Saint Kentigern College student Daniel Whitburn has recently returned victorious from the ITU World Triathlon Age Group Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Whitburn was named World Champion after winning the U19 Standard Distance – a 1500m swim, 40km cycle and a 10km run.
It was the second experience at Worlds for 17-year-old Whitburn, who first went as a 15-year-old but says that was more “for the experience” rather than competition.
This time he went for the win – and he was “pretty happy” to achieve it.
Whitburn says he’s been doing triathlons for around six years now and is happy to see the hard work pay off.
“Leading up to worlds I was training three times a day for 20 plus hours a week,” he says.
“It’s really unbelievable – sort of seven years of week all coming to fruition. I was so stoked when the results came out – it’s amazing.”
While currently on a short break to recover from his recent success, the hard work is set to continue as Whitburn plans to complete a gruelling half Ironman in January.
“[It] certainly feels good to have a break but next week it’s back to work.”
