Olympic bronze medalist Hayden Wilde is one of six Olympic athletes who have confirmed they will race in the Twilight Challenge in Wānaka next month.

The Twilight race, taking place on February 18, is the final race of the Triathlon NZ Suzuki NZ Elite series and New Zealand’s finest triathletes will fight it out to win the series ahead of the Commonwealth Games Birmingham 2022 selection period.

“We are very excited to bring racing back into the centre of town on a Friday night,” Integrity Homes Challenge Wānaka showcase manager Tony Dodds said.

“The elite athletes will have a 750m swim, 15km bike course through town and a 5km run along the lakefront to finish in front of the local businesses.

“We hope you can bring the family down to watch the best in Kiwi triathlon.”

Hayden will be joined by fellow Tokyo Olympic Games teammates Nicole van der Kaay, Ainsley Thorpe, and Tayler Reid as well as Simone Ackermann, who raced for South Africa in Tokyo and Beijing.

London and Rio Olympian Andrea Hewitt (NZ) will be joining them.

The race will also include athletes from New Zealand’s high performance team and national and development squads with a total of 25 males and 15 females competing.

Tony said Challenge Wānaka is encouraging locals to take the opportunity to see some of the country's best triathletes in action saying they hope to bring a “real buzz of triathlon back to the community”.

The Twilight Challenge, taking place on February 18, will start at 5:30pm with the women’s race and men will race from 7pm. 

The Twilight Challenge will be preceded by the Puzzling World Mini Race earlier in the day.

This event is for children aged five and under. They will slip down the ‘slip and slide’ at the Wānaka Skate Park, weave through an obstacle course and ride along the closed road on a bike or scooter to the finish line.

Registration for the mini race is $5 with entry on the day from 3:30pm onwards.

For more information on these events click here.

PHOTO: World Triathlon