cambridge training with the Triathlon New Zealand High Performance Squad. Dylan is the current Youth Olympic Champion for Triathlon, claiming Gold in Buenos Aires in 2018. Dylan is also the current Junior Oceania Triathlon Champion.

Hannah Knighton is from Tauranga and is the current New Zealand Sprint Distance Triathlon Champion and Junior Oceania Champion. Hannah is also a Hilary Scholar at the University of Waikato where she is studying for a BSc in Data Analytics and Human Performance Science.

Hayden Wilde comes from a long distance off road background and has raced the Coast to Coast, Xterra and has been the ITU Cross Tri U23 World Champion. Hayden is originally from Whakatane but currently trains in Tauranga. He made the change to ITU triathlon to chase his dreams to compete at the Olympic Games. In 2 years he has dropped his world ranking into the top 60.

Kiri Atkin is a triathlete from Christchurch. She raced in the U23 team last year at the world champs on the Gold Coast and has made the team again for Lausanne this year. Kiri also finished her Bachelors degree last year and juggles training and working as a tax consultant at Deloitte.

Kyle Smith is a triathlete from Matamata and is currently based in Cambridge.

Lachlan Haycock is 19 years old from Tauranga and started triathlon at age fifteen with his first race at the Kinloch triathlon in 2016. Following on from his first taste of the sport, Lachlan started to train specifically for triathlons with help from my coach Chris Willett of Perimeter Coaching. Lachlan has previously been the New Zealand U19 Schools Duathlon Champion and the New Zealand U19 Sprint Distance Triathlon Champion, along with placing second at the 16-19 Age-Group Sprint Distance World Triathlon Championships and the U19 Oceania Triathlon Champs. I finished school at Tauranga Boys College in 2018 and I am now in my first year of tertiary study out of the new Tauranga campus for Waikato University.

Ryan Sissons is a Commonwealth Game medallist who has also competed at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Sissons won bronze as part of New Zealand’s team in the mixed team relay event at Gold Coast 2018. Sissons has raced on the ITU stage since 2009 and has enjoyed a strong campaign that includes two top ten performances in 2016 as well as winning the 2017 Madrid ITU Triathlon World Cup. At the London Olympic Games he placed 33rd and at Rio Olympic Games he placed 17th.

Sam Ward is the 2019 NZ Triathlon Champion and currently ranked 12th in the world. Sam grew up in Auckland in a family that has always had a passion for endurance sport. He has been living and training in Cambridge with the NZ team for the last 4 years.

Saxon Morgan is an 18 year-old triathlete from Christchurch. His biggest achievement to date is placing tenth at the Junior World Triathlon Championships on the Gold Coast last year. Saxon’s main goal for 2019 is to be top 5 (hopefully podium) at Junior World Championships held in Lausanne Switzerland late August. Saxon is passionate about triathlon and has aspirations of one day becoming an Olympian at the 2024, and/or 2028 Olympic Games.

Tayler Reid is the current U23 World Triathlon Champion having taken out the title at the 2018 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final on the Gold Coast. Tayler is originally from Gisborne but currently resides in Cambridge with the High Performance Team. Tayler is also doing his Business Degree via Massey University.

About the 2019 ITU Triathlon World Championships.
From the 29th August to 1st September 2019, Lausanne will hosted the ITU Triathlon World Championships including the Grand Final of the World Triathlon Series.

More than 4000 professional and amateur triathletes from all over the world lined up to take part in these world championships.

The events were broadcasted live on national television channels and www.triathlonLIVE.tv and will crowned the world's top two triathletes within a year of the Tokyo Olympic Games.

The detailed programme of the event can be found at https://lausanne.triathlon.org/fr/infos-pratiques/schedule/.

ENDS

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