Young triathletes from Samoa broke national records and some made the podium at the Tri-New Zealand Sprint Distance Age-Group Champs held in Napier last week.

According to Triathlon Samoa secretary-general Lani Young, the future of triathlon in Samoa took a massive leap forward after a successful week of training workshops in Hawkes Bay New Zealand, culminating in the triumphant performance at the Tri-New Zealand Sprint Distance Age-Group Champs.

18-year-old Urlin Mulitalo set a new national record for women with a time of 1 hour and 21 minutes. The youngest member of the team, 16-year-old Tyreece Collins is the new national record holder for men with a time of one hour and eight minutes.

Three of the athletes made the podium for their age-group categories – Urlin Mulitalo coming in second place, and both Manamea Schwalger and Gideon Mulitalo placing third in their respective categories. Tyreece Collins narrowly missed out on the podium, finishing in fourth place after taking a wrong turn on the course before the finish line.

The event was held in conjunction with World Cup races, the first of the new season and so Napier was a busy city full of elite triathletes from around the world. Team Samoa arrived one week before their race and was hosted by Talalelei Taufale and his wife Meriama of the USO Bike Club.

From day one, the athletes were able to group ride with members of the USO Bike Club who organized high-performance road racing bikes for them to use. This gave them valuable experience cycling on New Zealand roads. They also had daily swim and transition sessions with the Hawkes Bay Triathlon Club.

The General Manager Jeremy Rimene, even organized for Team Samoa to have a sit-down Talanoa with several of the elite athletes including New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde, the number two men’s triathlete in the world.

Coach Ray Reupena, based in Brisbane Australia said he is “beyond proud” of the athletes.

“The way they have handled themselves throughout the week balancing continuous learning, media commitments, and their training.,” he said.

“And still producing great results – is the icing on the cake. Online coaching relies heavily on trusting athletes to get the sessions done, so I’m also happy we have established that – based on the race results.”

For a sprint Triathlon, competitors must swim 750m, then bike 20km, and run 5km.

The four athletes are members of the team that represented Samoa at the Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands last November. One more member of the national team, Darren Young, is currently in Taupo preparing to compete in next week's NZ Ironman.

The next goal event for the country's triathletes is the National Champs and Invitational Races that will be held in July. Triathletes from American Samoa and Fiji have also accepted the invitation to come compete.