Category: Radio New Zealand

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Farmers doing their bit to support those with intellectual disabilities in rural communities

Source: Radio New Zealand

Kaye and her daughter check out the calves at the Temuka sale. Supplied

Strong beef prices are helping raise record funds as part of a fundraising scheme that’s been going for more than 40 years.

IHC has been around for 70 years supporting those with intellectual disabilities, particularly in rural communities.

For more than half that time, the IHC Calf and Rural Scheme has helped raised funds for the charity with farmers donating a weaned calf which is then sold and the proceeds donated.

National fundraising manager Greg Millar said some farmers donated multiple calves and had been doing so for generations.

“When they come to sale, [the calves] are often of amazing quality as well.”

Millar said the scheme was badly impacted by Mycoplasma bovis and Covid-19.

“We had to change everything about the way we ran the calf and rural scheme and tighten up a lot of our processes. At one stage we thought it could be the end of the scheme just because it was high risk.”

However, with farmers urging they persevered, it returned to full strength last year and raised $1.2 million.

He said this year is looking likely to be a record fundraiser.

“The sale prices have been great. The numbers we’ve been getting have been great.”

Millar said at the recent Temuka sale, which had more calves than the year before, the average price was about $100 per calf which meant the sale earned an extra $50,000.

He said he was always impressed by farmers generosity, which allowed them to help families of children with intellectual disabilities.

“I’m always astounded by how amazing and supportive the farming community is around New Zealand.”

With one more sale in January, he expects to know the final total in the new year.

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Live: Black Caps v West Indies second test – day two

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Black Caps ripped through the West Indies on the first day of the second test in Wellington, but it came at a cost.

Late on day one the West Indies were dismissed for just 205, with a top score of just 48 from Shai Hope to put the Kiwis well in the ascendancy at 24 without loss.

However, after taking four wickets in the first innings, seamer Blair Tickner was forced from the field with a serious looking shoulder injury after landing awkwardly attempting to save a boundary.

Tickner joins Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Kyle Jameison, Mitch Santner and Tom Blundell on the Black Caps injury list.

First ball is at 11am.

Squad: Tom Latham (c), Michael Bracewell, Kristian Clarke*, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Mitchell Hay*, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Michael Rae*, Blair Tickner, Kane Williamson, Will Young

*uncapped Test player

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Michael Bracewell Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz / Photosport Ltd 2025

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High-profile property investment firm Opes Partners censured

Source: Radio New Zealand

123RF

Property investment company Opes Partners has been censured for failing to comply with obligations under its financial advice provider licence.

Opes offers clients a wealth plan, then helps them find properties to invest in, as well as helping to arrange their mortgage and manage the property.

It also produces the Property Academy podcast.

But Financial Markets Authority director for response and enforcement Louise Unger said there were short-comings in its record-keeping, how it ensured client understanding of advice, management of conflicts of interest and oversight of advisers.

“The way Opes’ client documents are completed, how they are stored, and the level of detail recorded is not consistent, and records weren’t efficiently accessible, to the extent that Opes was in breach of the requirements of standard condition one of its FAP licence. In addition, this breach made it difficult for FMA to verify whether other regulatory obligations were being met.

“There were additional reasonable steps that Opes could have taken to ensure its clients who did not progress to purchase a property with Opes understood the risks and limitations of the advice provided. Clients who did not proceed through the full advice process with Opes, where they would have received further risk disclosures, may not have been made fully aware of the potential downsides or the implications of acting on limited advice.”

She said because the business offered property sales, investment planning, mortgage advice, accounting and property management, there was a risk of conflicts of interest.

“Making adequate policies and procedures in this area, and the implementation of them, critical to appropriately managing this risk. The FMA found that Opes did not have adequate policies or processes in place and could not be confident that all conflicts had been identified, disclosed, and managed.

“Opes acknowledged that its regulatory compliance, policies, procedures and staff adherence to policies had not kept pace with its rapid growth and were not fit-for-purpose for the business. It has acknowledged the FMA’s view that there has been a gap between Opes’ compliance with its FAP obligations and where it actually needs to be.

 ”While no actual client harm was identified by the FMA’s review, we consider that these contraventions have the potential to increase the risk of detriment to customer outcomes. Censuring and naming Opes is important to ensure the transparency of FMA decision making; it informs the public and previous clients, prevents and reduces the opportunity for consumer detriment, and helps to maximise the deterrent effect on the industry.

