Nikko Huelgas

Nikko Bryan Huelgas (born July 19, 1991) is a retired Filipino professional triathlete who competed internationally. He currently functions as the Marketing Head of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC). He is the first Filipino to win a gold medal in the men's individual triathlon event at the Southeast Asian Games securing the feat in the 2015 edition. He also successfully defended his title at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games.

He is currently the captain of the Philippine National Triathlon team. He is a member of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) Athletes’ Commission serving as their Chairman. He also has a seat on the POC's Executive Board.

During his college days, he used to represent the varsity swimming and track and field team for De La Salle University in the UAAP.

Education Huelgas studied at the Elizabeth Seton School in Las Piñas for his high school studies. For his collegiate studies, Huelgas attended the De La Salle University where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Marketing degree in 2014.

Youth career Huelgas was part co-captain of the swimming team of his high school, Elizabeth Seton School, and was also a member of the school's water polo team. Huelgas bought his first bicycle in May of the same year and began participating in triathlons. He then also joined the DLSU track and field team in 2010, where he competed in the long-distance run events. In January 2010, he qualified for the pool of the triathlon and water polo national teams, but chose to pursue a triathlon career.

Professional career Huelgas made his professional triathlon debut under the Junior Men division during the 2010 Subic Bay ASTC Triathlon U23 and Junior Asian Championships in May 2010. He made his official debut in the Elite Men category shortly, particularly September of the same year, at the 2010 Yilan ITU Triathlon Cup.

At age 19, he placed his studies on hold to train in Subic for the 2010 Asian Games. clocking in at one hour, fifty-nine minutes and twenty one seconds.

He participated in the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia where he placed 16th place and suffered a left hand fracture from a bicycle accident which caused him to be sidelined from competitive sports in early 2019. This led to his non-inclusion to the Philippines' roster for triathlon in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games to be hosted at home due to failing to be among the best two performers in the qualifying events. Huelgas is still scheduled to take part as part in the games of the mixed relay team.

ITU competitions The following list is based upon the official ITU rankings and the Athlete's Profile Page. Unless indicated otherwise, the following events are triathlons (Olympic Distance) and belong to the Elite category.

Date Competition Place Rank Subic Bay ASTC Triathlon U23 and Junior Asian Championships (Junior) Subic Bay 20 Yilan ITU Triathlon Asian Cup Yilan 11 Hong Kong ITU Triathlon Asian Cup Hong Kong 33 Asian Games Guangzhou 11 Asian Beach Games Muscat 10 Subic Bay ITU Triathlon Asian Cup Subic Bay 23 Singapore ITU Triathlon Asian Cup Singapore 15 Dextro Energy Triathlon - ITU World Championship Grand Final (U23) Beijing DNF Yilan ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships (U23) Yilan 7 Tateyama ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships (U23) Tateyama 7 Yilan FISU World University Triathlon Championships Yilan 40 Chengdu ITU Triathlon Premium Asian Cup Chengdu 34 Yilan ITU Triathlon Asian Cup Chengdu 6 Barfoot and Thompson World Triathlon Grand Final (U23) Auckland DNF Subic Bay ASTC Duathlon Asian Championships (U23) Subic Bay 3 Subic Bay ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships (U23) Subic Bay 17 Subic Bay ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships (Mixed Relay) Subic Bay DNF PHI Triathlon National Championships 3 Lantau ITU Triathlon Asian Cup Hong Kong 22 Subic Bay ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup Subic Bay 10 PHI Sprint Triathlon National Championships Muntinlupa 1 Singapore ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup Muntinlupa DNF Asian Games Incheon 11 Asian Games (Mixed Relay) Incheon 6 Hong Kong ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup Hong Kong 15 Hong Kong ASTC Triathlon U23 Asian Championships (U23) Hong Kong 5 Asian Beach Games (Mixed Relay) Phuket 7 Asian Beach Games Phuket 15 Quarteira ETU Triathlon European Cup Quarteira 50 Melilla ETU Triathlon European Cup Melilla 42 Madrid ETU Triathlon European Cup Madrid DNF Southeast Asian Games Singapore 1 New Taipei ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships New Taipei 8 Tongyeong ITU Triathlon World Cup Tongyeong DSQ Quarteira ETU Triathlon European Cup Quarteira 64 Hatsukaichi ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships Hatsukaichi 19 Hatsukaichi ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships (Mixed Relay) Hatsukaichi 6 New Taipei City ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup and Strait Cup New Taipei 8 Tongyeong ITU Triathlon World Cup Tongyeong 67 Miyazaki ITU Triathlon World Cup Miyazaki LAP Subic Bay NTT ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup Subic Bay 21 Palembang ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships Palembang 16 Southeast Asian Games Kuala Lumpur 1 Quarteira ETU Triathlon European Cup Quarteira LAP Subic Bay NTT ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup Subic Bay 33 Gunsan Saemangeum ASTC Long Distance Triathlon Asian Championships Gunsan/Saemangeum 6 Subic Bay ASTC Triathlon Southeast Championships Subic Bay 8 Mt Mayon ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup Legazpi DNF 2018 Asian Games Palembang 16 Gyeongju ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships Gyeongju 26

Key: DNF = Did not finish; DNS = Did not start; U23 = Under 23

Other Aside from being a professional triathlete, Huelgas is also the chairman of the POC Athlete's Commission. He is also commercial model who has had campaigns for the likes of Skyflakes, Cherifer Premium, Samsung, Gatorade and USANA Philippines, and also serves as a motivational speaker.