Hawke's Bay triathlete shines on world stage
Heather Neill turned up to her first triathlon on her father’s 40-year-old road bike and ended up winning the women’s only event by almost five minutes.
Fast forward four years and the 25-year-old can now call herself an age-group world champion.
Neill won the 25-29 age-group in the World Triathlon Long Distance Triathlon World Championships in Samorin, Slovakia last month.
“I’m over the moon to have won the gold for my age group and an almost bigger achievement for me was to be the second fastest female finisher across all age groups which is a result I hadn't expected!”
Neill completed the 2km swim, 80km cycle and 18km run in 4 hours 21 minutes 34 seconds.
It’s a feat she hadn’t imagined when she lined up for her first women’s only triathlon in 2018.
“I thought I’d try something new to balance out my lifestyle as I was in the final stages of my five year veterinary degree.
“My Dad had a road bike from when he was 13 years old, so I borrowed that but the gears were stuck, so I was stuck in one gear the whole race - luckily it was a flat race.”
Neill then set her goals a bit higher and trained for her first Olympic distance triathlon (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run) and half Ironman (1.9km swim, 90km cycle 21.1km run). In both events she qualified for the 2019 World Championships. She chose to race at the ITU Long Distance World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain and placed 2nd in the 20-24 age group.
Neill says it was “really rewarding” to have moved up an age group this year and been able to top the podium in Slovakia as the youngest in her age group.
It’s been a sharp rise for Neill, who plans all her own training with a bit of guidance from her Triathlon Hawke’s Bay clubmates.
“I really like being active, I don’t know why I didn’t get into it sooner.”
As a child Neill says she was more academic and kept busy with music, playing the saxophone and ballroom dancing.
“I like Triathlon because it is a real battle against yourself. There are other people out there on race day, but at the end of the day, it takes mental strength to complete three very different tasks back to back, as well as getting all the nutrition and hydration right for longer events. It's quite scientific when you get down to it.”
Neill enjoys the routine and discipline that comes with training and it gives her an outlet outside her work as a veterinarian.
“Training brings me a sense of satisfaction and self achievement and racing is fun because you get a chance to put all your hard work to the test.”
Her focus for the upcoming season is to get stronger on the run.
“I'm still learning how to push myself to my absolute limit, but I hope with each training session I can get a bit closer to reaching my full potential. I love a good challenge!"