Unger said Opes had fully co-operated with the FMA and had taken significant steps to address the concerns and provide a voluntary remediation plan for further improvements.

Opes economist Ed McKnight said the business supported the censure and would take the necessary steps to address the issues identified.

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Children exposed to asbestos should be monitored long-term – public health experts

Source: Radio New Zealand

The recalled sand products. Supplied

The Public Health Communication Centre says children exposed to asbestos contained in coloured play sands should be regularly monitored to ensure the best chance of successfully treating cancers – which could take decades to emerge later in life.

Hundreds of schools have been tested – with nearly 40 forced to temporarily close – following the discovery of naturally occurring asbestos, tremolite, in coloured play sands last month.

At least nine children’s activity products containing coloured sands were recalled over the last month after testing in Australia revealed the presence of the carcinogen in products.

Illnesses could take decades to emerge

University of Canterbury toxicologist, Professor Ian Shaw, said it could be decades before any illnesses related to the exposure emerged as symptoms.

“Mesothelioma, which is the cancer which is most likely to be caused by asbestos, tends not to be diagnosed early. The reason is that you don’t notice the symptoms – they’re the sort of things that you might just pass off.

“In kids that we know have been exposed, we would then want to monitor them – say, yearly – for many years so that if they did contract mesothelioma we could detect it really early and have a greater chance of treatment success,” Shaw said.

University of Canterbury toxicologist Professor Ian Shaw. Supplied

He said testing needed to be done to better understand the risks associated with exposure to the products.

“We need to know not only how much they’re breathing in – in terms of the concentration in air – but how long they’ve been breathing it because the higher the concentration, the longer the exposure, the greater the risk.

“It’s immensely complex but it’s really important because we’ve got kids exposed and what we do know about chemicals that cause cancer is that they tend to have a greater effect in children than adults. The reason for that is that kids are growing, their cells are dividing more frequently and cancer-causing chemicals generally only affect cells that are dividing. So there’s more chance of them affecting dividing cells in kids,” Shaw said.

Shaw said not everyone who breathed in asbestos would necessarily develop cancer.

“Even if somebody breathes a whole load of it for a long period of time they might not develop cancer. We mustn’t be thinking that everybody’s going to get cancer in this case ’cause they’re not,” Shaw said.

University of Auckland professor of commercial law Alex Sims said that in order to support the monitoring of children exposed to the chemical, the voluntary Asbestos Exposure Register – which stopped accepting new entries in 2023 – should be reinstated and expanded to include people who may have suffered exposure in a wider variety of environments.

“It was mainly to do with workplaces so if employees had been exposed to potential asbestos they could be on that register and it would allow for greater monitoring.

“Australia has one and – with the coloured play sand incident – people are being told to register there.

“As we’ve seen – with the coloured play sand – asbestos issues are far broader than just employees so that would be really useful,” Sims said.

University of Auckland professor of commercial law Alex Sims. Supplied

Enforcement of importing regulations lacking

Sims said importing regulations meant it was currently illegal to import products that contained asbestos without a permit but little was being done to back up the legislation.

“The problem is that there is no requirement to test products before they come into New Zealand so we’re just relying on people to test products but there’s no one checking to see whether anything has been tested.

“If people are importing things into New Zealand [and] if there’s a risk that a product could contain asbestos then testing should be carried out but, as we’ve seen, you can’t rely on importers to do this, so instead you need a government body – say, for example, MBIE (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment) – to arrange for the testing and to do that at the importer’s cost,” Sims said.

Sims said consumers should consider choosing children’s products that had simpler, more natural, elements to avoid the risks associated with chemical contamination or poor manufacturing standards.

“We have product safety laws about toys – for example [you] can’t have loose batteries and other things – but we do rely on importers and suppliers following the law and they don’t always.

“When it comes to enforcement, the MBIE and Commerce Commission can’t be everywhere, it’s only when reports are made and sometimes reports come after harm’s been suffered.

“The law and the government can’t protect everybody and it’s very much up to people to take care and if you’re looking at something, just go ‘no that doesn’t look safe’ and don’t buy it. Just because it’s sitting on a shelf it does not mean to say that it’s safe.”

