ASB Young Sportsperson of the Year winners: 1991-2014

Nathan Richmond. Photo / NZME.

Each week from now until the annual ASB YSPOTY awards dinner in November, we will profile past winners as we count down to the 25th annual event which honours the top young college sportspeople in the region.

Nathan Richmond - (St Kentigern) 1996

Nathan Richmond was the world junior triathlon champion for 1995 after winning in Mexico.

That stellar achievement was recognised the next year with his supreme ASB award, the first and, surprisingly, only winner out of St Kentigern College. He also won the national and Auckland schools triathlon titles, and was top schools triathlete until Terenzo Bozzone hit the scene a few years later. What's more, Richmond was only in Year 12 when he won the overall award. He had to wait until 1997 to clinch St Kentigern's Dux Ludorum.

"It was a nice evening even if you weren't an award winner, just to keep an eye on who was doing well and to be measured against your peers in a different code. My name getting out there did open doors too," says Richmond, now 35, and with a young family in Auckland.

He had plenty of career highlights, qualifying for the 2004 Olympics in Athens and winning a World Cup event in Canada just six weeks before. In 2006 he broke the Port of Tauranga half-ironman record, which still stands.

By 2008 his racing days were over, but he has given back to sport via the Swimtastic programme, which he runs with top swimming coach Mark Bone in Mt Wellington.

He also heads Richmond Coaching, where he mentors eight triathletes, among them the impressive young Westlake athlete Dan Hoy. Richmond might just get to achieve his goal of getting back to two more Olympics, this time as a coach.