Hayden Wilde: “I just love racing everyone that’s world class”

Nicknamed the Falcon due to his propensity 
to come from 
behind and pick off competitors, Hayden Wilde has seen an equally meteoric rise in his career.

His breakout performance was arguably his bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, but since then he’s been battling it out with a new wave of talent in short-course competitions, starring in his fair share of sprint finishes with the likes of Alex Yee and Léo Bergere.

We caught up with the New Zealander several days after his third-place finish at the Sunderland WTCS to take a peek into the future…

220: How did you find Sunderland?

Hayden Wilde: All things considered, I was actually really stoked how everything went. I knew coming into the race I was pretty fatigued, so I was just crossing the fingers and hoping that I could turn up to the race in some sort of shape. It replaced the Abu Dhabi race [points-wise, where Hayden finished 46th after a mechanical].

I ideally didn’t want to race the mixed relay, but I could take one for the team. Half our team got ill [an investigation into the water quality at Roker beach is underway].

I was opting to take the day off as I was still feeling a little bit under the weather post-Hamburg, but it was actually good fun. Cold as ever. I’ve never worn a thermal cap before! You get brain freeze for about three minutes and then you’re alright.

220: How have you found the series’ varying formats this year?

HW: I think it shows the versatility of the athlete going for the title. You’ve got to be good at sprint, you’ve got to be good at the super sprint and mixed team relay format, but you’ve also got to be really strong in the Olympic distance as well.

And with the new points system, with sprint being only 75%, Olympic being 100% and that supersprint being 85%, you’ve also got to be smart with what races you want to peak for. I think the game is getting definitely harder, it’s getting faster and it’s showing the most all-around athlete will win the race these days.

220: What’s your favourite format to race?

HW: When I’m swimming well I do really enjoy the Olympic distance because I feel like that shows the versatility of an athlete. But I also really enjoy the super-sprint stuff, which seems to be working really well for me. You need a big engine, but you also need good speed as well, so I do like those races.

220: What do you think will be the future of tri at the Olympics?

HW: I think people’s attention spans are becoming a lot shorter, which is fair enough. So looking at what it might move to, I think sprint distance would be potentially great for the sport. It’s super-fast, it’s over in an hour, and it keeps a lot more athletes in the race, as well.

Then the super-sprint format is pretty cool, too. There are definitely some things they can work on. Making that time between races a little shorter would be a lot nicer. I hope we can move forward and listen to the athlete’s recommendations and see where we can find some middle ground and try and make a really nice format.

220: You’ve dabbled in middle distance recently. Will you be doing more?

HW: I do enjoy the longer stuff. I want to qualify for the 70.3 Worlds in Taupo next year. I was born in the town, so I’d love to go home and race those after Paris [Olympics]. I’m looking at a few races at the end of this year to qualify, whether it’s in Portugal or whether it’s in Melbourne, and I’ll probably race Noosa Triathlon as well.

I’ve never done it, but I’ve always been intrigued to do it as it’s a non-drafting Olympic distance. So, yeah, I think you’ll be seeing me on the PTO circuit and the half-Ironman circuit in the next few years.

220: Aside from Alex Yee, who you’ve had a few battles with this year, who do you think is your biggest competition?

HW: There’s some amazing athletes out there at the moment, but the big ones looking at me are probably Léo Bergere and Vasco Vilaça, Matty Hauser… there are so many guys that can win the race.

For me it’s just about playing to my strengths, keeping the race hard and fast, and trying to get gaps where I can make them. But yeah, there’s definitely a lot of guys knocking at the door.

220: The Norwegians have been trying to adjust to short course again. Do you think they’ll be up there in Paris?

HW: I don’t think you can ever take out a Norwegian, you know. They always put up for the big races and you’re seeing Kristian [Blummenfelt] back in that top five now, and Casper Stornes is getting back to where he was as well.

Hopefully in a year’s time Gustav [Iden] can get back there as well. I rate him as a human and, you know, he’s been through a few things this year [Gustav’s mother passed away after a two-year battle with cancer in May].

I love the way he races. It’d be nice to get some extra firepower on that bike. It’s been pretty hard without him.

I just love racing everyone that’s world class. I don’t want anyone to be missing out, I want to race the best of the best.

220: Some pros rely on sports science extensively. Are you big on data or are you more interested in feel?

HW: I think I’m definitely a non-scientific athlete. I love the feel. I think the feel is more powerful than science in some aspects. Yeah, it’s good to implement some science into training, but I also do believe that feel is such a powerful thing.

If you know the feeling of a certain pace or how you should be going, I think that’s more powerful than looking at data. I just keep it sweet and simple, 90% of the time I forget my heart rate monitor. When we use science, it’s kind of just backing up what we kind of already know.

220: If you could pinch certain abilities or strengths from other athletes, what would you choose and why?

HW: I’d take Vince’s [Vincent Luis] swim any day of the week. How good would it be to line up to a start line and say, ‘I’m just going to lead a race out, no dramas.’

With thanks to SportsShoes.com for arranging this interview.

Top image credit: George Wood/Getty Images