Wānaka-based multisport athlete Simone Maier was crowned a world champion in Paraguay yesterday (Thursday September 22) when Team Avaya crossed the finish line in first place at the 2022 Adventure Racing World Championship (Expedition Guarani) in the town of Tobati.

The four-person team was lead by team captain Nathan Fa’avae, and included team regulars and navigators Chris Forne and Stu Lynch (who have both won previous world titles).

Simone, who won the New Zealand Coast to Coast for the third time in 2022, joined as a late replacement in what is considered the toughest endurance event on the planet.

“In short, incredible experience, forever grateful to have raced with Chris, Stue, and Nathan,” Simone said on social media.

The multi-disciplined 550 kilometre race began on September 15 and included mountain biking, trail running, trekking, kayaking, ropes, and navigation.

“Simone has been amazing,” Nathan said. “She was in training and is a great athlete, but was not trained for an expedition race, so to step into this team so late was a big ask.”

Their Expedition Guarani race was not trouble free, with a stop due to a missed zipline and a two hour penalty for forgetting their tracker, but even so, none of the other 52 teams was able to beat them on the final day of the race.

Nathan said prior to the race the build up had been disrupted by illness, the withdrawal of original team member Sophie Hart, and a wet winter in New Zealand making training difficult.

Team Avaya (formerly Seagate) is New Zealand’s most successful adventure racing team having won the world championships in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 and now 2022. 

Team Avaya won prize money of US$50,000 in Paraguay.

PHOTO: Supplied