Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Tokyo Olympics 2020: Hayden Wilde's bronze medal - How Trent Boult helped inspire triathlete

NZ Herald
26 Jul, 2021 11:08 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Hayden Wilde wins bronze. Photo / Photosport

Hayden Wilde wins bronze. Photo / Photosport

Fresh from getting New Zealand on the medal table in Tokyo, bronze medallist Hayden Wilde has revealed a pre-race message from Black Cap fast bowler Trent Boult helped inspire him to the podium.

Talking to Radio Hauraki's Jeremy Wells and Matt Heath, it was revealed Wilde's coach Craig Kirkwood sat next to Trent Boult on a flight earlier in the week - and the Kiwi swing bowler then contacted Wilde before the big race.

"To get a cheeky little message from Lovely Trenty (Boult) pre-race … it was inspirational stuff I tell you that," Wilde said.

The triathlete then went on to credit the Hauraki's Matt & Jerry Podcast as something that helped him get through the early hours of training.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Wilde revealed his 10-year plan will hopefully see him compete in the next three Olympic cycles, in Paris, Los Angeles and Brisbane.

Listen to the full interview here:

Wilde claimed New Zealand's first medal of the Tokyo Olympic Games – and won some fans in the process with a classy act after crossing the finish line.

Wilde took out the bronze thanks to a stunning run leg to finish behind Great Britain's Alex Yee (silver) and Norway's Kristian Blummenfelt (gold) in a thrilling finish to the men's triathlon event.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The trio were neck and neck going into the final sprint to the finish line before Blummenfelt put the hammer down to claim the gold by 11 seconds. Hayden finished 20 seconds behind the Norwegian winner.

It turned out to be everything Blummenfelt had left in the tank as he collapsed to the ground shortly after crossing the finish line.

As Blummenfelt lay on the ground, a delighted Wilde rushed to help his opponent off the ground in a heartwarming act of sportsmanship.

Blummenfelt was so spent, he even had to be put in a wheelchair after the race.

"He can't move," said the television commentator. "He cannot walk another step. 51.5k's and maybe half a metre and that was it. He was done. He's now in the wheelchair just for the moment to calm down and cool down."
For Wilde, the race was an emotional one and he dedicated his medal to his late father.

"He died 12 years ago and never got to see me race," he told Sky Sport after the race.

"I know they've (the rest of his family) booked out the old fishing club back home. It's pretty awesome. I think they got half the community in Whakatane back home.

"I didn't have enough for the gold but am stoked to get back on the podium."

Fellow Kiwi Tayler Reid finished 18th, 1m 50s behind the winner.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua science fair aims to inspire young women in stem

Premium
Rotorua Daily Post

'Stay on your side of the Bombays': Rotorua developer's swipe at Auckland firms

Premium
Rotorua Daily Post

More than half of Crown Regional Holdings' loan book flagged as 'at risk'


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua science fair aims to inspire young women in stem
Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua science fair aims to inspire young women in stem

The science fair runs from July 23-25 at Rotorua Energy Events Centre.

16 Jul 09:30 PM
Premium
Premium
'Stay on your side of the Bombays': Rotorua developer's swipe at Auckland firms
Rotorua Daily Post

'Stay on your side of the Bombays': Rotorua developer's swipe at Auckland firms

16 Jul 09:03 PM
Premium
Premium
More than half of Crown Regional Holdings' loan book flagged as 'at risk'
Rotorua Daily Post

More than half of Crown Regional Holdings' loan book flagged as 'at risk'

16 Jul 08:54 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP