Youth Olympic Games star Dylan McCullough is enjoying catching up with his grandma and having a bit of a break following his two medal wins at Buenos Aires 2018.
The Auckland triathlete returned home in late October as our most decorated Youth Olympic Athlete, winning a gold medal in his individual event and a silver medal in the mixed team relay.
“Coming home from Buenos Aires and seeing my friends and family who have been supporting me was so cool. It was amazing to see them after such a long time away, they were super excited for me, especially my nana,” said McCullough.
Above: Dylan competing at Buenos Aires 2018
The 17-year-old is now having some well-earned time off before concentrating on his next big competitions.
“I am having a bit of a break but will be building up my training load over summer in preparation for events on early next year in New Zealand and Australia.
“My future goals involve hopefully qualifying for the 2019 junior world champs in Switzerland and it would great to get a good result there. 2020 is my last year as a junior, so hopefully I’ll qualify again for junior world champs. I think I’m on the young side of things looking toward Tokyo, but you never know.”
McCullough says he learnt a lot at the Youth Olympic Games and believes he’s a better athlete for the experience.
“One of the highlights was getting to experience the Olympic village culture, living in that environment with all the young athletes from different sports and different countries.
“It is the biggest event for young athletes so there are a lot of benefits from getting good results there, it’s definitely a big step in my career.”