Nikko Bryan Huelgas (born July 19, 1991) is a retired Filipino professional triathlete who competed internationally. He currently functions as the Marketing Head of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC). 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 (age 33)
Home townLas Piñas, Metro Manila
Occupation(s)triathlete, 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
Gold medal – first place 2017 Kuala Lumpur Triathlon
Gold medal – first place 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 on the POC's Executive Board.

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

Education

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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

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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.[citation needed]

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 triathlon career.[citation needed]

Professional career

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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 led 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

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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.

Date Competition Place Rank
May 10, 2010 Subic Bay ASTC Triathlon U23 and Junior Asian Championships (Junior) Subic Bay 20
September 19, 2010 Yilan ITU Triathlon Asian Cup Yilan 11
October 23, 2010 Hong Kong ITU Triathlon Asian Cup Hong Kong 33
November 13, 2010 Asian Games Guangzhou 11
December 16, 2010 Asian Beach Games Muscat 10
May 1, 2011 Subic Bay ITU Triathlon Asian Cup Subic Bay 23
July 31, 2011 Singapore ITU Triathlon Asian Cup Singapore 15
September 10, 2011 Dextro Energy Triathlon - ITU World Championship Grand Final (U23) Beijing DNF
September 24, 2011 Yilan ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships (U23) Yilan 7
April 7, 2012 Tateyama ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships (U23) Tateyama 7
June 30, 2012 Yilan FISU World University Triathlon Championships Yilan 40
September 8, 2012 Chengdu ITU Triathlon Premium Asian Cup Chengdu 34
September 22, 2012 Yilan ITU Triathlon Asian Cup Chengdu 6
October 20, 2012 Barfoot and Thompson World Triathlon Grand Final (U23) Auckland DNF
November 25, 2012 Subic Bay ASTC Duathlon Asian Championships (U23) Subic Bay 3
April 27, 2013 Subic Bay ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships (U23) Subic Bay 17
April 29, 2013 Subic Bay ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships (Mixed Relay) Subic Bay DNF
May 1, 2013 PHI Triathlon National Championships 3
October 26, 2013 Lantau ITU Triathlon Asian Cup Hong Kong 22
April 26, 2014 Subic Bay ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup Subic Bay 10
May 25, 2014 PHI Sprint Triathlon National Championships Muntinlupa 1
August 16, 2014 Singapore ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup Muntinlupa DNF
September 25, 2014 Asian Games Incheon 11
September 26, 2014 Asian Games (Mixed Relay) Incheon 6
October 25, 2014 Hong Kong ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup Hong Kong 15
October 25, 2014 Hong Kong ASTC Triathlon U23 Asian Championships (U23) Hong Kong 5
November 16, 2014 Asian Beach Games (Mixed Relay) Phuket 7
November 20, 2014 Asian Beach Games Phuket 15
March 21, 2015 Quarteira ETU Triathlon European Cup Quarteira 50
April 19, 2015 Melilla ETU Triathlon European Cup Melilla 42
May 10, 2015 Madrid ETU Triathlon European Cup Madrid DNF
June 7, 2015 Southeast Asian Games Singapore 1
June 12, 2015 New Taipei ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships New Taipei 8
October 24, 2015 Tongyeong ITU Triathlon World Cup Tongyeong DSQ
April 2, 2016 Quarteira ETU Triathlon European Cup Quarteira 64
April 30, 2016 Hatsukaichi ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships Hatsukaichi 19
May 1, 2016 Hatsukaichi ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships (Mixed Relay) Hatsukaichi 6
June 5, 2016 New Taipei City ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup and Strait Cup New Taipei 8
October 22, 2016 Tongyeong ITU Triathlon World Cup Tongyeong 67
October 29, 2016 Miyazaki ITU Triathlon World Cup Miyazaki LAP
April 30, 2017 Subic Bay NTT ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup Subic Bay 21
July 22, 2017 Palembang ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships Palembang 16
August 21, 2017 Southeast Asian Games Kuala Lumpur 1
March 24, 2018 Quarteira ETU Triathlon European Cup Quarteira LAP
April 22, 2018 Subic Bay NTT ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup Subic Bay 33
May 12, 2018 Gunsan Saemangeum ASTC Long Distance Triathlon Asian Championships Gunsan/Saemangeum 6
June 17, 2018 Subic Bay ASTC Triathlon Southeast Championships Subic Bay 8
August 12, 2018 Mt Mayon ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup Legazpi DNF
September 1, 2018 2018 Asian Games Palembang 16
June 21, 2019 Gyeongju ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships Gyeongju 26

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

Other

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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.

References

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  1. ^ a b "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. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "Home". Olympic PH.
  4. ^ a b "The RaceDay Interview: Nikko Huelgas". RaceDay Triathlon. 14 September 2015.
  5. ^ "Huelgas, Nikko Bryan O." De La Salle Alumni Association. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  6. ^ Viloria, Barry (30 July 2015). "Who to follow: Triathlete-cum-fitspo Nikko Huelgas". ABS-CBN Sports.
  7. ^ a b "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.