Bay of Plenty triathlete Hayden Wilde has won silver in the men’s triathlon in Paris, becoming a two-time Olympic Games medallist.

Wilde’s silver medal brings New Zealand’s tally to two after the Black Ferns sevens won gold on Tuesday night NZT in their match against Canada.

Black Ferns sevens player and former Whakatāne High School student Stacey Waaka scored a try in the winning match.

Black Ferns sevens player Stacey Waaka pictured in 2019. Photo / Andrew Warner.

Another former Whakatāne High School student, New Zealand’s most successful Olympian Dame Lisa Carrington, will be competing in canoe events in her fourth Olympics.

Six former Tauranga Boys’ College students and a former Ōtūmoetai College student are also competing.

The “Old Boys” from Tauranga Boys’ College are Julian David competing in sport climbing, Jordan Parry in rowing, Riley Bidois in football, Leroy Carter in the rugby sevens, Thomas Saunders in sailing and Ben Westenberg in para cycling.

Former Ōtūmoetai College student and canoe slalom athlete Luuka Jones is competing in her fifth Olympic Games. She won silver at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

The Paris Olympics run from July 27 to August 12 NZT and the Paris Paralympic Games from August 28 to September 8.

‘Well connected to our community’

Whakatāne High School principal Martyn Knapton told the Bay of Plenty Times the school was “absolutely stoked” for Waaka.

“She’s really well connected to our community still. When she gets the opportunity, she’s back here in the Eastern Bay. She’s often on the side of the rugby pitch cheering on the kids.

Dame Lisa Carrington. Photo / Ben Dickens.

“She’s still part of the fabric of the school, in a way, alongside Lisa [Carrington].”

Knapton says Waaka was a good role model for the students in terms of “all the things you need to do to be an athlete”.

After Waaka won gold at the last Olympics, she returned to the school and the school put up a plaque in the hall for her and Carrington, Knapton says.

‘Unwavering’ dedication to sport

Ōtūmoetai College principal Russell Gordon says during Jones’ time at school, she “exemplified the values we hold dear”.

“She demonstrated remarkable resilience, consistently pushing through challenges and setbacks. Her dedication to her sport was unwavering, always putting in the necessary effort and time to improve.

“As a leader, she inspired her peers with her positive attitude and commitment to excellence. We are incredibly proud of her achievements and believe that the foundation laid during her high school days has played a significant role in her sporting success.”

He says the college had always aimed to challenge and inspire its students through a variety of “quality sporting experiences”, striving for increased participation, improved skill development, and performance.

Supporting students ‘in their dreams and aspirations’

Tauranga Boys’ College principal Andrew Turner says he was very proud of the Old Boys’ achievements and the school community had reached out to them to wish them the best at the Olympics.

“The college has made a commitment to being ‘best for boys’ and ensuring we are supporting all boys in their dreams and aspirations.

“We are blessed to have a dedicated staff, whānau, and community who share in this commitment and our programmes provide the opportunities and support these students need to help realise this potential.”

Turner says this year’s Olympians joined a legacy of other great Old Boys who had represented New Zealand on the world stage.

When to watch some of the Bay of Plenty Olympians:

Luuka Jones

Jones competed in the women’s kayak singles and finished eighth in the final. She will compete in the Women’s Kayak Cross Time trial on August 3 at 2.40am.

Luuka Jones pictured in 2019. Photo / Andrew Warner.

On August 4 at 1.30am, she will compete in the canoe slalom KX women’s round 1 and on August 5 at 2.45am, the canoe slalom KX women’s heat.

If qualified, she will compete in the KX women’s quarter-finals on August 6 at 1.30am, the semifinals at 2.15am and the final at 2.55am.

Hayden Wilde

Triathlete Hayden Wilde got a silver medal in the triathlon yesterday after it was postponed because of water-quality testing in the River Seine.

Wilde previously told Tri NZ he had simulated the expected conditions when he was training in Tauranga earlier in the year with coach Craig Kirkwood.

“We had a great opportunity in Ōtūmoetai where we were kind of swimming within the Tauranga Harbour in this little area where it’s very tide-assisted,” Wilde says.

“I would go out at a certain time and would be able to swim against the current and then come back and swim with the current.

