History
Originally, a passion: triathlon
Two high-level triathletes who wanted to transpose their experience as globetrotting athletes into their professional life! For 18 years, Kiwami has innovated while maintaining its initial passion for surpassing oneself.
Craig became a cornerstone of the New Zealand triathlon team and one of the best short distance triathletes in the world, competing at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games
Nous avons découvert le triathlon comme une aventure, une bouée d’oxygène dans nos poumons de nageur et d’athlète respectifs. Lassés de courir sur une piste ou d’aligner les longueurs en bassin, le triathlon nous a conquis avec son parfum de défi, sa liberté du chronomètre et sa découverte de nouveaux espaces naturels. Nous avons, pendant plus de dix ans, apprivoisé ses sensations nouvelles pour devenir l’un et l’autre des triathlètes de haut niveau, des experts de notre sport. Craig, ancien nageur de 4 nages, a été un pilier de l’équipe de Nouvelle-Zélande sur la distance Olympique, participant aux Jeux de Sydney et à plusieurs championnats du monde (médaillé de bronze en 2001). Hélène, autrefois athlète sur 800m et 1500m, a été plusieurs fois championne de France de triathlon et conclut sa carrière en 2003 sur une victoire à l’Ironman® France et une sixième place aux championnats du monde.
After years of intensive training and competition, we wanted to express our passion for triathlon differently. We were frustrated by the lack of quality triathlon race wear available at the time, and we strongly believed that specifically designed and adapted products could actually help improve performance. So was born Kiwami. Our project has been nourished by our sports experience and has grown with our athlete expertise. We designed our first collection and our original and colorful models quickly seduced some of the best triathletes of the time, with immediate international success. AMPHIBIAN, the iconic model of the brand, became the reference trisuits on the market while Kiwami grew up with new models, developed for long races, women or even children.
Hélène SALOMON, several times French triathlon champion and ended her career in 2003 with a victory at Ironman® France
Born in New-Zealand
Kiwami is a name made from two words: KIWI and AMI.
KiWi et AMi. Le KiWi est un oiseau qui ne vole pas, une espèce protégée que l’on trouve uniquement en Nouvelle Zélande : il est l’emblème national de ce pays et le surnom des Néo-Zélandais partout dans le monde.
Un AMi est une personne avec qui l’on est lié d’une affection réciproque. Comme sur notre logo, KiWAMi est un petit kiwi qui vit en France, voilà pourquoi il porte un béret. KiWAMi représente notre idée du triathlon : international mais unique, plein de vie et de caractère, amical, sain et fier.
- Creation in 2003 Creation of the Kiwami brand name and company by pro triathletes Helene Salomon (France) and Craig Watson (New Zealand)
- 2004 Athens Olympic Games. First international podium for the Amphibian trisuit with Sven Riederer (SUI).
- 2005 Ironman World Championships, Kona Peter Reid (CAN) finished at 3rd place in A-Short / K-Singlet combo.
- 2005 Sartrouville wins the French Grand Prix competition. Beginning a 10-year collaboration between Kiwami and the world’s best club team in the world.
- 2007 ITU World Championships in Hamburg Kiwami race suits win the elite men’s and women’s titles at the ITU World Championships: Daniel Unger (GER) and Vanessa Fernandes (POR).
- 2008 Pekin Olympic Games Laura Reback (USA) finishes 4th at the Pekin Olympic Games wearing a Wahina Max swimsuit. More than 30% of the Olympic Games triathletes compete in Kiwami suits.
- Hello North America ! Kiwami opens distribution sites in the USA and Canada.
- Historic trifecta The Russian trio of Polyansky, Bryukhankov, Tutukin achieve an historic trifecta at the World Cup wearing the Amphibian 008 suit.
- 2010 sublime year ! Kiwami opens it’s own sublimation and manufacture site in France.
- 2012 Feel the performance Kiwami builds a new headquarters incorporating research & development, design, manufacture, printing, sales, administration and warehouse units.
- 2013 Amphibian 008 enters the legend. Rachel Klaamer (NED) wins the European Triathlon Championship wearing an Amphibian 008 Openback trisuit.
- 2014 Kiwami on top of the triathlon world. Kiwami’s new « Spider WS1 » triathlon suit the wins a Gold Award for Best Performance Base Layer product at ISPO Munich, the world’s biggest sports industry trade show.
- 2014 Guten Tag ! Kiwami opens a distribution site in Germany.
- 2015 Kiwami sur les podiums mondiaux The year 2015 was particularly rich for KIWAMI TEAM with Cyril Viennot, Long Distance World Champion 2015 for France, Richard Varga, Slovak triathlete, Aquathlon World Champion 2015 and South African Henrie Shcoeman, World No.3 on the Olympic distance in 2016.
- 2016 Launch of the SPIDER LD1 Aero, the world most technical and aerodynamic trisuit.
- 2017 Gold for the trail Kiwami is moving into the world of Trail with the Equilibrium shorts offering an innovative system for carrying foldable poles. This innovation will be rewarded by the 2017/2018 ISPO Gold Medal
- Today Kiwami outfits more than 350 clubs and teams worldwide with technical, comfortable and stylish triathlon kit
Perfectionnement & Collaboration
Kiwami believes that excellent products help athletes achieve excellent performances. Making new products involves research to find the best adapted fabrics and techniques available, formulating and testing innovations and perfecting patterns and designs. In collaboration with renowned sports textile industry partners, the staff at Kiwami’s own prototype lab in France continually work through this process, to make products that are perfectly adapted for the athletes who will use them.
Recherche & Développement
Kiwami products are crafted in constant collaboration with elite and amateur athletes so that you will feel like the they are a part of you. The choice of materials, fabrics, and trims are the subject of ongoing research. From sprint to long distance, from beginners to professionals, our collections meet the needs of every triathlete by offering specific products adapted to each event and type of competitor.
Innovation & Reconnaissance
In 2014, at ISPO Munich, the world’s biggest trade fair for the sports industry, Kiwami presented a revolutionary new trisuit - the SPIDER WS1 – and won the Gold Award for Best Performance Base Layer Product. The same result was acheived in 2017 when the Equilibrium Trail Short won a new ISPO Award. These awards were significant recognition for the hard work Kiwami's R&D team had put into designing and developing these innovative products, which became industry references in thier fields.
