Samoan athlete Jett Lee Curteis is the Oceania triathlon champion for 2022 after claiming victory at the Oceania Pacific Islands Triathlon Championships in Nadi, Fiji last Sunday.

Curteis and team-mate Gideon Mulitalo took on the best of the Pacific from Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji and Tonga. Mulitalo finished sixth in the nine-man elite field while in the women’s elite race, Urlin Mulitalo finished seventh in her race. 

The championships was contested in the Super Sprint triathlon distance of 400m swim, 10km bike, and 3km run. Curteis led the swim from the start to finish. In the bike leg, he lost a bit of time and was the third rider in transition. The run was a formality for Curteis who won the race by over two minutes.  

Fiji’s Nikotimasi Croker and Christian Rokoua finished second and third to round up the men’s podium. In the women’s race, Guam’s Manaima Iijima was too good for the rest of the field. Iijima races at a high level in the sport in the world circuit and it showed. Tahiti’s Maidi Susset finished second and Fiji’s Katie Pattie, third. 

Curteis was a last-minute replacement for team Samoa when a team member from Apia pulled out within days of leaving for Fiji. He took up the call from Samoa Triathlon President Seti Afoa to fill the spot. 

Curteis’ mother Lenora Lee is of the Lee family in Samoa, who encouraged her son to try out for Samoa. Jett had previously competed in Samoa Events ocean swim races in Auckland where the connection with Afoa and triathlon began.

Curteis attends Westlake Boys High School in Auckland where he is a top runner for the school. He was competing at the New Zealand Secondary School’s national champs when he got the call for Fiji. 

“I was very happy to get the call up," he said. 

The race in Nadi was also Curteis’ first triathlon event since 12 years of age when he competed in the Weetbix Tri for kids. He had a race plan to make up for his lack of triathlon experience. 

“I’m very happy with the result but I think transitioning in and out of the bike, I need to get better at that," Curteis said. "I knew the bike was my weak discipline, so I tried not to waste much energy on the ride."

There was a bunch of four athletes ahead of Curteis after transition and he had a plan to rein them in. 

“I tried to keep a pace where I wasn’t comfortable but also not sprinting. I held that for two laps and on the last lap to go a little bit faster and sprint more.”  

The race plan worked and Curteis is Oceania men’s triathlon champion for 2022. Curteis represents Samoa by way of Samoa Triathlon’s newest club, Māngere Cycling and Triathlon Club.