Napier chosen for World Cup triathlon series opener in 2025

Napier’s plans of going a second round as a Triathlon World Cup series host have been confirmed, following the success of the first event earlier this year.

World Triathlon confirmed in its release of 2025 dates last week that the multisports event will come to Napier on the weekend of February 22-23, as the first of 10 cup legs.

It was also confirmed on Tuesday by Tri NZ chief executive officer Pete De Wet, who said the event earlier this year proved to be “very popular” and it will be “even more special” in February this year.

This year it attracted Kiwi star Hayden Wilde, who went on to claim the men’s silver medal at the Olympic Games in Paris and, earlier this month, win the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) final in Spain. It was a focus for athletes from several countries aiming for Olympic Games qualification.

Separate from the WTCS, but likely to include several of its top competitors, direct from the opening WTCS opener in Dubai, the Cup’s other venues are in Chile, Brazil, Uzbekistan (in Central Asia), Mexico, Hungary, Spain, Italy, Korea and Japan.

Triathlon NZ expects all of New Zealand’s regular WTCS competitors and other top international athletes will “jet into Hawke’s Bay” for the 2025 event, among athletes of all levels from around the world.

The 2024 World Cup leg in Napier launched from the beach at Ahuriri in February. The event returns in 2025. Photo / Connull Lang

The events around the Ahuriri beach front will incorporate the Tri NZ Suzuki Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships, a qualifier for the Age-Group World Championships, during the WTCS finals in Wollongong, Australia, in October next year.

The only New Zealand event listed on a calendar of more than 30 World Triathlon dates in 2025, it will be part of a two-day Napier Triathlon Festival, the opening day of which will focus on the Napier leg of the Ocean Swim series, previously held a week earlier in February.

Triathlon Hawke’s Bay general manager Jeremy Rimene is confident more than 500 athletes will be in Napier for the events, which will also be livestreamed on channels including TVNZ+ and World Triathlon’s streaming service TriathlonLive.tv.

Napier City Council events manager Kevin Murphy said in February that feedback had been phenomenal, including from athletes who said it had rivalled those held overseas. He was confident at the time of the event coming back to Hawke’s Bay as part of a two to three-year cycle.

“It’s quite cool being part of that network,” Murphy said this week.

Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise said: “It will be fantastic to showcase Napier to the rest of the World and really turn it on for athletes and their supporters. Triathlon has really gained in popularity during the past few years and it’s wonderful seeing our New Zealand athletes shining on the world stage.”

World Triathlon president and International Olympic Committee member Marisol Casado, thanking hosts for accepting the challenge, said: “We know the effort that hosting an event takes for these great cities, the local organising committees and national federations, but we will continue to work to put together season calendars that are sustainable, while offering magnificent scenarios for athletes to showcase their talents on a global stage.”

Prior to being brought to Napier, a World Cup leg had been held in New Plymouth for several years.

Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 51 years of journalism experience, 40 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.