Tiaan Whelpton (born 29 March 2000) is a track and field athlete from New Zealand who competes as a sprinter. In 2023, he became New Zealand national champion over 100 metres.[1]

Tiaan Whelpton
Personal information
NationalityNew Zealand
Born (2000-03-29) 29 March 2000 (age 24)
Cape Town
Sport
SportAthletics
Event100 metres
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)100m; 10.14 (Yokohama, 2023)
200m; 21.28 (Christchurch, 2021)
Triple Jump; 14.07m (Christchurch, 2019)

Early life

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Born and raised in Cape Town his focus won on rugby union before switching entirely to track and field in his final year of high school in 2018. He moved with his family to Christchurch in 2019.[2]

Career

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In 2019 he decided to focus on the 100m over the triple jump in which he has also excelled at high school. In 2019 he went on to win the New Zealand national under-20 title.[3][4] He runs for Christchurch Old Boys United. In January 2022 at the Potts Classic he set a personal best 100m time of 10.18 to equal the New Zealand resident record of Joseph Millar, set in 2017. Whelpton equalled it again at the same event in January 2023.[5]

In March 2023, Whelpton won the 100m title at the 2023 New Zealand Track and Field Championships held in Wellington.[6] In April 2023, Whelpton was provisionally selected as part of the New Zealand squad for the 2023 World Athletics Championships held in Budapest.[7] In May 2023, racing in Yokohama, he lowered his personal best over 100m to 10.14 seconds.[8]

He competed in the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships – Men's 60 metres race and ran a seasons best time of 6.67 seconds.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Tiaan Whelpton". World Athletics. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Fastest man in NZ: Christchurch sprinter happy to end Springbok ambitions". Otago Times. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  3. ^ Guy, Barry (16 February 2022). "New Zealand sprinter happy to end Springbok ambitions". rnz.co.nz. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  4. ^ Hinton, Marc (28 May 2023). "Why Tiaan Whelpton believes he's on the cusp of a major 100 metres breakthrough". i.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  5. ^ "Tiaan Whelpton twice equals NZ resident 100m record". nzsportswire.com. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  6. ^ "Sprinter Zoe Hobbs breaks 11-second barrier in tailwind". rnz.co.nz. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  7. ^ "The New Zealand team for the 2023 World Athletics Championships unveiled". Athletics.org.nz. 14 April 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  8. ^ Hinton, Marc (22 May 2023). "Elation turns to determination as Tiaan Whelpton seals spot at athletics world champs". i.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Men's 60m Results - World Athletics Indoor Championships 2024". Watch Athletics. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.