Plane crash fuels Kate’s triathlon bid
Surviving a plane crash was the catalyst for Queenstown’s Kate Wilkinson entering this year’s Wanaka triathlon.
Wilkinson was involved in an accident in 2009 while in Fiji, when a small plane she was in crashed into the water, with six passengers on board.
There were no serious casualties but the accident gave her ‘‘one hell of a scare’’.
‘‘The plane somersaulted six times after it hit the water and then when it stopped we took our last breath in and then some out,’’ she said.
The near death experience has certainly changed Wilkinson’s perception of life.
‘‘My philosophy is do what you love to do and do it often,’’ Wilkinson said.
Already a keen road cyclist, she now wants to challenge herself doing multisport events.
‘‘I decided to enter into an event with other disciplines that would challenge my mind, body and spirit.’’
The 23-year-old is very excited about the Tri Wanaka event.
‘‘What a beautiful setting for a sports event and it will be lots of fun with many like minded fellow athletes,’’ she said.
‘‘You can’t get a better training ground than up here.’’
She is doing the standard distance triathlon of 1500 metres swim, 39 kilometre bike and 10km run to prepare for next month’s Challenge Wanaka half ironman.
‘‘It is a great chance for me to master my transitions and to enjoy a race without having time pressures,’’ she said.
‘‘The triathlon is a good baby race for me as it is half the distance I will be doing next month.’’
The Queenstown resident is passionate about sports challenges.
‘‘They give you the opportunity to really step outside of your comfort zone,’’ she said.
‘‘The reality is your body can do anything that you want it to do.’’
‘‘The biggest challenge I will have is pacing myself.’’
Her preparation has been assisted by coach Richie Lambert who has helped her get up to speed with the requirements of the multisport race.
‘‘He has performed lactate tests on me and he has been training me up,’’ she said.
‘‘My training schedule is uploaded to training peaks and my Garmin automatically syncs all my data to training peaks so we can analyse it.’’
She finds swimming the most difficult leg, with the 1.5km swim in Lake Wanaka likely to cause the biggest test, while cycling is her strength and passion.
Wanaka will host the latest triathlon in the Tri NZ series today with 250 competitors lining up across a variety of event distances including short, short off road, sprint and standard races.
As well, with the South Island championships are being contested over the standard distance for all age group categories.
Event director Stuart Dwight says the meet is gaining in popularity again in its second year back on the calendar following a twoyear hiatus.
‘‘These South Island events are important to us as a national body,’’ he said.
‘‘This event ensures that we provide opportunities for triathlon communities in the South Island to engage in the Sovereign Tri Series and to have the chance to post a result at a secondary qualifying event for world championship age group teams without having to travel great distances.’’
Organisers have placed a high emphasis on participation for the Wanaka date.
‘‘There are events on offer for the kids, beginners or those who have a good level of fitness and want to dip their toes in a standard distance event,’’ he said.
The timing of Tri Wanaka in early January, allows those racing at Challenge Wanaka on February 20 the chance to have a hit out on parts of the course, including getting used to swimming in the fresh waters of Lake Wanaka.