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 28th SEA Games[1] in 2015. He also successfully defended his title at the 29th SEA Games[2] in 2017.
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.
High School Career
Huelgas was part co-captain of his high school alma mater’s swimming[4] team, and member of the water polo team before his stint as the captain of the badminton team.
College Career
He was a member of the swimming team for his Alma Mater De La Salle University,[5] until he joined a 5k fun run in January 2009 where Coach Rick Reyes of the Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP) spotted him and thereafter invited him to join an aquathlon. 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 National Pool team in swimming and water polo, but chose to pursue a career in triathlon.
Professional career
Huelgas made his professional triathlon debut[6] 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.
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 successfully defended his Gold Medal at the 29th Southeast Asian Games,[7] clocking in at one hour, fifty-nine minutes and twenty-one seconds.
Aside from being a professional triathlete,[8] Huelgas is also the chairman of the POC Athlete’s Commission. He is also a 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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Nikko Huelgas reigns supreme in SEA Games triathlon to give Philippines second gold medal". Spin.ph.
- ↑ News, Camille Naredo, ABS-CBN. "PH wins 2 golds in SEA Games triathlon". ABS-CBN News.
- ↑ "Home". Olympic PH.
- ↑ "The RaceDay Interview: Nikko Huelgas | RaceDay Triathlon".
- ↑ Corp, ABS-CBN. "Who to follow: Triathlete-cum-fitspo Nikko Huelgas". ABS-CBN SPORTS. Archived from the original on 2015-08-01. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
- ↑ Union, International Triathlon. "Triathlon.org". Triathlon.org.
- ↑ "PH wins 2 more golds » Manila Bulletin Sports". sports.mb.com.ph.
- ↑ Corp, ABS-CBN. "Five things to know about SEA Games gold medalist Nikko Huelgas". ABS-CBN SPORTS. Archived from the original on 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
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