SAS Pudong – Iron Eagle Triathlon

Even though the competitive swimming season has drawn to a close, there really is not stopping Wellingtonians when it comes to swimming and competing. This time, it was the students first opportunity to try out the fast growing and challenging sport of Triathlon. For those that don’t know, Triathlon consists of a swim followed by a bike ride and finishing with a run. Each event is run consecutively without a break in-between, just a short time to change in the transition area. Despite falling during the half-term holiday, Wellington College still managed to field a team of 20 competitors at the event with the youngest ‘Triathlete’ coming from Reception. At just 5 years old, Ettore Colombo looked a bit lost next to some of the larger athletes, but with a strong family background in swimming he soon showed what a fierce competitor he can be. This was not just an event for the kids however, in the 15+ age group staff and parents were able to compete. Both Mr. Sleep and Mr. Hambling from the PE department took part as well as Mr. Colombo, father of Ettore, showing that the sporting gene really does run in the family. With any kind of racing there is always a small element of risk and this was proven out by a small accident between two of our athletes, unfortunately, Langa Nindi locked wheels with Harriet Rayner during the bike phase of the race resulting in a crash which ended Langa’s race prematurely, thankfully she was wearing her helmet and walked away with a few bumps and bruises. An amazing afternoon of racing was had by all of our ‘Triathletes’, so much so that the news from the PE department is that we may try to organize our own ‘Wellington Triathlon’ for next year, so students and parents alike, start thinking about your training…