Juliet Fahey

A spare place on a course introduced Juliet Fahey to a pathway she never knew existed. Years later, it would take her to the Olympic Games.

Born in Geraldine and a South Canterbury local for most of her life, Juliet walked back through the gates of Timaru Girls’ High School in 2026 after many years away.

Back then she was Juliet Ponder. School magazines trace her from Form 3Sv in 1979 through to Form 6Wk in 1982, leaving a small archival trail of her years at TGHS. She was a member of Kōwhai House, remembers history and geography as her favourite subjects, and says sport was not a big part of her school life.

“I wasn’t particularly sporty,” she says.

Nor did she leave school with her future mapped out.

“I had no idea what I wanted to be. In those times you either went to university or got a job.”

Juliet got a job.

She spent 24 years with the Department of Social Welfare, later worked at the Chamber of Commerce helping people become work-ready, and went on to work at Craighead supporting alumni and fundraising, before spending 10 years in real estate.

Triathlon came into her life almost by accident. Juliet was travelling to support a family member who competed in the sport when she discovered a course in triathlon administration was being held at the event. A place became available on the day, so she went along.

She was not a triathlete herself, although she had competed in the Coast to Coast as part of a team.

That spare place opened up a world she had never considered.

Triathlon has a structured pathway for developing officials through practical experience, training, assessment and increasing responsibility. Juliet kept progressing.

Her international officiating career included the 2003 International Triathlon Union World Championships in Queenstown. In the early years, she even funded some of her own overseas travel to gain the experience she needed.

By 2009 she had been named Triathlon New Zealand Technical Official of the Year and elected Vice-President of the Oceania Triathlon Union. She is also a former board member of Triathlon New Zealand. In 2010 she was appointed Oceania Technical Liaison, helping develop officials across the region.

In 2011 Juliet completed the ITU Level 3 Technical Official course, the highest level of international technical-official qualification.

Then came London.

In 2012 she was selected as one of just 27 International Technical Officials from around the world to officiate at the triathlon competition of the London Olympic Games.

In 2013 Juliet was appointed Technical Delegate for triathlon at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, becoming the first non-staff member appointed to the Olympic Technical Delegate role.

Preparing for Rio took three years. Juliet made repeated trips to Brazil, working across infrastructure, logistics, broadcasting, accreditation, timing and results, security, medical planning, volunteers and contingency arrangements.

On the same day Juliet learnt she was being made redundant from her job, an email arrived inviting her to take on the Rio Olympic role.

It was not a position she could apply for. It came by invitation, after years of training, experience and gradually being trusted with greater responsibility.

Her international career has also included the Glasgow 2014 and Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games and annual World Series competitions around the world, including 17 World Championship Grand Final editions from Vancouver in 2008 through to Wollongong in 2025, with the 2020 Grand Final cancelled during the pandemic.

As a World Triathlon Course Facilitator, Juliet trains and mentors technical officials from around the world, helping prepare them for international assignments. She continues to officiate worldwide for World Triathlon and works in sport delivery under contract with the Professional Triathletes Organisation.

The woman who once took an unexpected spare place on a course is now helping others progress through the same pathway.

Returning to TGHS in 2026 gave Juliet the chance to look back at the schoolgirl she had once been. There was no straight line from Kōwhai House to the Olympic Games. There were different jobs, changes of direction, years of learning, and an opportunity she could easily have passed by.

Asked what she would tell her younger self, Juliet says:

“Hold on tight to what you want to do, and you’ll get there. It might not be the first thing, but you will get there.”

That is perhaps the message Juliet brings back Through the Gates.

For the girls walking through them today, there is no need to have the whole journey mapped out.

Sometimes the opportunity that changes your life is something you did not even know existed.

Through the Gates

Story by Roselyn Fauth, with support from Juliet Fahey

September 2026

Timaru Girls’ High School Alumni