“It was just teaching the body how to swim with the current because that’s a super important thing. You need to slow your stroke down and go with it, not panic stroke.

“When you come back, you have to increase that stroke and be a little bit quicker. So, yeah, it’s going to be really interesting tactically, but also, position on the pontoon is going to be super important, I think, for Paris.”

Samuel Tanner

Pāpāmoa athlete Samuel Tanner will compete in the Men’s 1500m heats on August 2 at 9.05pm.

If qualified, he will compete in the Men’s 1500m repechage on August 4 at 5.15am and the Men’s 1500m repechage on August 5 at 7.15am.

The final will be on August 7 at 6.50am.

Dame Lisa Carrington

Kayaker Dame Lisa Carrington was born in Tauranga and has six Olympics medals - including five golds - achieved in London, Rio and Tokyo.

She will compete in the kayak sprint K4 500m women’s heat and the kayak sprint women’s K2 500m heats on August 6 at 8pm and 10.10pm.

If qualified, she will compete in the kayak sprint K4 500m women’s quarter-finals on August 7 at 12.10am.

On August 7 at 7.30pm, she will compete in the Kayak sprint women’s K1 500m heats and the quarter-finals at 11.30pm if qualified.

On August 8 at 9.40pm, she will compete in the Kayak sprint K4 500m women’s semifinals and the final at 11.50pm if qualified.

On August 9, she will compete in the Kayak sprint women’s K2 500m semifinal at 8.50pm and the final at 11.10pm if qualified.

On August 10, she will compete in the kayak sprint women’s K1 500m semifinal at 8.30pm and the final at 11pm if qualified.

Julian David

Julian David will compete on August 6 at 11pm in the men’s qualification for speed climbing.

If qualified, he will compete in the quarter-final on August 8 at 10.28pm, the semifinal at 10.46pm and the final at 10.55pm.

Jordan Parry

Jordan Parry will compete on August 1 at 9.30pm in the rowing double sculls men’s final.

Thomas Saunders

Thomas Saunders is competing on August 1 at 10pm in the sailing one-person dinghy men’s races 1-2.

On August 3 at 1.35am, he will compete in the sailing one-person dinghy men’s races 3-4. At 10.15pm he will compete in the one-person dinghy men’s races 5-6.

On August 4 at 10.05pm, he will compete in the one-person dinghy men’s races 7-8.

On August 6 at 12.40am, he will compete in the one-person dinghy men’s races 9-10.

If qualified, he will compete on August 7 at 1.43am in the one-person dinghy men’s medal race.

Veerle ten Have

Windsurfer Veerle ten Have will compete on August 1 at 2.48am in the sailing foil women races 13-16.

If qualified, she will compete on August 2 at 1.03am in the foil women medal race.

On August 3 at 12.03am, she will compete in the sailing foil women’s quarter-finals, semifinals and final if qualified.

Eva Morris

Artistic swimmer Eva Morris will compete on August 10 at 5.30am in the artistic swimming women’s duet technical routine.

On August 11 at 5.30am, she will compete in the artistic swimming women’s duet free routine.

Sarah Tetzlaff

Speed climber Sarah Tetzlaff will compete in the sport climbing speed qualification seeding on August 5 at 11pm and the qualification elimination at 11.40pm.

She will compete in qualification elimination on August 7 at 10.28pm if qualified and the qualification semifinals at 10.46pm and 10.55pm if qualified.

Nicole van der Kaay

Triathlete Nicole van der Kaay will compete in the women’s triathlon on July 31.

Shaane Fulton

Cyclist Shaane Fulton will compete on August 7 at 11.52pm in the track women’s sprint qualifying and on August 10 at 12am.

If qualified, Fulton will compete in the Women’s sprint 1/32 finals on August 10 at 12.47am and the Women’s sprint 1/16 finals at 5.10am.

On August 11 at 3am, she will compete in the Women’s sprint 1/8 finals if qualified and at 5.07am, the Women’s sprint quarter-finals if qualified.

She will compete in the women’s sprint semifinals at 9.29pm and 10.45pm if qualified.

The final will be at 11.44pm.

Molly Meech

Meech will compete on July 31 at 10.15pm in the Sailing - 49er FX races 10-12.

If qualified, she will compete on August 2 at 1.43am in the Sailing - 49er FX medal race.