“Everyone can be an athlete. It doesnt matter how slow or fast you are, if you run then you are a runner. If you swim, bike and run, then you are a triathlete. It’s not about winning or medals. It’s about an active healthy lifestyle at any age.”
That is the belief of Samoa Iron-man and veteran triathlete, Darren Young, who together with his author wife, Lani Wendt-Young, have taken Triathlon to next-level accomplishments in a short span of time, through building a Triathlon Samoa Association (TSA) that is founded on good governing principles and player-focused policies.
The inspirational power couple’s business, Young Steel, has been the founding sponsor of the Triathlon Federation’s work to grow local athletes.
As an association, TSA is in full compliance as a registered incorporated society in Samoa, with audited financial statements, holding regular and timely AGMs that are guided by the rules of its Constitution.
Sports Federations Exist to Serve Athletes
Darren Young is a certified World Athletics (prev IAAF) Middle Distance Running Coach. For Team Samoa, he is Mentor, Bike Mechanic, and an Athlete-Coach.
A 20 year veteran of the sport, Darren has mentored the National Team of triathletes in the last four years and serves as the teams bike mechanic who personally outfits the team’s bikes with his own racing equipment. Darren does all of that while training alongside the team as an athlete, and assisting the coaches in training sessions.
Triathlon Samoa was founded on Darren Young’s key belief – that a Federation exists to serve its athletes.
“That everything we do is to support athlete development – and that there is no age limit to being an athlete,” Darren explains.
Growing Local Athletes
A key part of the Triathlon Samoa Association Constitution is its athlete selection policy which mandates, local athletes only can be selected to represent Samoa.
It is much easier to put together a team of athletes from overseas to represent Samoa at international events, but Darren Young says the only way to truly grow triathlon as a sport in Samoa, is to focus on developing local talent.
“The athletes and their parents and families here [in Samoa], doing all the work here, they need to know that their Federation is putting them first.”
Darren admits that yes, it takes a long time and a lot of resources and a lot more work to grow local athletes at the grassroots level, “but it’s worth it.”
Good Governance in Sports Federations
As an association, TSA is in full compliance as a registered incorporated society in Samoa, with audited financial statements, holding regular and timely AGMs that are guided by the rules of its Constitution.
But that had not always been the case.
During the lockdown years of Covid, the Youngs, together with Bernie and Susie Poort, started organising community triathlon events. With help from committed tri parents, Arthur and Line Mulitalo, and Wolly Collins, the team reignited a fire for a sport that had been in decline due to poor leadership.
In 2023, Lani Young discovered that the Federation had been deregistered for some years [from Samoa’s incorporated societies registry] due to a lack of financial audits.
She then went on a crusade to build a compliant Federation that could sustainably support the triathlon’s revival and growth in Samoa.
Leading the way Lani set out to research what good governance looks like, and then got to work. She registered a new Federation, wrote up a Constitution with clearly defined goals and principles, and followed proper process to get TSA fully compliant.
Compliance meant formal registration to become an active and participating member of SASNOC (Samoa Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee), Oceania Triathlon, and World Triathlon.
It was a journey with many obstacles that included challenging existing power structures in Samoa’s sports governance, says Lani.
Lani even ended up taking several law papers through Massey University’s online portal.
“Because I knew NOTHING about any of this stuff and I needed to start with some legal basics!” she shares.
Good Leadership in Sports Federations
“Too often we see a sport grow heaps because of one person or one particular Board, and then when they leave, the sport falls apart,” Lani Young observes.
The goal for me is to make myself redundant in TSA,” says Lani. “To help grow a Federation that will outlive my time in it.”
TSA’s current leadership team of volunteers have built a strong system of good governance and Lani says the goal is to empower everyone in TSA to have the skills and knowledge to do what needs to be done.
“Things like how to organise a race, run an AGM, apply for sports funding, manage a team on an international campaign, plan a community event, meet the criteria for staying compliant, and so much more..”
“I have seen that some federations seem to discourage people from joining, or from getting involved in the leadership.. Maybe it’s because they don’t want people asking questions or rocking boats?” Lani reflects.
TSA has the opposite approach. Volunteer parents, especially supportive mums of the athletes, are empowered by Lani to take up roles within the Federation that they would never have otherwise considered.
“I am continually in awe of the families I get to work alongside. I see them have the courage to step out of their comfort zones, and put their hands up to take on leadership roles, and be willing to learn new things.. It has been a privilege for me to learn with them..”
Empowering Both Athletes and Volunteer Supporters
Lani says she has come to understand that a holistic approach to athlete development must be taken – one that ensures we are taking care of the whole person.
“Athletes must be supported both on and off the field,” says Lani.
“So we also must educate and empower the people who are supporting our athletes”.
“When I started I knew nothing about sport. I had never been an athlete. I have only ever been a watergirl to Darren at his races,” Lani shares. “But at heart I’m a teacher first, and that means I’m forever a learner and this has been a massive learning curve for me in the last 3 years, and I am grateful to be doing this learning alongside some pretty amazing people in TSA.”
“I see mums and dads who give so much to supporting their children in their tri goals, some are families who have very little but dedicate their time and skills with a lot of kindness and patience too for teaching the kids..”
Lani Young says she has learnt that good governance means creating opportunities for people to learn and grow in areas they never imagined they would ever or could ever do.
“Like how to be a Treasurer and manage financial processes in a way that is transparent.. Like how to write funding applications and reports, or how to manage a Board, organise coaches and support the team’s training programs, and seek to understand the (sometimes DELIBERATELY and unnecessarily!) complicated world of sports governance”.
Darren Young
Holds the National Record for (i) Men’s Full Ironman triathlon, (ii) Half-Ironman triathlon, (iii) the Super Sprint triathlon, (iv) Mixed Team Relay Triathlon (team of 4).
Darren is currently ranked 56th in Oceania, which is the second highest ranked Pacific Island triathlete in Oceania and in the World.
2026 will see the 20th anniversary of Darren Young’s representation of Samoa in the sport that he loves.
Lani Young
We have been focusing on Lani Young the powerhouse wife who stepped in to support her husband’s beloved sport and took a journey into Sports Governance. But we have not yet done justice to the bestselling author, writer, editor, publisher and journalist.
In May 2025, Lani Young was celebrated in the ‘Resilient Spirit Project: Portraits of Women Warriors’ that honoured thirty women who have shaped Samoa’s history and continue to lead its future, at the grassroots and national levels.
In October 2025 Lani Young was appointed to the World Triathlon Commission for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).
She currently also holds the positions of:
- Fuafua le Malo e Toe Faatū Nofoa e Lua mo le Au Palota Tu Taulaga - October 11, 2026
- Tumau Tuia Pu’a Fuatogi Letoa i le Nofoa o Safata 2: Teena le Talosaga a Leleua - October 9, 2026
- Tuia Retains Safata 2 Seat as Court Dismisses Bribery Petition - October 9, 2026
