March 9, 2026 • 7 mins
Triathlon NZ is looking to identify and develop the next generation of Kiwi para-triathletes.
The national body is ramping up efforts to discover and train up new talent, and they're hoping the Auckland Triathlon Festival will deliver plenty of choices.
Triathlon NZ CEO Pete de Wet joined Piney to discuss.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the sports Talk podcast with Duncie Waldergrave
from News Talk.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
ZEDB Triathlon New Zealand on the hunt for the next
generation of Paralympians. The national body ramping up its efforts
to identify athletes with power triathlon potential, particularly at age
group level, and they're using the Auckland Triathlon Festival at
the end of this month as a key opportunity to
connect with and discover new talent. Pete Dewett is the
(00:34):
CEO of Triathlon New Zealand. He joins us, now, where
has this initiative and this idea come from?
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Pete?
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Good to speak to you. Jason welcd I'd been at
a triathlon conference back in twenty twenty two and got
a fairly solid roasting from our counterparts in Portugal given
how successful we are in triathlon in the able body
side of the sports, and came back and we started
to have a real lonehard look at our involvement in
(01:02):
para triathlon and have spent the last couple of years
developing a strategy that'll allow us to try and identify
a triathlete to go to the Paralympics in twenty twenty
eight and so that journey's about to start in Auckland
on the twenty ninth of March as part of the
Auckland Triathlon Festival. So yeah, something that we take really
really seriously. It's something we're pretty committed to trying to
do and we know that there are a couple of
(01:25):
really talented paraathletes, aren't there, So we're hoping that we
can entice them to come and swim bike round with us.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
What are the key features of the strategy that you
have developed over the last couple of years.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
I think the key thing is ensuring that we've got
a decent base at the grassroots level, so ensuring that
our event providers are setup to be able to cater
for paratriathy to come in and race in our events
across the calendar during our summer. So that's been a
really key focus for us at the start, So get
the basics right so that we can offer a good
experience for parathletes to come into the sport in the
(01:57):
first instance, and I think we've done a great job
alongside our event providers to do that. So we feel
we're at the next level or at the next stage
of that journey to be able to do that. So
working with us Try, who've got a really established parrotriathlon program,
was to say, hey, give us an opportunity to host
the Oceania Para Champs, even though we don't have a
(02:21):
significantly large paratriathlon team in the elite section. Send your
athletes across to New Zealand. We'll put together a great
race in Auckland. Give them a good opportunity to race.
But also it's a fantastic chance for us to showcase
the sport of paratriathlon and try and encourage some parathletes
to come and have.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
A go do Potential para triathletes always come from swimming, cycling,
running backgrounds, or can they come from from outside of
those three disciplines.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
I think they can come from outside of those three disciplines.
I mean, I think the obvious place to look would
be a swim bike run, given that they have the
ability to do one of the three. But certainly you
just need to be reasonably fit. Obviously, swimming is quite
a walking and swimming open waters sometimes can be quite daunting,
(03:09):
so you need to be capable of swimming in the
ocean or in an open water environment. But yeah, I
think it's not necessarily restricted to people who are come
from swimming, athletics or from cycling. We're happy to talk
to athletes from across the spectrum.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
If someone has identified as having some potential and shows
the interest as well, what happens next paid in terms
of development support that sort of thing.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
I think the key thing for us is to identify
where they're at. So another key component of this event
in Auckland on the twenty nine for March is the
ability to be able to classify them. So a key
component of Paaratriathlon is being classified in the correct classification groups.
So the opportunity for our classifiers to look at the
athletes participating and determining exactly where they fit into the
(03:56):
para categories, and then it's working alongside them to ensure
that they've got the support that they need from a
high performance perspective. So what does your coaching look like
and where where is the support that we as TRY
and Z could provide you, So whether that's access to
sports science or training facilities, all those types of things.
So yeah, it's a fairly broad base that we'd have
(04:19):
to cover, but certainly we'd look at it on a
case by case basis with athletes as they came through.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Have you been able to take lessons from overseas as
to what has worked elsewhere which could could really suitably
apply here in New Zealand.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Yeah, I think the key thing is talking to other
codes and having a conversation with them about athletes who
potentially are on the cusp of not qualifying through the
roots that they may do in their individual sports, and
seeing whether there's an opportunity to bring them across into trianpline.