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People facing ‘imminent homelessness’ not eligible for emergency housing, Citizens Advice Bureau says

Source: Radio New Zealand

Nick Monro

Welfare changes are biting so hard that people face losing the cars they call home or are struggling to provide the most basic needs, a Citizens Advice Bureau report has found.

The report, based on more than 10,000 requests for the bureau’s help, found people from all walks of life were struggling to meet basic living costs.

Government policy or law changes such as benefit sanctions, tighter emergency housing criteria and cuts to community services had exacerbated the hardship, the report found.

The bureau’s national policy advisor Louise May told Nine to Noon some of the people coming to them were in precarious situations – but instead of getting help, they were left to spiral.

“We are seeing people who may have young children or babies coming in and they’re facing imminent homelessness and they’re being told that they’re not eligible for emergency accommodation,” she said.

That was sometimes because they were told they had contributed to their own homelessness and did not qualify for support under a policy introduced by the government, she said.

Social Development Minister Louise Upston said she knew many New Zealanders had been finding things tough and the government was focused on easing the cost of living.

The report gave several case studies including a father of a disabled child who was spiralling into debt.

“Tegan is struggling with a large electricity bill because the heat pump broke down over winter and the landlord refused to fix it, requiring Tegan to only use his own oil heater instead. The landlord told Tegan that if they are cold, they can move out,” the report said.

Work and Income said he did not qualify for support because he was paying what he could to the power company so it was not threatening to cut him off. It suggested he stop paying his car and content insurance.

Another detailed a woman living in her car seeking help.

“Anya needs to repair her car and make it road legal but has been told by Work and Income that she cannot receive any support or loan from them as their new policy is not to fix cars. Anya needs to be able to maintain her car as she lives in it and cannot afford to be fined. She keeps getting tickets because it is not legal.

Another person living in their car was desperate for work but could not afford to wash their clothes or buy soap to be presentable.

The Citizens Advice Bureau was calling for a range of improvements including prioritising food, housing and utility security and reviewing compliance penalties.

May said people coming to see them often had many different case managers or struggled to get through to Work and Income on the phone.

There needed to be more face-to-face connection between WINZ staff and clients so they could build rapport and really understand the situations, she said.

The bureau was seeing more and more people who would not previously be considered vulnerable spiral into financial holes that they could not get out of.

Upston was not available for an interview with Nine to Noon but sent a statement.

“The government had always acknowledged that many New Zealanders [have] been finding things tough during a prolonged cost-of-living challenge,” she said.

“That’s why over the last two years, we’ve focused on fixing the basics, lowering inflation and interest rates to begin easing the cost of living, and reducing taxes to put more money in people’s pockets… New Zealand needs a growing economy, to create more jobs, and higher wages,”she said.

She understand MSD had promised to work with Citizens Advice to address operational issues around Work and Income raised in the report and would meet with them February next year, she said.

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Hemp industry rules loosened in sweeping law change

Source: Radio New Zealand

Hemp industry laws are set to be loosened as Regulation Minister David Seymour announces sweeping changes.

Seymour says the current licensing rules are heavy-handed and outdated, and will be replaced with new rules.

Industrial hemp growers will no longer require a licence if the plants contain less than one-percent THC.

But Seymour says growers will need to notify police and the Ministry for Primary Industries before planting, so they’re aware it’s not illegal cannabis.

David Seymour visiting the Hemp NZ Food Factory in Ashburton today. RNZ / Nate McKinnon

He says industrial hemp has very low levels of THC and doesn’t need to be heavily regulated like cannabis.

Under the new settings:

  • Industrial hemp will no longer require a licence to grow or handle.
  • A clear THC threshold of less than 1% will distinguish hemp from high-THC cannabis.
  • Hemp biomass, including flowers and leaves, may be supplied to licensed medicinal cannabis producers under strict conditions.
  • Growers must notify Police before planting to avoid accidental enforcement and assist in controlling illicit cannabis activities.
  • Growers must also notify MPI at the same time as Police.
  • Hemp use remains restricted to fibre, seed, and oil, with additional permissions for medicinal cannabis supply as noted above.
  • Existing food safety and medicinal cannabis requirements will continue to apply

David Seymour speaks to media during his visit. RNZ / Nate McKinnon

Speaking to media at the Hemp NZ Food Factory in Ashburton following the announcement on Thursday morning, Seymour said the industry had been treated like a criminal for too long.

