Kiwi superstar Hayden Wilde has launched his 2026 campaign in much the same way as he finished the last – by winning a T100 Triathlon World Tour award.
A little over a month since he crossed the line in Qatar to complete his World Championship title success, the 28-year-old Olympic silver medallist has been named as the T100 Athletes’ Athlete of the Year.
Voted for by his fellow Tour competitors, the honour is a clear indication of just how highly the New Zealander is regarded among his peers, having won six of the seven events he raced in during a season which also saw him battle back from a career-threatening bike crash.
Follows the recognition of Lucy Byram
The women’s award was also announced last week, with Lucy Byram’s remarkable courage and resilience being recognised after she returned to competition following the death of her partner, Sam O’Shea.
Wilde eased himself back into action this weekend by joining the Waitoa Mount Festival Half Marathon field as a 1:20 pacer, in a race which saw fellow countryman and triathlete Kyle Smith take the men’s race in a time of 1:11:27, and Ireland’s Brigid Dennehy take the women’s in 1:16:45.
Wilde had already won the opening T100 race of the season in Singapore when he collided with a truck while out riding in Japan and suffered six broken ribs, a punctured lung and a smashed scapula – medical experts weren’t even sure whether he would compete again, let alone return in the same season and win the T100 title.
But return he did, and just 226 days after that horrific crash on the banks of the Sumida River, Wilde was crowned World Champion – following Tour wins in London, France, Spain, Wollongong and Qatar.
‘Like a phoenix from the ashes’
It was a feat clearly not lost on his fellow competitors, as they acknowledged his remarkable recovery with the Athletes’ Athlete Award.
Announced on the T100 Instagram page, the post stated: “Like a phoenix from the ashes 🔥.
“From a potentially career-ending crash to champion of the world, @hayden_wilde wins the vote of his fellow athletes for Athlete of the Year 2025 🙌.”
The Waitoa half-marathon was held alongside the Oceanside Tauranga Half triathlon as part of the Fulton Hogan Mount Festival of Multisport on Mount Maunganui in New Zealand.
Defending champion Jack Moody (NZL) and Olympian Nicole van der Kaay (NZL) took their respective triathlon races, which included a 2km swim, 90km bike, and 21.1km run.
The weekend, however, ended on a truly sombre note as it was announced by officials that one of the competitors had sadly died after experiencing difficulties during the swim in Pilot Bay.
A statement from Surf Life Saving NZ said the man was spotted and pulled to shore by surf lifesavers, where he was treated immediately by medical staff but could not be saved.
