Eliot Webber (left), Glen Yule and Mackenzie Speers are among the 15 Hawke’s Bay athletes qualified for the World Triathlon Championships in Wollongong, Australia.
Eliot Webber (left), Glen Yule and Mackenzie Speers are among the 15 Hawke’s Bay athletes qualified for the World Triathlon Championships in Wollongong, Australia.
Usually a first XV from Hawke’s Bay travelling to Australia to compete would be expected to play a few games of rugby, not race a triathlon.
But, we kid you not, 15 triathletes from the region will pull on the silver fern at next month’s World Triathlon Championships in Wollongong,Australia.
It’s a “huge” step for a small club that usually sends about five to the world stage.
Triathlon Hawke’s Bay general manager Jeremy Rimene said the Bay’s juniors are “a strong core” coming through despite setbacks during Covid and the cyclone years.
“They are starting to grow up and get into senior ranks and some are looking overseas to try and become professionals.”
Among them is Napier Boys’ High School student Eliot Webber, 16, who will race alongside his father, Jeremy Webber.
Eliot grew up in a triathlon household, with both parents racing in iron-distance events.
“I started doing the sport when I was around 4, and then I got into it competitively a couple of years ago, I haven’t looked back,” he told Hawke’s Bay Today.
“Last year, when I was 15, I went overseas and I raced at the XTerra, which is an off-road triathlon world champs in Italy. So that was a really special moment. The first time I’ve represented New Zealand.”
Eliot Webber racing at the XTerra world champs in Italy last year.
Now, as the youngest Hawke’s Bay athlete heading to Wollongong, his week is a mix of pool sessions, after-school runs, long weekend rides and early alarms.
“I wake up at five,” he said.
“Outside of triathlon, I do water polo, I do debating at school, and I’m also juggling that with getting my pilot’s licence.”
Eliot will travel to Wollongong with his sport-enthusiast family, including 18-year-old sister Sophie and his father, Jeremy, who will race in the 45–49 male category.
Eliot says his dad is his “inspiration”.
The father-son duo train together whenever they can.
“It’s got to a stage where I’m learning from him,” Jeremy said.
Jeremy raced at the Ironman World Championship in 2010 and the 70.3 worlds in Taupō last year.
“It’s a thrill to see your kids share the same passion and fulfilment from a sport that’s given me plenty of opportunity,” Jeremy says.
“Expectations for this one is to enjoy sharing the racecourse with family.”
Eliot Webber with sister Sophie and father Jeremy at a triathlon event.
The Bay’s youngest woman qualified, 18-year-old Mackenzie Speers of Havelock North High School, says she wants to complete a “clean race” with “smooth transitions”.
“That’s what I hope most for, and then just see how the placing and time goes.”
Speers trains twice a day most days and aims to become a professional athlete.
“I hope to get to a higher level and keeping representing New Zealand,” she says.
Havelock North High School student Mackenzie Speers training at the Hawke’s Bay Sports Park. Photo / Rafaella Melo
At the other end of the age range is Glen Yule, 62, a Hawke’s Bay police detective who has been racing triathlons since 1982.
He has represented New Zealand over Olympic distance in 2009, 2012 and 2018.
Yule trains about 15 hours a week, fitting in four rides, four runs and two swims around his work and family involvements.
“I get up early Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4.45am to go swimming with my swim squad. I go straight to my day job as a detective with the NZ Police. Those days I’m on my bike at 4.15pm to ride with my riding group The Gangstas.”
He says the drawcard is community and longevity.
“Training with a group makes the process so much more enjoyable as your mates push you to your best,” he says.
“The only limiting factor is me ... I have my plan and stick to that rather than worry about what my competitors are doing. I visualise the whole race many times over beforehand, and stopping never comes into the picture.”
Detective Glen Yule, 62, is the oldest Hawke's Bay athlete to represent New Zealand in Australia next month.
The Wollongong championships will feature Olympic-distance races – a 1.5km swim, 40km bike, and 10km run – alongside sprint and para-triathlon events.
Rimene said he hoped the success of the Hawke’s Bay athletes would inspire others to take up the sport, especially with New Zealand hosting the world titles in Tauranga in 2028.
“When Taupō hosted the 70.3 worlds last year, we saw a huge influx of triathletes into Hawke’s Bay. People thought it was a cool thing to do, and we’d expect the same again in 2028.”
Hawke’s Bay athletes representing NZ in Wollongong:
