NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

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 / Sport

Triplets take top prizes at Muay Thai World Champs

By Brittany Keogh
Reporter·NZ Herald·
5 Sep, 2016 04:50 AM3 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

Triplets from Kawhia took out the top prizes at the Muay Thai Youth World Championships. (l-r: Aotea Taylor, Tainui Taylor, Tokomaru Taylor). Photo / Supplied

Triplets from Kawhia took out the top prizes at the Muay Thai Youth World Championships. (l-r: Aotea Taylor, Tainui Taylor, Tokomaru Taylor). Photo / Supplied

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Kawhia triplets Tokomaru, Tainui and Aotea Taylor will arrive home from the Muay Thai World Youth Championships victorious, each with at least one medal in hand.

Members of the New Zealand Black Gloves Junior Muay Thai team, the 13-year-olds competed in Bangkok, last week, where they scooped four medals in total.

Tokomaru was crowned best in the world in his weight and age category, winning gold. His siblings both placed third, claiming bronze in their respective categories.

Sister Aotea narrowly missed a spot in the final after she lost by only one point in the semis. However, she won a special second medal, a gold, for defeating Thailand's top competitor.

The trio's dad, Bevan Taylor, said seeing his children up on stage in the national stadium was "a proud moment".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It's given all of them a boost. All that work they've put in - it all paid off."

Getting to Thailand had been a long journey for the Taylor family. Mr Taylor raised the children on his own and was closely involved in their training.

The kids had "dabbled" in the sport since they were young. Their mother was Thai and it was important to Mr Taylor they were connected to their roots.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

To get to the World Youth Championship the family garnered support from their rural community and further afield.

A local charity set up a Givealittle page for the teenagers, and after the Herald reported in July that the family had only managed to raise enough to send one of the three kids to the competition, Kiwis from around New Zealand pitched in. More than 60 people donated through Givealittle, raising $8288 in total, enough to fund the trip for all three.

In preparation for the championship, the triplets trained briefly with boxer David Tua before they left New Zealand.

"David helped just get the ends sharper. A little bit of fine-tuning from someone like him was much appreciated," Mr Taylor said.

Tokomaru, Tainui and Aotea then flew to Hua Hin in southern Thailand for a final 10-day boot camp where they trained "non-stop, morning and night". Their routine included a morning run through the jungle, an abs work and then a nap, followed by workouts at a Muay Thai gym in the afternoons.

The day before the competition they took a train to Bangkok and checked into the Ambassador Hotel.

The competition was tough. Teams from more than 60 countries had entered.

But the triplets proved they had what it takes to beat the competition.

Mr Taylor told the Herald Tokomaru, Tainui and Aotea now had their sights set on an even bigger prize - competing in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

"I believe at least one of them will take out the Olympics."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The first step to get there would be qualifying for next year's World Games in Ireland, which Mr Taylor called a "prerequisite" to the Olympics.

But before returning to New Zealand to train, the triplets were in for one more adventure. Today they travelled north of Bangkok with their father to meet their maternal great grandfather, who was in his 90s.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Premium
Opinion

Gregor Paul: The bold All Blacks selections Razor must embrace

01 Jul 04:07 AM
Sport|league

Juggling jobs and family: Warriors women tackle challenges of top sport

01 Jul 03:33 AM
Sport

LockerRoom: Teen hockey star ditches Australia for NZ, makes Black Sticks debut

01 Jul 03:00 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

Premium
Gregor Paul: The bold All Blacks selections Razor must embrace

Gregor Paul: The bold All Blacks selections Razor must embrace

01 Jul 04:07 AM

OPINION: Billy Proctor is expected to start at centre in Dunedin.

Juggling jobs and family: Warriors women tackle challenges of top sport

Juggling jobs and family: Warriors women tackle challenges of top sport

01 Jul 03:33 AM
LockerRoom: Teen hockey star ditches Australia for NZ, makes Black Sticks debut

LockerRoom: Teen hockey star ditches Australia for NZ, makes Black Sticks debut

01 Jul 03:00 AM
'The Lord's team': Savea hopes Moana Pasifika survives financial struggles

'The Lord's team': Savea hopes Moana Pasifika survives financial struggles

01 Jul 02:45 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

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
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • 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