Welrè Olivier (born 4 November 2002) is a track and field athlete. He is the New Zealand indoor record holder in the triple jump.[1]
Early life
Olivier lived in New Zealand from between the ages of nine months and seven years-of-age, before his parents returned to Vereeniging, South Africa. He and his younger brother Ethan, also a triple jumper,[2] hold dual New Zealand and South African citizenship.[3]
Olivier is coached by his father, Wikus, a former South African triple jump record-holder.[4]
Career
He competed collegiately for the University of North Carolina.[5] He declared for New Zealand in 2021.[6] On 8 January 2022, at the Gene Edmonds Invitational in West Lafayette, United States he set a New Zealand indoors record with a jump of 15.59 metres.[7]
In February 2023, he broke the New Zealand triple jump record of 16.22m set by Phil Wood in Edmonton, Canada, in 1978, with a leap of 16.48 metres in Potchefstroom, South Africa.[8][9]
In February 2024, he finished second at the International Track Meet in Christchurch.[10] In doing so, he took the 59-year-old New Zealand resident record of Dave Norris with a wind-legal jump of 16.33m.[11] He finished as runner-up at the 2024 New Zealand Athletics Championships in Wellington in March 2024.[12]
