Photos: XTERRA By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwi If Lizzie Orchard had her way, the impossibly clear waters and man-made bike trails of XTERRA Australia would be replicated all around the off-road triathlon world. It’s little wonder the Aucklander is such a fan – she embraced the magical Dunsborough, Western Australia course better than anyone to open her season in style with victory at XTERRA Australia on Sunday. The 37-year-old stopped the clock in 2:52:20 to win by 27 seconds from reigning XTERRA Asia-Pacific champion Hannah Lee Young. The Aussie star’s coach, Brit Jacqui Allen, rounded out the ..read more

Photo: Ironman By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwi Sam Osborne has soared into the top 100 of the PTO rankings with his second Ironman 70.3 medal in as many starts but joked his latest feat came at the cost of a little “part of my soul” courtesy of Sunday’s scorching heat in the Philippines. The Rotorua 31-year-old finished second to 2016 Rio Olympic Games bronze medallist and first-time Ironman 70.3 winner Henri Schoeman in sweltering Lapu-Lapu Cebu. It came after Osborne achieved his own 70.3 breakthrough in Geelong late last month and has seen him ascend a whopping 66 places to exactly 100th in ..read more

Photo: Mel Saltiel/Triathlon NZ By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwiA moment of cruel luck has robbed Tayler Reid of a probable silver medal and an even bigger Olympic ranking points haul at World Triathlon Cup Wollongong. The Gisborne 27-year-old had to settle for 4th following a gusty sprint finish after being slapped with a 10 second penalty for “equipment outside the box”. Reid’s day was undone in T2 when he tossed his helmet into his gear bin but was seemingly unaware that it bounced out as he darted out onto the run. After a trademark strong swim and tactically clever bike leg, Reid held se ..read more

Photos: Mel Saltiel/Triathlon NZ By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwiAinsley Thorpe has captured her third World Triathlon Cup medal in a dramatic Wollongong photo-finish to edge ever closer to her dream of Olympic Games redemption in Paris. The Cambridge-based Aucklander held on in a mass sprint to claim bronze at World Triathlon Cup Wollongong on Saturday, mirroring her position a week ago at the Oceania Standard Distance Championships in Taupo. Thorpe was ever present throughout the rain-soaked sprint race to finish just behind Swede Tilda Mansson (1:00:39) and Columbian Maria Carolina Velasquez Sot ..read more

Photos: World Triathlon By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwi World Triathlon’s premier series was always going to be a tricky proposition in this Olympic year as athletes walked the tightrope between qualifying as quickly as possible and then trying to peak physically for Paris. Now, the race to be crowned World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) champion has an altogether new dynamic with the cancellation of the first round post the XXXIII Olympiad. World Triathlon confirmed Friday that WTCS Montreal, originally scheduled on September 14-15 and to include a Mixed Relay, had been striked from the ..read more

Tri NZ Media Release… • Category finalists announced for resurrected Tri NZ Awards • Winners to be announced at Auckland Gala Dinner on April 27 • Supreme Awards named in honour of triathlon legends Erin Baker and Hamish Carter Finalists across 13 elite, age group and community categories revealed Auckland (April 19, 2024) – The finalists for the resurrected Tri NZ Awards have been unveiled. The winners of each of the 13 categories celebrating elite, age group and community excellence will be announced at the Tri NZ Gala Dinner at the AUT Millennium, the national governing body’s North Sh ..read more

Photos: Simon Dawson Photography By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwi Saturday’s World Triathlon Cup Wollongong is awash with athletes desperate for the most precious commodity in short course triathlon – Olympic Qualification Ranking points. For others, the lure of Paris is a consideration but not all consuming. Tag Olivia Thornbury to the latter group. The Invercargill doctor-in-training knows a start at the XXXIII Olympiad is a long-shot given that her Otago Medical School studies currently take precedence over triathlon. But the 25-year-old equally appreciates anything could happen between now and ..read more

Photos: supertri By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwi The league formerly known as Super League Triathlon has new venues and an extended schedule to go with its new name. supertri, lower case S intentional, released its season VI calendar overnight with Boston and Chicago set to launch the rebranded, five race series on back-to-back weekends in August. Traditional venues London and Toulouse return before the supertri finale in Saudi Arabia’s NEOM on November 3. Gone from last season’s schedule is Malibu but North America is well represented with supertri Boston (August 18) and supertri Chicago (Augus ..read more

Photos: T100Triathlon.com By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwiTenacity will be a defining metric for success during the inaugural T100 Triathlon World Tour season and on that score, count on Amelia Watkinson popping up again and again with results seemingly out of nowhere.   The Sunshine Coast-based Kiwi, arguably Oceania’s most under-rated mid-long distance triathlete, fought back from 16th out of the water during Saturday’s sweltering T100 Singapore to bike and run her way to an impressive 4th. It was yet another example of the 32-year-old’s consistency at the pointy end of global endurance raci ..read more

Photos: T100Triathlon.com By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwi Youri Keulen might have barged his way into pole-position for future T100 wildcards with his Singapore heroics but Kiwi Kyle Smith hopes he’s not too far behind on the wannabe grid after his own brave fight in the steamy conditions. The Taupo 25-year-old made the most of a wildcard start in the second round of the T100 Triathlon World Tour with 5th place at Marina Bay. Keulen claimed his maiden T100 victory with a bike attack and relentless run in the heat that had expert analyst Jan Frodeno comparing the Dutchman to the ‘Terminator’ durin ..read more