Nikko Huelgas

Nikko Bryan Oreta Huelgas (born July 19, 1991) is a Filipino professional triathlete who competes internationally. He is the first Filipino to win a gold medal in the men’s individual triathlon event at the Southeast Asian Games securing the feat in the 2015 edition.[1] He also successfully defended his title at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games.[2]

Nikko Huelgas
Huelgas in 2017
Personal information
Born (1991-07-19) July 19, 1991
Home townLas Piñas, Metro Manila
Occupationtriathlete, commercial model, motivational speaker, sports executive
Years active2009–
Sport
CountryPhilippines
SportTriathlon
University teamDLSU Green Tankers (swimming)
Medal record
Representing the  Philippines
Men's Triathlon
Southeast Asian Games
2017 Singapore Triathlon
2015 Singapore Triathlon

He is currently the captain of the Philippine National Triathlon team. He is a member of the Philippine Olympic Committee[3] (POC) Athletes’ Commission serving as their Chairman. He also has a seat at the POC’s Executive Board.

He used to represent the varsity swimming and track and field team for De La Salle University in the UAAP during his college days.

Education

Huelgas studied at the Elizabeth Seton School in Las Piñas for his high school studies.[4] For his collegiate studies, Huelgas attended the De La Salle University where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Marketing degree in 2014.[5]

Youth career

Huelgas was part co-captain of the swimming team of his high school, Elizabeth Seton School, and was also a member of the school's water polo team.[4] He was also the captain of the school's badminton team.

He was a member of the collegiate swimming team of his alma mater, the De La Salle University (DLSU). His shift to triathlon began when he took part in a 5k fun run in January 2009 where coach Rick Reyes of the Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP) scouted him and thereafter invited him to join an aquathlon.[6] Huelgas bought his first bicycle in May of the same year and began participating in triathlons.[7]He then also joined the DLSU track and field team in 2010, where he competed in the long distance run events. In January 2010, he qualified for the pool of the triathlon and water polo national teams, but chose to pursue a career in triathlon.

Professional career

Huelgas made his professional triathlon debut[8] under the Junior Men division during the 2010 Subic Bay ASTC Triathlon U23 and Junior Asian Championships in May 2010. He made his official debut in the Elite Men category shortly, particularly September of the same year, at the 2010 Yilan ITU Triathlon Cup.

At age 19, he placed his studies on hold to train in Subic for the 2010 Asian Games.[7]

Since then, he has been competing consistently at local and international triathlon competitions. In September 2014, he represented the Philippines as part of national triathlon team in the Incheon Asian Games. There, he secured an 11th place finish in the Elite Men’s category and 6th in the Mixed Relay category.

Huelgas made history on June 7, 2015, when he became the first Filipino professional triathlete to win the Gold Medal in the 28th Southeast Asian Games,[1] which was held in Singapore. He finished the race with a time of two hours, four minutes, and 32 seconds, one minute and three seconds.

On August 7, 2017, Huelgas made history once again when he successful defended his Gold Medal at the 29th Southeast Asian Games,[9] clocking in at one hour, fifty-nine minutes and twenty one seconds.

He participated in the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia where he placed 16th place and suffered a left hand fracture from a bicycle accident which caused him to be sidelined from competitive sports in early 2019. This lead to his non-inclusion to the Philippines' roster for triathlon in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games to be hosted at home due to failing to be among the best two performers in the qualifying events. Huelgas is still scheduled to take part as part in the games of the mixed relay team.[10]

ITU competitions

The following list is based upon the official ITU rankings and the Athlete's Profile Page.[11] Unless indicated otherwise, the following events are triathlons (Olympic Distance) and belong to the Elite category.

