By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwi in Townsville
One name, one aim, proudly delivered thrice.
The Miller boys of Triathlon Tauranga fame, dad Paul and twin sons Blake and Liam, have been selected as Team NZL flag-bearers for the Parade of Nations to open the World Triathlon Multisport Championships in Townsville.
Thursday’s opening ceremony proceeds six days of competition (across the next 10 days) in sprint and standard duathlon, cross triathlon, cross duathlon, aquathlon, long distance triathlon and aquabike.
The Millers will lead a 200+-strong NZL team into the Parade of Nations at Strand Park in what is the largest mass participation event ever held in Townsville.
More than 3,000 competitors representing over 30 countries have converged in Queensland to race for 19 world titles across five categories: age group, para, junior, U-23 and elites.
The sporting action gets underway with sprint duathlon on Friday but not before the Parade of Nations which will be a particularly proud moment for Paul Miller.
Well known in the Kiwi tri community as Events and Development Manager at Triathlon Tauranga, he’s taking time out from prepping for the next Tri NZ Suzuki Series event – the New Zealand standard distance championships at Tinman in November – to race aquathlon in Townsville after making his World Triathlon debut at the Multisport Worlds in Ibiza last year.
You can take the boy out of Tauranga but you cannot take the helper out of the boy; Paul is also working for the event team in Townsville.
His sons both won gold in Ibiza, Blake in the sprint duathlon and aquathon, and Liam in long distance aquabike. They are also working double duty in Townsville, Blake with Race Ranger, the the Kiwi inspired draft busting technology solution, and Liam as Team NZL bike mechanic.
Blake is Youth Development Coordinator at Triathlon Tauranga and like Liam first represented New Zealand at the World Triathlon Grand Final on the Gold Coast in 2018.
Townsville is the resumption of a busy year for Liam who has qualified for October’s Ironman World Championships in Kona along with the Ironman 70.3 World Championships to be staged in Taupo on December 14-15.
Stay tuned to Triathlon.kiwi and Triathlon New Zealand’s social channels for coverage from Townsville.