“The industry has been held back by outdated, heavy-handed rules that treat growing low-risk crops like high-risk drugs. That ends now.”

Cabinet agreed to a package of changes to scrap the current licensing regime for industrial hemp and replace it with a more practical, proportionate regulatory approach.

Seymour said red tape for the sake of it had cost growers money and limited innovation.

RNZ / Nate McKinnon

He said the changes were expected to generate a benefit of $7.5m over 10 years, and about $41m in over 20.

“The changes will reduce costs and give certainty to growers and investors.”

Industrial hemp contained low levels of THC and was grown for food, oil, fibre and health products, Seymour said, and despite its low risk had been heavily regulated.

He said it was another example of why New Zealand needed the Regulatory Standards Act.

“If the Act was in place at the time these regulations were made, you would be able to see the low risks the crazy regulations were in place to ‘mitigate’.

RNZ / Nate McKinnon

“So far though, the disproportionately high costs of regulating the use and exchange of industrial hemp have been hidden.”

Under the new settings industrial hemp would no longer need a licence to grow or handle, a THC threshold of less than 1 percent would distinguish it from high-THC cannabis and hemp biomass including leaves and flowers could be supplied to licensed medicinal cannabis producers.

Growers would need to notify police and MPI before planting to avoid accidental enforcement and hemp use remained restricted to fibre, seed and oil.

The Ministry of Health would draft new regulatory settings.

RNZ / Nate McKinnon

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‘Speed dating’ recruitment programme sees students get jobs

Source: Radio New Zealand

Nathaniel Lua was one of the first to complete the programme and had taken a job as a machine operator at APL Manufacturing. Supplied

The manufacturing industry and government have come up with a plan to address the chronic and increasing shortage of skilled staff with a programme described as recruitment speed dating.

The Earn as You Learn programme was trialed earlier this year by Waikato manufacturers, Advancing Manufacturing Aotearoa, WINTEC, the Waikato Engineering Careers Association and Workforce Development Council Hanga-Aro-Rau.

The industry employed 220,000 people across 23,000 firms and contributed 8 percent of GDP and 60 percent of the country’s exports.

The initiative was developed to address New Zealand’s worsening manufacturing skills shortage at a time when the manufacturing, engineering and logistics sectors were facing a projected shortfall of 157,000 workers over the next five years.

Hanga-Aro-Rau deputy chief executive Samantha McNaughton said the model worked because it combined the strengths of classroom learning with on-the-job training.

“This programme brings together the strengths of classroom learning and in-work training in a way that genuinely reflects what employers need.

“Learners gain a recognised qualification while being paid, and employers get to see how they perform in real workplaces, which creates a practical and scalable way to close the workforce gap,” she said.

The 30-week model combined paid workplace rotations with classroom study, giving students two days a week at WINTEC’s Rotokauri campus and three days in hands-on roles across some of the region’s most advanced manufacturing firms.

Over the course of the programme, students rotate through three employers, gaining exposure to different production environments and technologies.

Employers said the training programme was expected to cut the costs of hiring staff, after delivering one of the highest completion and employment rates seen in the manufacturing sector.

APL Manufacturing general manager Howard Fountaine said one of the biggest surprises had been the calibre of people coming through the programme.

APL Manufacturing general manager Howard Fountaine. Supplied

“This is the closest thing to speed dating for recruitment. Instead of a half-hour interview, we get ten weeks with each learner, so the risk almost disappears because we already know how they work before offering them a job,” he said.

“These kids have genuinely surprised us with their engagement, aptitude and on-the-job analysis, and some have come in well above what we would normally expect at entry level.

“Of the ten students we hosted, we would have hired nine if positions were available, and we even held vacancies open because the calibre coming through was so strong.”

Of the 17 learners who met all course requirements, nine had secured full-time roles with their host companies.

A further two learners were already employed prior to joining the course.

“Two have already stepped straight into trainee leading hand roles, which shows the capability in this group. It is rare for a pilot to need almost no changes, but we may have got the recipe close to right because the structure has absolutely proved itself,” Fountaine said.

Nathaniel Lua was one of the first to complete the programme and had taken a job as a machine operator at APL Manufacturing.

He said the company had already offered him leadership training, which was something he never imagined straight out of school.

“It showed me I could build a long-term career at home, stay close to my family and still aim high,” he said.

Other employers had reported similar results, including Longveld Engineering, Hansa Products, Stainless Design and NZ Aero.