DateCompetitionPlaceRank
May 10, 2010Subic Bay ASTC Triathlon U23 and Junior Asian Championships (Junior)Subic Bay20
September 19, 2010Yilan ITU Triathlon Asian CupYilan11
October 23, 2010Hong Kong ITU Triathlon Asian CupHong Kong33
November 13, 2010Asian GamesGuangzhou11
December 16, 2010Asian Beach GamesMuscat10
May 1, 2011Subic Bay ITU Triathlon Asian CupSubic Bay23
July 31, 2011Singapore ITU Triathlon Asian CupSingapore15
September 10, 2011Dextro Energy Triathlon - ITU World Championship Grand Final (U23)BeijingDNF
September 24, 2011Yilan ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships (U23)Yilan7
April 7, 2012Tateyama ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships (U23)Tateyama7
June 30, 2012Yilan FISU World University Triathlon ChampionshipsYilan40
September 8, 2012Chengdu ITU Triathlon Premium Asian CupChengdu34
September 22, 2012Yilan ITU Triathlon Asian CupChengdu6
October 20, 2012Barfoot and Thompson World Triathlon Grand Final (U23)AucklandDNF
November 25, 2012Subic Bay ASTC Duathlon Asian Championships (U23)Subic Bay3
April 27, 2013Subic Bay ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships (U23)Subic Bay17
April 29, 2013Subic Bay ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships (Mixed Relay)Subic BayDNF
May 1, 2013PHI Triathlon National Championships3
October 26, 2013Lantau ITU Triathlon Asian CupHong Kong22
April 26, 2014Subic Bay ASTC Triathlon Asian CupSubic Bay10
May 25, 2014PHI Sprint Triathlon National ChampionshipsMuntinlupa1
August 16, 2014Singapore ASTC Triathlon Asian CupMuntinlupaDNF
September 25, 2014Asian GamesIncheon11
September 26, 2014Asian Games (Mixed Relay)Incheon6
October 25, 2014Hong Kong ASTC Triathlon Asian CupHong Kong15
October 25, 2014Hong Kong ASTC Triathlon U23 Asian Championships (U23)Hong Kong5
November 16, 2014Asian Beach Games (Mixed Relay)Phuket7
November 20, 2014Asian Beach GamesPhuket15
March 21, 2015Quarteira ETU Triathlon European CupQuarteira50
April 19, 2015Melilla ETU Triathlon European CupMelilla42
May 10, 2015Madrid ETU Triathlon European CupMadridDNF
June 7, 2015Southeast Asian GamesSingapore1
June 12, 2015New Taipei ASTC Triathlon Asian ChampionshipsNew Taipei8
October 24, 2015Tongyeong ITU Triathlon World CupTongyeongDSQ
April 2, 2016Quarteira ETU Triathlon European CupQuarteira64
April 30, 2016Hatsukaichi ASTC Triathlon Asian ChampionshipsHatsukaichi19
May 1, 2016Hatsukaichi ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships (Mixed Relay)Hatsukaichi6
June 5, 2016New Taipei City ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup and Strait CupNew Taipei8
October 22, 2016Tongyeong ITU Triathlon World CupTongyeong67
October 29, 2016Miyazaki ITU Triathlon World CupMiyazakiLAP
April 30, 2017Subic Bay NTT ASTC Triathlon Asian CupSubic Bay21
July 22, 2017Palembang ASTC Triathlon Asian ChampionshipsPalembang16
August 21, 2017Southeast Asian GamesKuala Lumpur1
March 24, 2018Quarteira ETU Triathlon European CupQuarteiraLAP
April 22, 2018Subic Bay NTT ASTC Triathlon Asian CupSubic Bay33
May 12, 2018Gunsan Saemangeum ASTC Long Distance Triathlon Asian ChampionshipsGunsan/Saemangeum6
June 17, 2018Subic Bay ASTC Triathlon Southeast ChampionshipsSubic Bay8
August 12, 2018Mt Mayon ASTC Triathlon Asian CupLegazpiDNF
September 1, 20182018 Asian GamesPalembang16
June 21, 2019Gyeongju ASTC Triathlon Asian ChampionshipsGyeongju26

Key: DNF = Did not finish; DNS = Did not start; U23 = Under 23

Other

Aside from being a professional triathlete,[12] Huelgas is also the chairman of the POC Athlete’s Commission. He is also commercial model who has had campaigns for the likes of Skyflakes, Cherifer Premium, Samsung, Gatorade and USANA Philippines, and also serves as a motivational speaker.

gollark: So is this a scheme implementation in scheme?
gollark: Just implement RISC-V or something in CC then run Linux on that, and compile emacs for it too.
gollark: Procedurally generate arbitrary lisps until you find one you like.
gollark: Just convert lisp syntax to amulet.
gollark: What about projects with multiple files?

References
  1. "Nikko Huelgas reigns supreme in SEA Games triathlon to give Philippines second gold medal". Spin.ph.
  2. News, Camille Naredo, ABS-CBN. "PH wins 2 golds in SEA Games triathlon". ABS-CBN News.
  3. "Home". Olympic PH.
  4. "The RaceDay Interview: Nikko Huelgas". RaceDay Triathlon. 14 September 2015.
  5. "Huelgas, Nikko Bryan O." De La Salle Alumni Association. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  6. Viloria, Barry (30 July 2015). "Who to follow: Triathlete-cum-fitspo Nikko Huelgas". ABS-CBN Sports.
  7. "Key takeaways from our time training with a national triathlete". MultiSport. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  8. Union, International Triathlon. "Triathlon.org". Triathlon.org.
  9. "PH wins 2 more golds » Manila Bulletin Sports". sports.mb.com.ph.
  10. Navarro, June (20 August 2019). "No Nikko Huelgas 'three-peat' in SEA Games triathlon". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  11. "Nikko Huelgas : Full Athlete Results". International Triathlon Union. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  12. "Five things to know about SEA Games gold medalist Nikko Huelgas". ABS-CBN Sports. 23 August 2017.
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