Aaron Barclay (born 21 October 1992) is a

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the d ...

who represents

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

internationally. He competed at the

2010 Summer Youth Olympics The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics ( ta, 2010 கோடைக்கால இளையோர் ஒலிம்பிக் விளையாட்டுக்கள் ms, Sukan Olimpik Belia Musim Panas 2010), officially known as the I Summer ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and won the first-ever gold medal awarded for the boys' event. Barclay also subsequently won a silver medal in the mixed relay event, competing for a team representing

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

. The Games were the first time Barclay had competed outside of Oceania.

Biography and sporting record

Barclay's parents are Craig and Christine Barclay. He attended

Gore High School Gore High School is one of two secondary schools in Gore, New Zealand, the other being St Peter's College, Gore. It is located on Coutts Road in the west of Gore. Notable staff *Johnny Borland – high jumper, athletics official *George Jobbern ...

. Barclay had been portrayed as being "visually impaired" and "disabled" as he chooses to race without contact lenses, something his coach said the triathlete was able to overcome without problem. However, this was later revealed as being only semi-true. Barclay requires glasses outside of competition, and had jokingly claimed to be half-blind without them on a questionnaire athletes were made to fill out for Infostrada Sports before the Games, which was picked up on and transmitted as being fact. At his first international triathlon meet in

Gold Coast, Australia The Gold Coast is a coastal city in the state of Queensland, Australia, approximately south-southeast of the centre of the state capital Brisbane. With a population over 600,000, the Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, the nati ...

in 2009, Barclay finished only 31st, but he improved to finish second in the Oceania Youth Olympic qualifiers before winning individual gold at the Youth Olympics. He won a further silver medal in the mixed relay event, teaming up with New Zealand teammate Maddie Dillon and two Australian triathletes to represent

. Barclay will take part at the 2010

International Triathlon Union World Triathlon, previously known as the International Triathlon Union (ITU), is the international governing body for the multi-sport disciplines of triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and other nonstandard variations. World Triathlon hosts the top ...

Junior World Championships, before making a decision whether or not to turn professional. He considers

Hamish Carter Hamish Clive Carter (born 28 April 1971 in Auckland) is a New Zealand triathlete. He won the gold medal in triathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics, his second Olympic games. Carter also competed on the International Triathlon Union World Cup c ...

, gold medallist at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

, one of his heroes. Barclay now currently is coaching the Macleans College Cycling and Triathlon team.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barclay, Aaron Triathletes at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics New Zealand male triathletes Living people 1992 births People from Gore, New Zealand People educated at Gore High School Youth Olympic gold medalists for New Zealand 21st-century New Zealand people