After competing as a member of Brophy’s swim and dive team throughout his time on campus, Brophy alum Nico Wood ’24 has pivoted to the triathlon, where he has quickly raced on to the international stage.
After spending his freshman and sophomore years of high school at Regis Jesuit in Colorado, Wood transferred to Brophy, quickly joining the swim team as a junior and becoming a team captain as a senior. “He was impactful with not only his swimming, but his leadership too, specifically his senior year…A lot of seniors, juniors and sophomores talk about Nico and try to mimic his work ethic and the way that he treats others,” recalled Varsity Swim and Dive Head Coach Mr. Daren Brubaker.
But while preparing for his senior campaign, Wood was forced to have emergency surgery, which took him out of the water for four weeks. He was able to come back for his championship meet, but he did not perform as well as he wanted to.
“To be honest, I didn’t really enjoy myself at that meet. So I think at that meet, my dad saw that I wasn’t really enjoying myself at swimming. I was putting too much pressure on myself,” said Wood. “So my dad put out the idea, like, what if we switched to triathlon because we have a family friend who’s actually a professional triathlete?”
Throughout middle school, Wood experimented with other sports, but was mainly focused on his swimming career. “We did do local triathlons – more for the fun aspect in middle school. I did do some cross country and track but the focus was always swimming. My goal and intention was always to be a swimmer. Never ever really expected to be or just switch to triathlon in high school. It was kind of a last minute switch,” Wood said.
Wood began training for triathlons in November of his senior year, and has not looked back since. His first competition was a local contest in Anthem, Arizona in December. He then traveled to San Diego for a college-level race in February, and entered in a series of races over the summer.
His highest-level race to date, however, was on November 3, 2024, when Wood represented South Africa, at the 2024 Americas Triathlon Premium Cup in Viña del Mar, Chile. He was able to represent South Africa because he is a dual U.S. and South African citizen. Although he was not able to finish the race because of a flat tire on his bike, Wood said he greatly enjoyed the experience.
Now a freshman at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Wood is balancing his coursework with his training. He usually works out two to three times a day, with a training schedule sent to him by a coach remotely. He has also joined Cal Poly’s club triathlon team, which races multiple times a year.
“At Poly, the goal is Collegiate Club Nationals.” said Wood, referencing the USA Triathlon Collegiate Club National Championships. He is not done pursuing international competitions, however. “I’ll be racing both representing Cal Poly and South Africa the next few years as I continue to study here at Cal Poly.”
