Two teenage triathletes – who recently won Under-19 titles in the New Zealand Schools Triathlon Championships at Mount Manganui – are now waiting to hear if they’ll head to Spain for 2024’s World Junior Championships.
Mount Maunganui College’s Finnley Oliver took the Under-19 Male title on home turf with a 56:35 finish on March 21, at the Bay Radiology NZ Schools Triathlon Championships at Pilot Bay.
Hayley Cornwall of Palmerston North Girls’ High School – but who has strong family links to the Bay of Plenty – took the Under-19 Female title with a time of 1:06:07 – which was both her and Finnley’s last school nationals as Year 13 students.
Finnley enjoyed winning the championships for a first time, while Hayley had previously won the competition in Years 8 and 10.
Now both athletes are waiting for confirmation from Tri NZ selectors that they’ve respectively secured a spot in the NZ team to compete at the World Junior Under-19 Championships in Malaga, Spain, from October 17-20.
“The schools triathlon champs was not a qualifying race for Spain – but the Oceanias were,” says Finnley, who was glad he didn’t choke at the schools championship after an impressive performance at Oceanias.
In February, Finnley won a silver Oceania U19 Championship medal at the World Triathlon Cup weekend in Napier, while Hayley won a bronze Oceania U19 Championship medal.
“Based on the selection criteria we should both head to Spain,” says Finnley. “But the selectors don’t announce this until [sometime in] April.”
“But our first placings at the NZ Schools Triathlon Championships helps,” says Hayley. “It signals to Tri NZ selectors that we both desperately want a spot on the NZ team for worlds.”
Finnley placed second overall at Oceanias, and was the first male New Zealander. Hayley placed third and was the first NZ female.
To qualify for Spain, Kiwi athletes needed to be the top two NZers in their Oceania divisions, and within three per cent of the winner’s time. Both achieved this.
Asked about his future, Finnley has his sights firmly set on Spain for now. “I’d like to place in the top 10 at Worlds this year as last year my race was a bit rubbish.
“I’d like to keep competing if I can but being young it’s hard to decide fully what you want to do. But if I could go pro, I’d like to,” says the 17-year-old, who is coached by Craig Kirkwood who also coaches Hayden Wilde.
Finnley’s grandfather and father got him into running young. “I swam with school, then dad bought me a bike when I was eight, so I started mixing them together.” He competed in his first triathlon aged 10. And despite admitting training can feel “crap a times” he also reckons it feels good gaining strength and achieving goals.
Hayley gets out of bed for training simply because “it’s fun”.
“My dad – Adrian Cornwall [an accomplished triathlete himself] – got me into the sport.
“I started with the Palmy ‘I Tri'd the Tri’ Series for kids aged four-plus. Mum is still an organiser, so she brought me, aged four, along on a pushbike – my parents had to go with me. Ever since that I never walked, I ran everywhere. I started swimming young but didn’t properly bike until much later – probably when I was 13.”
Hayley Cornwall – on the far right – wants to make her World Junior Championships debut. Photo: supplied.
Now a triathlete – Hayley, aged 17 – whose parents grew up in Katikati, and with grandparents living in Katikati and Te Puke – wants to make her World Junior Championships debut. “That’s what I’m aiming for at the moment.”
The pair find out their fate this month. Watch this space!