New arrival set to star for Nelson tri club

The climate, the training backdrop and an historic family link combined to entice a leading British triathlete to Nelson.

Junior doctor Eve Sealy traded rainy Cornwall for at least a year in Nelson and looks likely to prove the Nelson Tri Club’s best medal prospect at the 70.3 World Ironman Championships in Taupō this weekend. The Scottish-born 26-year-old is continuing the family medical tradition here.

“My great-great-great-great- grandfather was a GP in Nelson,” recalls Eve.
Now that’s a great statistic!

Eve signed off from the United Kingdom by not only winning the 25 to 29 age group at the European 70.3 Ironman Championships in Portugal in June, but also being the first female competitor overall.

“She beat several of the elites home,” pipes up her partner Jon Webb, a school teacher who’s competing in the 40 to 44 age grade section at Taupō.

“We are both quite competitive,” she quips.

En route to Nelson, Eve stopped off at the Multisport World Championships in Townsville and finished second behind Queenslander Lauren Hume in the long distance triathlon for the 25 to 29 division. She cut out the three-kilometre swim, 114k bike ride and 30k run more than 25 minutes ahead of the quickest Kiwi competitor. So, she is bullish about her first half ironman in New Zealand.

“I would like to win it.”

That youthful confidence and exuberance has been a breath of fresh air for the local triathlon scene.

“They have been very welcoming,” says Eve, who confirms she is one of the younger brigade here.

Dr Sealy is striking the right balance between work and training.

“I’m doing 40 hours a week at Alexandra Hospital in Richmond and another 20 hours of morning swims, cycling, running and gym work. Jon and I train together.”

Not having a car is also contributing to her build-up as she cycles 6kms from Monaco to Richmond for work.

“I have really enjoyed the move here. What junior doctor in England wouldn’t.”

Eve and Jon have already achieved one mission, finding somewhere to stay ahead of the worlds in Taupō.