Special Olympics runner Te Huia Apaapa blasting around the tracks at Christchurch’s Ngā Puna Wai, competing at the National Summer Games on December 12.
Special Olympics runner Te Huia Apaapa blasting around the tracks at Christchurch’s Ngā Puna Wai, competing at the National Summer Games on December 12.
Special Olympics Tauranga athlete Te Huia Apaapa, 28, is better known for conquering marathons and triathlons, but this week he’s swapping endurance for explosive speed.
Apaapa is competing in the 1500m, 800m, mixed 4x100m relay and javelin at the Special Olympics New Zealand National Summer Games in Christchurch, where morethan 1200 athletes are taking part across 10 sports and six venues from December 10–14.
Apaapa has earned the nickname “Rocketman” over his 20-plus years of running, completing six marathons, more than 40 half-marathons, countless triathlons, and the Taupō Ironman in 2024.
His trademark pace was on show at Ngā Puna Wai on day one of the athletics competition, where he opened his campaign with a third-place finish in his heat of the 1500m – the first track event for the day.
Sport has been transformative for Apaapa, who was fostered from the age of 5 and lives with autism, an intellectual disability and epilepsy.
His foster mother, Dawn Staples, said running quickly became a powerful outlet.
“I got him into running because it helps with his autism; it burns off some of that energy. We first joined an athletics club when he was 9, then discovered Special Olympics,” said Staples, who is in Christchurch supporting him with Tauranga athletics coach Ethney Barnaby and club manager Vivian Lintott.
Asked how his opening race felt, Apaapa said: “I like to run fast.”
