Hayden Wilde is helped off the finish line after finishing 2nd in the Ironman 70.3 World Championship Pro Men race held in Taupo, New Zealand, 2024. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Olympic triathlon silver medallist Hayden Wilde has split with his coach for the past eight years, Craig Kirkwood.
Wilde's second placing in the Ironman 70.3 world championship race at Taupō was the final event in their partnership, the Sunday Star-Times reported.
"Naturally I was pretty shocked with the news," Kirkwood told the newspaper.
"We'd been working pretty closely together and were good mates for that whole period of time. We still are, but it just hurts when that kind of working relationship is no longer.
"There hasn't been a downturn in performance or a big disagreement about anything."
There was no bad blood, but he wanted to be sure he had no regrets down the track, Wilde said.
"I just want to know that I've done everything in my power in my career, to know that I've turned every stone," Wilde told the Sunday Star-Times.
Wilde revealed earlier this month that with no triathlon at the Commonwealth Games in 2026, he will be stepping back from the Olympic distance over the next two years before building up for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
"Just have a mental break, I won't be focusing hard on the (World Triathlon Championship) series, I might just do one or two races a year to keep my ranking up," Wilde told Morning Report.
Wilde has finished 2024 as the number one ranked male triathlete.
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