Year 13 PE Triathlon

By Andrew Willmott | Posted: Wednesday April 2, 2025

The annual Year 13 PE Triathlon took place on Wednesday, marking the culmination of a term’s worth of dedicated training.

Despite a drizzly start to the morning at school, conditions at Aramoana initially looked promising—until the wind picked up and an unexpected visitor disrupted the swim leg.

Upon arrival, the boys prepared themselves for the challenge ahead and made their way to the swim start at Shelly Beach. A large sea lion basked lazily on the sand, indifferent to the commotion. However, as the water support team set out the buoy, another sea lion took a less welcoming approach, harassing them before making its way toward the students. With strong winds and unpredictable wildlife adding to the mix, safety came first, and the decision was made to modify the event into a duathlon.

After a quick change out of wetsuits, the athletes lined up for the adjusted course: a 1.5km run, followed by a 10km bike, and finishing with a 3km run. The tailwind that had helped on the way out turned into a punishing headwind on the return, making for a gruelling test of endurance. Despite the conditions, the boys displayed incredible resilience and determination. Ruie Hyslop powered through to claim line honours, finishing minutes ahead of his closest competitors in a time of 31 minutes and 57 seconds.

With the change in format, the grade boundaries will be reassessed, but for now, the focus shifts to the students’ written evaluations. These will assess the strategies they developed to achieve their goals and reflect on the effectiveness of their training programmes.

A huge thank you to Jackson Boyd, Toby Hill, and Robert Lloyd for volunteering their time as water support—it was certainly an event to remember!