Hayden Wilde, one of the most successful Short Distance triathletes of his generation, is shifting his focus from short to long distance for the next two years. Wilde, who finished second at the Paris Olympics and also placed second at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Taupo last weekend, is looking for ‘a bit of a mental break’.
Wilde immediately let it be known that he might still compete in some short-distance races. “Not saying that I’m not gonna race, I won’t be focusing hard on the (World Triathlon Championship) series, I might do one or two races per year in the series just to keep my ranking up.”
So the next two years will be much more focused on the longer distances, but after that, when the qualifying period for the Los Angeles Olympics begins, his focus will shift back to the Short Distance. “But for now it’s just to kind of have some experiments in the longer stuff. It’ll be nice to have a bit of a refresher.”
Still, we don’t have to expect Wilde to start a Long Distance just yet. “As soon as you start training for a Full Distance, it’s a long day and it just takes away your speed. So, need to keep that for L.A. But then 2028 I’d love to go to Kona or go to the full Ironman distance.”
