Taupō waited four long years to get its moment in the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship sun, and it was absolutely worth the wait.
Thanks to the COVID pandemic, the New Zealand community did not become the global focus of world triathlon until last weekend, but all the predictions were right. It is a town in love with the sport, with a true passion for swim/bike/run.
On Sunday we almost got the perfect end to a spectacular weekend as local boy Hayden Wilde agonisingly missed out on victory before giving best to Jelle Geens in a thrilling race for Pro Men.
Twenty-four hours before that the two superstars that are Taylor Knibb and Kat Matthews delivered another absolute blockbuster as they came home first and second in a thriller for Pro Women.
Knibb and Matthews on Taupo love
Afterwards both Taylor and Kat both spoke glowingly about their Taupō experience – one which combined an area with stunning beauty and fantastic support for this event.
Knibb said: “The run course was amazing. There was no one on the bike course, but everyone was on the run course. I don’t think there was a step on the course where you didn’t have people supporting you and cheering. It was like, wow. This was such an impressive community, so thank you to everyone that was out there and supporting.
“I’m very tired and it’s very hot, it is a bit of a relief, but I am also very grateful. I think it is really cool that each of my [IRONMAN] 70.3 wins has been in drastically different courses on a different continent. Thank you, it’s such a great community here and I always forget how much I love IRONMAN races.”
Kat, who also claimed top spot in the 2024 IRONMAN Pro Series, was even more glowing in her praise for the venue, revealing: “Honestly, best course I’ve raced all year. The spectators, the crowd, literally from the first step out of the swim to the last on the run, it was incredible. Thank you.”
Local star Berry full of emotion
The day was arguable even more special for another local star in the shape of Hannah Berry, who finished 14th in the race and claimed fourth spot in those IRONMAN Pro Series standings.
She exclaimed: “What a day. So many emotions, the crowd out there was so unbelievable, the support, the cheering, it was like nothing I’ve ever witnessed before so just a huge thank you to all the supporters out there. It was a really hard day but I’m actually really happy with that,” said Berry.
“I had a feeling it was going to be pretty crazy out there with the support, but I’ve never had support like that before, it was incredible. It was kind of overwhelming to try and keep within myself and concentrate on what I was doing because the crowd was incredible,” she said. “What a day, it’s been amazing. Something I will remember for the rest of my life. A World Championship at home, just incredible.”
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