Dylan Kennett (Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri/Ngāti Tumatakokiri), will be participating in the 2016 Olympic cycling events in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.

Dylan was born 8 December 1994 and is the second son of Craig and Caryl Kennett and mokopuna of Ash and Kath Mattison. He was born and raised early on at Tuahiwi, having lived at Pōua Len and Taua Whitu’s home.

Dylan’s family now lives in Waimate where his father and his elder brother Josh train standard breeds.
His whakapapa line is:
Hohepa Huria — Mary Jane Drabble
Puneke Huria — Te Rahuru Russell
Whitu Huria — Len Cox
Karolyn Cox — Kelvin Kennett

Within a short time frame, Dylan held several world and Pacific Abel cycling titles emerging on the cycling scene as a junior rider. He won two medals in the junior world championships when he was 16, before returning the following year in Invercargill to win four more — three silvers and a bronze.

Extraordinarily fast over the 1000m time trial, Dylan became a specialist starter in the team pursuit and was part of the team that was third at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014. More recently Dylan was part of the World Pursuit Team to win gold at the 2015 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Paris. Rio Brazil 2016 will be Dylan’s first Olympic Games.

It is highly appropriate to be riding in Rio this year as it is the Hohepa Huria Reunion in November 2016. On behalf of the whānau we wish Dylan all the good fortune for “Rio” — tumeke! Put the pedal to the metal. Ngā mihi, The Cox whānau.

2016 Olympic Cyclist, Dylan Kennett.

Dylan Kennett in action.