I think that's a tactic that's been deployed really well
in other territories. Certainly from an Australia perspective, they've got
(04:58):
a really strong power program and we're trying to learn
a lot from them, and we've got a great working
relationship with the Aussies, so they're a great resource to
lean on. But yeah, I think the reality is in
this space is we're at the ground floor, but we've
got a whole heap of ambition and want to ensure
that we can do what we can to get somebody
on the sideline in LA in twenty.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Eight so in terms of participants later in the month
in Auckland, what sort of support guidance, that sort of
thing will you be making available to them on the day.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
So, like any paratype event, you know, we need to
make sure that the accessibility is well looked after. So
that's a key component of our planning is making sure
that it's easy and accessible for athletes who are coming
in with disabilities to get into the venue. And obviously
that has a significant impact on the course that's selected
(05:49):
as well, So making sure that the course is safe
and can be navigated carefully and well by paratriathletes. So
those are the types of things we're doing again, the
ability to learn from our mates across the ditch, that's
been really really helpful, and we get really good support
from World Triathlon as well, so I think we're pretty
(06:10):
well covered.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Fantastic and the goal, as you just mentioned before, is
to have an athlete or athletes plural even on the
start line in La twenty twenty.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Eight, absolutely and winning medals in Brisbane in thirty two.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Love it, Love it, Pietzez. So if someone who's listening,
or they themselves are interested, or someone they know might be,
what is the next step. I mean we're in March now,
so there's a short window So what is the next
step for anybody who is interested.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Yeah. I think if you jump onto our website at
www dot triathlon dot Kiwi, information is there, you can
drop an email and reach out to us. I think
another important component of the events on the twenty ninth
is it's also open to able bodied athletes and age
groups and all comers. So we really wanted to be
a festival of triathlon. If you think about it, most
(06:57):
people in the country are triathletes. They swim, their bike,
and they run. They just don't all three together. So
we're encouraging you to get down to win your quarter
on the twenty ninth and come and have a go.
In the first instance, go to the Triathlon dot Kiwi
website for more information and we can take it from there.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
Fantastic great information, Pete, great ownership too, Thanks so much
for joining us this afternoon. Brilliant Thanks Jason, Thanks Peter, Peter.
Peter Dewett. They're the CEO of Triathlon New Zealand.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
For more from sports talk, listen live to News Talks
it'd be from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the sports Talk podcast with Duncie Waldergrave
from News Talk.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
ZEDB Triathlon New Zealand on the hunt for the next
generation of Paralympians. The national body ramping up its efforts
to identify athletes with power triathlon potential, particularly at age
group level, and they're using the Auckland Triathlon Festival at
the end of this month as a key opportunity to
connect with and discover new talent. Pete Dewett is the
(00:34):
CEO of Triathlon New Zealand. He joins us, now, where
has this initiative and this idea come from?
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Pete?
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Good to speak to you. Jason welcd I'd been at
a triathlon conference back in twenty twenty two and got
a fairly solid roasting from our counterparts in Portugal given
how successful we are in triathlon in the able body
side of the sports, and came back and we started
to have a real lonehard look at our involvement in
(01:02):
para triathlon and have spent the last couple of years
developing a strategy that'll allow us to try and identify
a triathlete to go to the Paralympics in twenty twenty
eight and so that journey's about to start in Auckland
on the twenty ninth of March as part of the
Auckland Triathlon Festival. So yeah, something that we take really
really seriously. It's something we're pretty committed to trying to
do and we know that there are a couple of
(01:25):
really talented paraathletes, aren't there, So we're hoping that we
can entice them to come and swim bike round with us.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
What are the key features of the strategy that you
have developed over the last couple of years.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
I think the key thing is ensuring that we've got
a decent base at the grassroots level, so ensuring that
our event providers are setup to be able to cater
for paratriathy to come in and race in our events
across the calendar during our summer. So that's been a
really key focus for us at the start, So get
the basics right so that we can offer a good
experience for parathletes to come into the sport in the
(01:57):
first instance, and I think we've done a great job
alongside our event providers to do that. So we feel
we're at the next level or at the next stage
of that journey to be able to do that. So
working with us Try, who've got a really established parrotriathlon program,
was to say, hey, give us an opportunity to host
the Oceania Para Champs, even though we don't have a
(02:21):
significantly large paratriathlon team in the elite section. Send your
athletes across to New Zealand. We'll put together a great
race in Auckland. Give them a good opportunity to race.
But also it's a fantastic chance for us to showcase
the sport of paratriathlon and try and encourage some parathletes
to come and have.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
A go do Potential para triathletes always come from swimming, cycling,
running backgrounds, or can they come from from outside of
those three disciplines.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
I think they can come from outside of those three disciplines.
