Triathlon New Zealand is driven by a small but talented and committed staff. Led by Claire Beard (CEO), the Sports Services team is based in Auckland while most of the elite athletes and High Performance staff train and work out of the Avantidrome in Cambridge.
Claire Beard
Claire is passionate about sport, with extensive experience in the commercial, marketing and events environments. Tertiary qualified in Marketing and Management, Claire has joined Triathlon New Zealand following roles in major events, recreation, sport and local government.
Claire is motivated to create an organisation that is financially viable and is strongly supporting athletes to deliver on the world stage. She is excited to be leading Triathlon New Zealand and connects well with the amazing triathlon community.
Email: claire.beard@triathlon.kiwi
Mark Elliott
Mark Elliot was Triathlon New Zealand’s Performance Director between 2000-2004 and during that time led the programme to achieve dual Olympic Medals in Athens and 6 World Championship Titles.
He then spent two years leading the strategic restructuring of Snow Sports New Zealand and assisted seven Winter Olympic sporting bodies to develop longer term strategic intents. For the past nine years, Elliot has successfully lead the strategic development of Tier One HP athletes for Cycling New Zealand. Six Olympic medals, 26 Commonwealth Games medals and 87 World Championship medals have been secured under his leadership.
Mark is an excellent team leader and also has an extensive coaching background. This will serve him well as he helps to develop the younger talent coming through in the sport.
Phone: +64 21 435 989
Email: mark.elliott@triathlon.kiwi
Anna Russell (currently on maternity leave)
Anna is passionate about all things Triathlon, having been involved in the community as a volunteer, clubbie, coach, age group and professional athlete. She joined Triathlon New Zealand after a nine-year career at Fonterra working across capability, change and supply chain management.
Anna is an esteemed writer providing content for multiple news and blog networks. She is engaged in regular speaking opportunities within the corporate sector and mentor’s young sportspeople.
You will see Anna out-and-about at many triathlon and multisport events around New Zealand. She also enjoys cycling and mountain biking with her husband as well as raising their son Max.
Email: anna.russell@triathlon.kiwi
Maree Kaati
Maree has played an integral role in the High Performance programme joining Triathlon New Zealand in 2014. After 14 years as a competitive rower representing New Zealand at an Elite, U23 and Junior level; Maree has an extensive understanding of what coaches and athletes require to achieve world class results consistently.
Maree developed a healthy twelve-year career in the tourism industry and during that time managed the Cambridge i-SITE Visitor centre.
Maree strives to support the athletes to achieve their best through smooth operation of day to day office administration.
Phone +64 7 827 9223
Email hpadmin@triathlon.kiwi
Danie de Jeu
Danie leads the Technical & Events programme, providing support and opportunities to Technical Officials and building on event provider relationships. She has developed a strong foundation for event delivery and management working in various roles as the Registration Manager, Workforce Coordinator and Operations Assistant for Xterra, Ocean Swim Series and the 2011 Rugby World Cup. She also puts her hand up to volunteer at a number of sporting events.
Danie has a strong work ethic and enjoys connecting and building positive relationships with others. She’s enthusiastic and embeds her light-hearted humour into the team at Triathlon New Zealand.
Danie enjoys playing football and travelling with her husband Rob.
Phone: +64 22 639 2683
Email: daniela.dejeu@triathlon.kiwi
Jen Gregory
Jen has been leading the Age Group programme since 2015 and has successfully created great athlete experiences every season.
She completed her Bachelor in Sports Management in 2014 and went on to take an internship with Netball New Zealand providing support in their events team. Jen worked on a variety of marketing projects for Aktive before joining the team at Triathlon New Zealand.
Jen is bubbly and energetic, and also brings a strong sense of professionalism to the work environment. Additionally, she has excellent organisational skills and an inclusive attitude. Jen also enjoys running, swimming and exploring the outdoors.
Phone: +64 27 626 2335
Email: jen.gregory@triathlon.kiwi
Age Group Selection Commission
The Age Group Selection Commission work with the Age Group Experience Manager in reviewing the age group selection policies for the ITU World Championship Age Group teams. Once policies are approved, and the event season is underway the commission also review the results from selection events- selecting athletes accordingly.
The 2017/18 Age Group Selection Commission