• Two roles disestablished after post-Paris strategic review
• Appointment of new ‘Technical & Pathway Lead’ announced
• Increased athlete representation and at least one medal the target for 2028
New strategy targets ‘sustainable pipeline of healthy athletes who challenge for podium results at all levels of racing’
Triathlon New Zealand has restructured its High Performance team as it targets greater athlete representation and at least one medal at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Following an extensive strategic review of the Paris ’24 cycle, previous full-time roles held by Stephen Sheldrake (National Performance and Planning Manager) and Bruce Hunter (National Development Lead) have been disestablished.
A new ‘Technical & Pathway Lead’ position has been created. Sheldrake will begin the new role, which is responsible for leading technical, pathway and coach development at the U23 and elite levels, from this coming Monday, April 14. It is a full-time, fixed-term position running to March 31, 2029, to encompass the LA ’28 Games.
Hunter has accepted voluntary redundancy and will finish his near eight-year tenure in the Tri NZ HP programme today, April 11.
A new HP strategy, as well as a 17.5% reduction in funding from High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) for the LA ’28 Olympic and Paralympics cycle, played a pivotal role in the restructure. Together, it meant Tri NZ “had to cut its cloth accordingly, as painful as that is,” CEO Pete De Wet said.
“Bruce has served Tri NZ with humble dignity and deserves no small measure of gratitude from the sport for his contributions to our many HP successes over the past two Games’ cycles,” De Wet said.
“He goes with our deep gratitude and genuine respect and we’re sure his global coaching and HP sport experience will be sought after, no matter what he chooses to do next. We also look forward to continuing to work with him as a coach of individual HP athletes, as we do with all our athlete’s individual coaches.
“It’s never nice having to let a talented and respected member of staff go and there’s never a good time to do so, much less in this current climate of global uncertainty. However, the strategic review has defined the structure of the new HP team and now that team is in place, we’ll continue to refine the programme’s priorities given the finite resources available to us. These will be scaled up over the next four years as we build toward Los Angeles.”
Helping off-set Hunter’s departure, Tri NZ will benefit from upgraded exposure to Performance Scientist, Dan Smart.
Recognising the importance of exercise physiology, performance and data analysis, and strength and conditioning, HPSNZ have prioritised additional resource through their Performance Support service delivery model with Smart to serve as the HP team’s ‘Performance Science Lead’ on a full-time basis.
Tri NZ also has access to other HPSNZ resources including sports psychology, physiotherapy, nutrition and ‘Performance Life’, the latter helping support athletes’ wellbeing, and personal and professional development as they transition into, through and out of HP sport.
Travis White, who began as GM of Performance part way through the Paris cycle, led the Tri NZ HP strategic review. The new “2025+” plan will see an initial focus on building depth and pathways for athletes to perform at the highest levels before efforts to secure the maximum six spots (3 male, 3 female) available to NZ at LA ’28 ramp up in the official qualification window. World Triathlon has yet to announce the new qualification period, but it is expected to open in June 2026.
Producing Tri NZ’s first ever Paralympian for LA is another key aim. An executive summary of the new HP plan can be found below.
White now has four direct reports including Sheldrake, who was re-elected to a second four-year term on World Triathlon’s National Coaches Committee at the global governing body’s 37th annual congress in Spain last October.
After guiding eventual men’s reserve Tayler Reid (until the end of 2024) and Nicole van der Kaay (until the end of 2023) through much of the Paris Olympic cycle, Sheldrake will not coach any elite athletes in the Tri NZ HP squad to LA ’28, beyond overseeing the day-to-day training sessions held during domestic and offshore race campaigns as required.
The Tri NZ High Performance team now consists of:
Travis White – GM of Performance
Stephen Sheldrake – Technical & Pathway Lead
Peter Kadar – Performance Opera-ons Manager
Chris Willett – Athlete Development Lead*
Tamara Knapman (nee Reed) – Women’s & Girl’s Project Lead (Contract Role)**
HPSNZ Assistance
Dan Smart – Performance Science Lead
Carey Pohl – Physiotherapy Lead
Jeni Pearce – Nutri-on Lead
Christine Arthur – Performance Life Lead
TBC – Medical Lead
* Willett is employed as a .5 HP resource, and .5 as the BOP Regional Lead for Tri NZ Community
** Knapman’s role is funded through the Women in High Performance Sport Residency Program administered by HPSNZ
