Ryan was born in Zimbabwe and moved to New Zealand as a boy and turned to triathlon relatively late with his first competition being at the New Zealand Schools Nationals in 2007. One taste for the sport however and Sissons was hooked. He has raced on the ITU stage since 2009 and has enjoyed a strong campaign that includes two top ten performances in 2016 as well as winning the 2017 Madrid ITU Triathlon World Cup
Ryan has twice stood on the podium with the New Zealand team at the ITU World Mixed Relay Championships (bronze 2010 and silver 2013) and was the silver medal winner in the 2010 ITU U23 Men’s World Championships. Ryan raced at the London Olympic Games, finishing 33rd on that occasion.
Ryan was coached by the late Laurent Vidal in the six months prior to the Frenchman’s tragic passing in late 2015 and carries the initials LV on his bike, not having to look far for inspiration when the going gets tough on the bike leg, knowing that his former friend and mentor is looking down on him.
When not racing in triathlons, Ryan will likely be chasing his other passion – fast vehicles beaches, snow sports and mountain biking.
Recent Highlights
- Winner of the 2017 Madrid ITU Triathlon World Cup;
- 4th place at the 2017 ITU World Triathlon Stockholm;
- 8th place at the 2017 ITU World Triathlon Montréal;
- 3rd place at the 2017 ITU World Triathlon Hamburg;
- 7th place at the 2017 ITU World Triathlon Gold Coast; and
- 23rd place at the 2017 World Triathlon Grand Final Rotterdam.