Fountaine said the success in Waikato had accelerated the national expansion of the initiative, with a regional steering group overseeing expansion to Lower Hutt, Canterbury and Auckland.

The goal was to grow graduate numbers from 17 in year one to between 100 and 150 by 2027.

Lower Hutt will run the programme next year, followed by Canterbury in 2027.

Exposure to industry-leading Waikato businesses also included Gallagher Group, ES Plastics, Stafford Engineering, Action Manufacturing, Loadscan and Supreme Stainless.

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Person dies in Auckland CBD

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Marika Khabazi

A person has died in Auckland’s city centre, with emergency services called to the scene early on Thursday.

St John was at the scene near Sturdee Street and Custom Street West at about 6.30am.

It says an ambluance and a rapid response vehicle responded.

Police say the death is not being treated as suspicious.

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Departing All Blacks assistant Jason Holland returns to Hurricanes

Source: Radio New Zealand

Jason Holland is returning to the Hurricanes. PHOTOSPORT

Outgoing All Blacks assistant coach Jason Holland is returning to Hurricanes ahead of 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season.

Holland announced in October that after a two-year spell as an All Blacks assistant coach, he would depart his role following the team’s recent northern tour.

Previously a Hurricanes assistant coach from 2016 to 2019, and then head coach from 2020 to 2023, Holland will reprise his role as an assistant for next season.

Led by head coach Clark Laidlaw, Holland joins a coaching team that includes fellow assistants Jamie Mackintosh, Cory Jane, Brad Cooper, and Bryn Evans.

“I’m hugely grateful and excited by the opportunity to be back at the Hurricanes,” Holland said.

“It’s been awesome working alongside a great group of staff and players in the first few days since I’ve been back. They’ve created an exciting brand of Hurricanes rugby, so I’m expecting the upcoming season to be a lot of fun.”

During his initial stint with the Hurricanes, Holland was part of the coaching group that delivered the club its sole Super Rugby title in 2016.

Laidlaw said they were excited to have Holland return to the club.

“He obviously has a wealth of experience, not only at the Hurricanes as a head coach and attack coach, but also in the last couple of years with the All Blacks. We feel that, with his experience and ability and knowledge to help us with our attacking game, he’ll be a huge asset,” Laidlaw said.

He added that with an increased squad, as well as Holland’s experience and availability, it made sense to bring him back to the club.

“With the squad going up to 50 players during pre-season, we were looking for a coach to come in and help. The timing and opportunity for Alfie [Holland’s nickname] to come in, and his excitement and enthusiasm for the role, was too good to miss.”

Prior to his involvement with the Hurricanes, Holland enjoyed a successful period as Munster assistant coach between 2008 and 2012, before winning the 2013 NPC as a Canterbury assistant coach.

As a player, Holland represented both Manawatū and Taranaki in the NPC before making more than 100 appearances for Munster.

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Hayden Wilde’s coach: ‘He was just like a total machine’

Source: Radio New Zealand

NZ triathlete Hayden Wilde. PHOTOSPORT

A renowned coach, whose stable of runners has included British greats Paula Radcliffe and Sir Mo Farah, says Kiwi triathlete Hayden Wilde still has a lot of untapped potential.

Wilde will aim to achieve what some seemed impossible by claiming the T100 title in Qatar this weekend, after a horrific accident in May.

Gary Lough is one third of the world-class coaching team that Wilde assembled at the end of last year when he decided to take a break from the Olympic distance and the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS).

Wilde added a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics to the bronze he won in Tokyo and also finished the year as the No 1 ranked male triathlete.

But Wilde has focused on longer-distance events this year in an effort to refresh himself for another tilt at an Olympic gold medal and has dominated this year’s T100 Triathlon World Tour.

Lough represented Great Britain in middle-distance running in the mid-1990s before a knee injury curtailed his career and instead started coaching his wife, Paula Radcliffe.

She won marathon gold at the 2005 World Athletics Championships, represented Great Britain at four Olympics, and set a women’s world record at the 2003 London Marathon, which stood for 16 years.

Sir Mo Farah became Britain’s most successful track athlete with his haul of four Olympic gold medals in the 5000m and 10,000m at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics, plus multiple World Championship titles.

Gary Lough and Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain in 2007. Matthew Lewis

Lough began coaching Farah later in his career as he started focusing more heavily on marathon running and had great success.

