Danielle McKenzie was a star triathlete before a persistent stitch saw her pursue surf life saving

When Danielle McKenzie first qualified for the Nutri-Grain series, she was living in New Zealand and one day shy of travelling to France and making her open team debut at the International Surf Lifesaving Championships.

WHEN Danielle McKenzie first qualified for the Nutri-Grain series, she was living in New Zealand and one day shy of travelling to France and making her open team debut at the International Surf Lifesaving Championships.

A triathlete throughout high school, McKenzie’s international career kicked off when she competed for New Zealand in the U19 Age group triathlon World Championships in Budapest 2010.

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At only 16-years-old, she placed 2nd in her age group before backing up with another 2nd place at the Triathlon World Championships in China the following year.

By the time she achieved a top 10 finish at the World Championships in Auckland in 2012, McKenzie had been battling a persistent stitch for nearly 15 years, prompting her to re-evaluate her sporting future.

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“I got a stitch every time I ran,” she said.

“I can remember only around 10 times over the years where I didn’t get a stich when I ran.

“I began to hate running and just wasn’t motivated to do it and I couldn’t keep up with the other girls in the run leg.

“After that, I decided to focus more on surf lifesaving because it had always been something I’d done and enjoyed.”

Ironwoman Danielle McKenzie training at Northcliffe. Picture Glenn Hampson

It was 2012 and McKenzie had just finished school when she was selected in New Zealand’s U20 surf lifesaving team for the World Championships in Adelaide.

While her team fought hard to finish second to Australia, McKenzie distinctly remembers the moment she became consumed by a future in surf lifesaving.

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“The thing I remember is that we got to watch the open team beat Australia on home soil in Adelaide and that sparked a light in me and from that moment on, I wanted to make the New Zealand open team,” she said.

“That was my pinnacle.

“I hadn’t been to Australia before that and I’d watched a bit of the ironwoman series on TV but it all changed after that.”

In 2013, McKenzie ventured to the Gold Coast where she completed her bronze certificate with Northcliffe, competed in her first Aussie titles as well as her first Nutri-Grain series trial at Salt beach.

“I did it because I wanted the experience but I didn’t really know what I’d gotten myself into,” she said.

25/02/17. North Cronulla Beach, NSW, Australia. Pics by Julian Andrews. Action from the Men's Iron-man competition. Danielle McKenzie heading to the shore

At this point, the Kiwi was spending her university semester breaks in Australia, relocating for months at a time to pursue her surf lifesaving dream.

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Then in 2014, she achieved her life long goal of being named in the New Zealand open team.

The day before she was due to fly out to France as a 20-year-old, McKenzie finally made her big break at the Nutri-Grain series trials.

Tiarran Raymond (left), Hannah Minogue, Tara Coleman and Danielle McKenzie the top finishers in the trials for the Kellogg's Ironwoman series held in Kingscliff, News South Wales. Picture: Regi Varghese

“I remember the surf was huge,” McKenzie said.

“It was a two-day trial and after a few races, they asked us to put our hands up if we still wanted to race and I put mine up along with Hannah Minogue and Kirsty Higgison.

“They canned racing for the day but then we woke up the next day and it was even bigger surf.

“I qualified third or fourth that year and left for worlds the next day absolutely buzzing.”

Now the 25-year-old is a regular in the Nutri-Grain series, a Gold Coast local and one of the worlds most talented ocean ski paddlers.