I mean, I think the obvious place to look would
be a swim bike run, given that they have the
ability to do one of the three. But certainly you
just need to be reasonably fit. Obviously, swimming is quite
a walking and swimming open waters sometimes can be quite daunting,
(03:09):
so you need to be capable of swimming in the
ocean or in an open water environment. But yeah, I
think it's not necessarily restricted to people who are come
from swimming, athletics or from cycling. We're happy to talk
to athletes from across the spectrum.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
If someone has identified as having some potential and shows
the interest as well, what happens next paid in terms
of development support that sort of thing.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
I think the key thing for us is to identify
where they're at. So another key component of this event
in Auckland on the twenty nine for March is the
ability to be able to classify them. So a key
component of Paaratriathlon is being classified in the correct classification groups.
So the opportunity for our classifiers to look at the
athletes participating and determining exactly where they fit into the
(03:56):
para categories, and then it's working alongside them to ensure
that they've got the support that they need from a
high performance perspective. So what does your coaching look like
and where where is the support that we as TRY
and Z could provide you, So whether that's access to
sports science or training facilities, all those types of things.
So yeah, it's a fairly broad base that we'd have
(04:19):
to cover, but certainly we'd look at it on a
case by case basis with athletes as they came through.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Have you been able to take lessons from overseas as
to what has worked elsewhere which could could really suitably
apply here in New Zealand.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Yeah, I think the key thing is talking to other
codes and having a conversation with them about athletes who
potentially are on the cusp of not qualifying through the
roots that they may do in their individual sports, and
seeing whether there's an opportunity to bring them across into trianpline.
I think that's a tactic that's been deployed really well
in other territories. Certainly from an Australia perspective, they've got
(04:58):
a really strong power program and we're trying to learn
a lot from them, and we've got a great working
relationship with the Aussies, so they're a great resource to
lean on. But yeah, I think the reality is in
this space is we're at the ground floor, but we've
got a whole heap of ambition and want to ensure
that we can do what we can to get somebody
on the sideline in LA in twenty.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Eight so in terms of participants later in the month
in Auckland, what sort of support guidance, that sort of
thing will you be making available to them on the day.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
So, like any paratype event, you know, we need to
make sure that the accessibility is well looked after. So
that's a key component of our planning is making sure
that it's easy and accessible for athletes who are coming
in with disabilities to get into the venue. And obviously
that has a significant impact on the course that's selected
(05:49):
as well, So making sure that the course is safe
and can be navigated carefully and well by paratriathletes. So
those are the types of things we're doing again, the
ability to learn from our mates across the ditch, that's
been really really helpful, and we get really good support
from World Triathlon as well, so I think we're pretty
(06:10):
well covered.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Fantastic and the goal, as you just mentioned before, is
to have an athlete or athletes plural even on the
start line in La twenty twenty.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Eight, absolutely and winning medals in Brisbane in thirty two.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Love it, Love it, Pietzez. So if someone who's listening,
or they themselves are interested, or someone they know might be,
what is the next step. I mean we're in March now,
so there's a short window So what is the next
step for anybody who is interested.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Yeah. I think if you jump onto our website at
www dot triathlon dot Kiwi, information is there, you can
drop an email and reach out to us. I think
another important component of the events on the twenty ninth
is it's also open to able bodied athletes and age
groups and all comers. So we really wanted to be
a festival of triathlon. If you think about it, most
(06:57):
people in the country are triathletes. They swim, their bike,
and they run. They just don't all three together. So
we're encouraging you to get down to win your quarter
on the twenty ninth and come and have a go.
In the first instance, go to the Triathlon dot Kiwi
website for more information and we can take it from there.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
Fantastic great information, Pete, great ownership too, Thanks so much
for joining us this afternoon. Brilliant Thanks Jason, Thanks Peter, Peter.
Peter Dewett. They're the CEO of Triathlon New Zealand.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
For more from sports talk, listen live to News Talks
it'd be from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Fudd Around And Find Out
UConn basketball star Azzi Fudd brings her championship swag to iHeart Women’s Sports with Fudd Around and Find Out, a weekly podcast that takes fans along for the ride as Azzi spends her final year of college trying to reclaim the National Championship and prepare to be a first round WNBA draft pick. Ever wonder what it’s like to be a world-class athlete in the public spotlight while still managing schoolwork, friendships and family time? It’s time to Fudd Around and Find Out!