Nikki Butterfield (''née'' Egyed, born 12 April 1982) is a professional

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 ...

and former

road cyclist Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes Recreational cycling, recreational, Road bicycle racing, racing, Bicycle commuting, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, ...

from Australia. She represented her nation at the 2007 and

2008 UCI Road World Championships The 2008 UCI Road World Championships took place in Varese, Italy, between September 23 and September 28, 2008. The event consisted of a road race and a time trial for men, women and men under 23. Qualification Participating nations Cyclists fro ...

Athletic career

Butterfield first began competing in triathlon becoming the Australian Junior Triathlon Champion in 2001 and the Under 23 World Triathlon Champion in 2003. In 2005, she switched from

ITU The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...

racing to non-drafting where she raced two

Ironman Iron Man, Ironman or Ironmen may refer to: *Nathaniel "Iron Man" Avery (1939–1985), American caddie for Arnold Palmer *Travis Fulton (1977–2021), American mixed martial arts fighter *Gunnar Graps (1951–2004), Estonian musician *Mick Murphy ...

competitions, several half Ironman races and the 2005

ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships The World Triathlon Long Distance Championships is a triathlon race held annually since 1994. The championships involve a continuous swim-cycle-run, over distances varying between that of an Olympic-distance and an Iron-distance triathlon race. The ...

where she placed fifth. Feeling overtrained, burned out and injured she switched to cycling in 2006. Butterfield raced as a cyclist for 4 years. In 2006, while racing in Europe, she won five races and had 15 podium placings. However, she was not selected to represent Australia at the World Championships that year due to her "lack of experience." She continued to compete in World Cup races over the next two years with some success despite battling

external iliac artery The external iliac arteries are two major Artery, arteries which bifurcate off the common iliac arteries anterior to the sacroiliac joint of the pelvis. Structure The external iliac artery arises from the bifurcation of the common iliac arter ...

endofibrosis. In 2008, she had surgery to correct this and focused on making the Australian cycling team for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Despite strong results she was left off the Olympic team due to concern over how well she had recovered from her surgery. At the 2008 UCI Road World Championships she took 15th in the women's road race, the highest placing female Australian. The following year she was left off of the 2009 UCI World Championships. Expressing disappointment with the political process she took time off to have her first baby, Savana. Five months after giving birth she switched back to triathlon where she took fourth place at the

Hy-Vee Triathlon The Hy-Vee Triathlon (now known as the Des Moines Triathlon) was an Olympic-distance triathlon race held in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. From 2011–2014, the race served as the World Triathlon Corporation's 5150 Series U.S. Championships. Previously, i ...

and then won the 2011

Ironman 70.3 An Ironman 70.3, also known as a Half Ironman, is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). The "70.3" refers to the total distance in miles (113.0 km) covered in the race, consisting o ...

Syracuse. She followed that up with a win the 2012 Abu Dhabi International Triathlon. She made a second return to the sport in 2014, finishing third at the Ironman 70.3 Mandurah Australian Pro Championship less than 10 months after the birth of the couple's son Walker, but she subsequently announced her decision to step back from professional competition in January 2015. In July 2015 she returned to race Ironman 70.3 Racine and subsequently accepted a slot to compete at the 2015 Ironman 70.3 World Championship where she placed 17th.

Personal

Butterfield is married to fellow racing cyclist and triathlete

Tyler Butterfield Tyler Barbour Butterfield (born February 12, 1983) is an athlete from Bermuda. He competes in road bicycle racing and triathlon events. He became Bermuda's first ever professional triathlete in 2002. He was voted Bermuda's male athlete of the yea ...

References

External links

profile at ''Procyclingstats.com''

ITU results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butterfield, Nikki 1982 births Australian female cyclists Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Australian female triathletes

Athletic career

Personal

See also

References

External links