At the end of 2024 Wilde parted ways with New Zealand coach Craig Kirkwood after eight years together.

Lough was approached by someone from Wilde’s team last year.

“I was aware of him, I’m interested in triathlon but I’ve never been involved with triathlon before. I’d watched him last year, primarily Olympics and WTCS stuff,” Lough said.

At first Lough didn’t really know what to think.

“When you see someone at a high level you sort of have to question why. I don’t coach that many people. I said it would be a good idea for us to meet because unless I get on with someone and I kind of gel with them, especially when a lot of stuff we have to do is remote, I feel like it would be very difficult.”

The pair ended up meeting and Lough said he liked him straight away.

“He’s a super cool guy, I could tell from just the way he was talking he was a hard worker, he got me to understand some of his performance stuff and got me thinking where we can actually take this.”

Wilde’s super charged coaching team

Coach Gary Lough and Mo Farah before the 2018 Chicago Marathon. Michael Steele

Lough has had just under a year coaching Wilde, who has covered all his bases with the trio of coaches he has enlisted.

His cycling coach is Spaniard Javier Sola, a performance coach at UAE Team Emirates, whose star rider is three-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar.

He also has renowned French swimming coach Fred Vergnoux in his corner. Vergnoux coaches Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh, who won three gold medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics. McIntosh credited Vergnoux for helping her set three world records earlier this year.

The four have never actually been in the same room together.

“We spend a lot of time looking at each other’s faces on screens and we all have an app on our phones, where we can essentially put the pieces of the jigsaw down and then we put them all together to see what the week looks like.

“There was a plan at one point for us three coaches to have a training camp with Hayden in Spain where Javier is based but it didn’t quite work out. I have been with Fred a few times on training camps and we’ve met at different competitions but I’ve only ever spoken to Javier over the phone or online.

“It’s an interesting collaboration but one which I think has worked super well considering a lot of the challenges that have been thrown at us this year.”

Lough lives in Monaco, less than an hour’s drive from where Vergnoux is based in France. Wilde is in Andorra, which is sandwiched between France and Spain. The Kiwi is about an hour’s drive away from the main altitude training centre in France, where Vergnoux regularly takes his swimmers and Lough takes his runners.

Career threatening injuries

Hayden Wilde a few days after his accident. Hayden Wilde

Lough was with Wilde in May when he ran a personal best 10km in Tokyo and flew out the next day just before the Kiwi suffered severe injuries when he had a bike crash.

“I get off my flight, I open up my phone to messages, images of MRI scans, X-rays, crazy crazy stuff.”

Wilde broke several ribs, had a broken scapula, and a punctured lung after crashing into the back of a truck while on a training ride in Tokyo. Getting Wilde cleared for an emergency medical flight to Belgium so he could get shoulder surgery in a timely manner was the first priority.

“At the time and I think from the outside most people’s thought process was if he made it back for the last couple of T100 races of the year then he’d be doing super well. But we saw everyday the little incremental improvements to what he was able to do after such a short period of time.”

The 28-year-old’s season had started brilliantly when he won the opening T100 race in Singapore but he missed the next two rounds while rehabilitating.

Just three months later it was remarkable enough that Wilde made it on the start line for the T100 series race in London, let alone win it.

“We had been in the Pyrenees and we did a specific bike-run workout and it was obvious from that we knew where he was at so it wasn’t a surprise that he won London. But he was just like a total machine to do everything and anything that he could do to further his progress with the recovery.”

An emotional Hayden Wilde wins the London T100 Triathlon in August. T100 Triathlon via Getty Images

Wilde then won the next three races. His perfect record in T100 events ended in Dubai last month, after an extra-lap mix-up caught a few competitors out, and saw him finish 8th.

“He essentially would have been undefeated until now if he hadn’t made the mistake on the bike in Dubai but he’s done super well. It’s just a testament to him and the dedication he’s put in to his recovery.

“It’s been super challenging, still major restrictions with what he has in terms of his ability to swim. There’s a lot more rehab, a lot more stuff to be done to get him back to the swim level he needs to be at for the Olympic distance triathlon.”

A high ceiling

Lough said Wilde had made certain gains since switching distances this year. He believes he’s unlocked a different kind of potential on the bike and said Wilde’s running regime was very different to what he’s done before.

