NZSS Triathlon and Open Water Swimming Champs

By Andrew Willmott | Posted: Monday April 3, 2023

Glendhu Bay, Wanaka - 30-31 March, 2023.

Despite some cold starts, the racing (and eventually the weather) was hot. It was great to have the event in our own backyard, and to be confirmed as a venue biannually hereon in.

Our individual athletes performed well considering the experience and training some of the competition had in the back already. Off in the cold, Robert Lloyd (in the U13s) and Henry Hodgson (in the U14s) struggled with the conditions. Both battled on to place 13th and 12th respectively, demonstrating great determination. Ruie Hyslop was in the very competitive U16 category. He placed 21st but was one of the best-performing local athletes.

Success came in the teams events. With many schools opting to just contest the individual races, the fields were limited in numbers. In saying this, both the U16s (Toby Orchiston, Lochie Ing-aram, Gabe Murphy) and U19s (Johnathon King, Sam Hughes, Hugo Barsby) produced strong performances to take gold in their respective categories.

On the second day a number of the boys were seeking redemption or to continue their momentum. Both aims were achieved with a huge haul of medals in the Open Water Swimming Champs. Henry Hodgson led the charge, claiming bronze in the first swim. This was trumped by Johnathon King who took gold in the U16s. This was great for Johnathon as he was finally competing as an individual rather than swimming for a team! In the last swim race, Tim Orchiston sprinted to the finish to take another bronze.

Henry Hodgson completed a busy event schedule, placing 4th in the afternoon's Aquathon. He was a mere 7 seconds off getting on the podium again.

It was a pleasing finish to the festival and hopefully the boys are inspired to do better in their future races.