Hugh Wins Athlete of the Year

Waikato based Andrew Hughes has been named Triathlon New Zealand Disabled Athlete of the Year, the final gong handed out in the Tri NZ Awards for 2012/13.

Hughes was one of the athletes to star at the ITU World Triathlon Championships held in Auckland in October last year, helping to promote the wider paratriathlon movement in New Zealand.

Hughes shone on the day finishing 8th in the Tri2 category. Based in Hamilton and from a cycling background, Andrew is currently the C2 Oceania road race and time trial champion and competed in six triathlons over the 2013 summer season.

Tri NZ’s Inclusion Manager Shanelle Barrett says Andrew is a leader in the Paratriathlon movement.

“Andrew is a fantastic role model for our younger aspiring athletes and it is great to see his achievements acknowledged with this award.  We were excited to have Andrew in the NZ team at the World Championships in Auckland 2012 given his success in the sport of cycling and his results speak for themselves.”

Barrett has high hopes for the Inclusion programme and with the likes of Andrew Hughes involved, is excited about the future.

“The Inclusion programme at Triathlon NZ is still in its infancy and started after the successful World Championships in Auckland last year, with the support from Halberg Disability Sport Foundation.  The program is growing in strength already and the number of athletes with a disability interested in the sport has doubled over the 2013 summer season.  With athletes such as Andrew this will continue to grow in the future and maybe we will see a NZ paratriathlete on the podium in the Paralympics in Rio 2016,” says Barrett.

As an above-knee amputee Hughes is a huge inspiration to both able-bodied and disabled athletes and is a deserving winner of the Disabled Athlete of the Year award.