“We’ve increased things quite a bit, increased the amount of running he does per week, and increased the intensity.”

Lough said Wilde had a high ceiling.

“He’s very capable, if we put him in a half marathon on the road, he’d run super well. He hasn’t really had to kind of show what he’s capable of, he’s usually been so far away in the run in the T100.”

Lough’s current group of distance runners includes Belgian marathon star Bashir Abdi, who has won Olympic silver and bronze medals, and Swedish Olympian Suldan Hassan.

Legendary British runner Sir Mo Farah jumps on the track with Hayden Wilde in France. Hayden Wilde Youtube channel

Wilde has had training sessions with Lough’s runners. In July the New Zealander had track sessions with Abdi and Hassan, and Sir Mo Farah joined in.

“I’ve got my running group which includes athletes who are running low two hours for the marathon, setting European records, Olympic medallists. Sometimes Hayden has jumped off the bike and he’s jumped in with them and they’re looking at me and they’re thinking ‘how is this boy able to keep going for another hour after being on the bike?’

“So he’s got a lot of untapped potential but I’m super happy with where we’ve taken it in the first year and I’m excited to see where we can take it in the next couple of years.”

The Olympic challenge

Wilde’s plan is to switch back to the shorter Olympic triathlon distance in the lead up to LA28.

Lough said while the longer distances Wilde is doing now will help with his general conditioning, switching back will present challenges.

“I also think the shorter distance has changed, even since probably Paris last year, people have stepped up, Matt Hauser for instance from Australia.

“Those top triathletes are kind of being a bit more specific. There was a tendency to have a little bit of generic coaching, everybody did everything but now I think athletes are looking at run coaches, swim coaches etc.

“It’s a lot easier to move up from sprint distance to middle distance than it is from long distance down to sprint distance. The specificity which we need for the Olympic distance is quite different to what we are doing at the moment so that’s going to be the main focus for next year.”

Lough watched with fascination some of the tight finishes Wilde had with his fiercest rival Alex Yee. The British triathlete pipped the Kiwi on the run to win gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Wilde reacts with winner Alex Yee of Great Britain during the men’s Olympic triathlon in Paris 2024. photosport

Lough first met Yee when he was 16, and worked with him as a coach/team manager at British Athletics before Yee decided to specialise in triathlon.

Just this week Yee added a spectacular chapter to his career by becoming the second-fastest British marathoner in history, just behind Farah, at the Valencia Marathon.

Yee still had one foot in triathlon in 2025 but didn’t compete in the full WTCS series this year to focus on long-distance running.

But just like Wilde, the 27-year-old is expected to return back to Olympic distance triathlon full-time as he builds towards LA28.

“Come LA2028 it will be everyone out for himself on the start line,” Lough said.

Hayden Wilde 2.0

Lough said it was difficult to underplay what Wilde had been through this year.

“He really shouldn’t be able to do what he’s doing but it’s down to his dedication. We have a lot of work to do to get his swim back to where it needs to be …that is a little bit of the weak link in his chain at the moment but he’s very focused on getting that back. I’m looking forward to working with the new improved Hayden Wilde 2.0 in the next few years and bringing back more medals for New Zealand.”

Lough has been to a few of Wilde’s races this year but won’t be going to Qatar.

“There’s very little you can actually do on the day. I don’t know if it’s a trait of New Zealanders but Hayden Wilde is very very self-sufficient.”

Hayden Wilde trains with Belgian marathon star Bashir Abdi (left) and Swedish Olympian Suldan Hassan (right) in France, July 2025. Hayden Wilde Youtube channel

Wilde recently told World Triathlon’s Youtube channel that the T100 series had highlighted the importance of being complete at all distances.

“You need to be one of the better swimmers in the world to keep in the front group. You need to be able to ride a time trial bike and ride it hard for 80km. You need to back up with an 18km run at pretty fast paces. So for me it’s a challenge to show that I can be one of the most complete triathletes in the world,” Wilde said.

When Wilde reflected on his year he said he refused to give up after the accident.

“That’s the attitude I had, I was really happy to do enough to get back on the start line without doing any damage. That’s the most important part is knowing how your body works and not pushing it too hard but pushing it enough where it does get a response.”

A fourth finish at the T100 Triathlon World Championship Final will guarantee Wilde the series crown and NZ$345,000.

The race starts at 10:45pm NZ time on Friday.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand