New Zealand triathlete Andrea Hewitt is among those taking part in the Ipic World Triathlon Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Late bloomer
The Christchurch-born 32-year-old is a late bloomer as far as triathletes go. She only started after university, when she was 22. But she had a natural aptitude for it and has since become one of the more consistent triathletes.
Past success
A fair bit as it happens, since she began competing in 2005. She is a three-time medallist at the ITU World Championships, has won three World Triathlon series events and has finished on the podium 11 times as well. She was also an U23 World Champion and a Commonwealth Games Bronze medallist.
Hanging tough
Extremely. In September last year, at a long-distance triathlon in China, she crashed on her bike and broke a collarbone. Except she did not know it at the time, simply getting back on the bike and racing on. She then completed a 20km-run as well, finishing third overall.
Has she raced in Abu Dhabi before?
“This is my first time racing in Abu Dhabi but I’ve been here before on holiday,” Hewitt said. “I haven’t really looked at what conditions will be like but it’s not too warm.”
How many races does she run in an average year?
In all round 15. This year she plans to run seven of the World Series events and will have around eight more beyond that, including qualification races for the Rio Olympics.
“Sometimes there are races the next weekend so we have no downtime,” she said. “We just travel and compete. It’s not really a choice and you can’t really plan and say I need three weeks rest between races unless you’re planning on only doing four races a year.”
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