World Triathlon

Cook Islands Triathlon Association President Geoff Stoddart reports as the federation reflects on its previous year’s activites.

Read the full Cooks Islands annual report

In the lead up to Christmas the warm climate lends itself to shorter distance races which were held with strong turnouts from both competitive and recreational triathletes, whilst the popular Air New Zealand International race held over the standard distance was a success and was publicised in NZ Multisport magazine.

The Weetbix New Zealand sponsored kid’s triathlon was held in December as the world’s largest children’s triathlon project moved across the Pacific for a single leg of their series. A successful women’s triathlon was also hosted by the Federation, attracting 22 individuals and eight teams to compete over a short race.

A total of ten Cook Islands triathletes made the trip to Gold Coast for the ITU Triathlon World Championships backed up with a healthy support team. The island also played host to the Pacific Mini Games with four top ten performances for the host nation with the ITU running an event management and technical course alongside the Games.

In September Geoff Stoddart was elected as President of the Oceania Triathlon Union, the Confederation responsible for triathlon development within the Oceania region.