Te Kura student wins World Elite Championships

Mikayla Nielsen, a full-time student at Te Kura since 2006, is the World Elite U19 Women’s Triathlon Champion for 2011.

On a cold, damp Beijing day, Mikayla was a little off the pace out of the water in what she readily admits is her weakest discipline, but within one lap on the bike course had closed the gap on the leaders and, even if they had never heard of her before, the former cross country star knew she had the leg speed to outrun the best in the world.

“I was just determined to get on the front bunch, stay with them and then leave it all to the run. I was surprised how quickly I got to the lead though, that first hill I just got there so quick and caught on automatically, so yeah, it was awesome.

“I knew there were some fast Aussies out there but wasn’t sure about the others but I knew it was going to be tough. I thought they were going to catch me at the end so I am stoked that I got there first.”

Having just turned 17, Mikayla has two years left in the Elite Junior category and will look to defend her title on home soil in Auckland next year.