Our young triathlon champ

Look out for the name Manaia Elliot in the future.

This Cambridge 11-yearold was recently crowned as New Zealand Schools Triathalon Year 7 Girls Champion in Wanganui.

Representing the Cambridge Middle School, Manaia competed in the under 12 solo triathlon where she had a 250metre swim, 7.9km bike ride and a 2km run to the finish. Her time of 32.20 was a minute ahead of her rivals from Huntly School Tanika Whale 33:22 and Annabel Symes, 35:05.

Manaia was the only competitor from Cambridge to gain a podium finish, but Charli Miller from St Peter’s School was placed 4th in the U16 solo triathlon with a time of 48.22.