Kaia Dorr is racked by episodes of wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath. But the 13-year-old dares the difficulties of with living with an inflammatory lung disease.

Because even with a severe case of asthma, the Mount Maunganui College Year 9 student has an eye to being an Olympic champion.

Kaia Dorr. Photo: Daniel Hines.

He's a kid with grit and determination – and enough of it to overcome the illness that more than 460,000 Kiwis take medication for, including one in seven children.

But Kaia's on the startline of a big race. Kaia is focused. Not on starting, but winning. And crossing the finishline of a 32km mountain bike ride and 11km run in a little under three hours, Kaia is the first of his age group. Mum Natasha McKenzie's right there cheering him on. Although, she's anxious on the sideline – hoping he's got his inhaler. 'He finds it difficult to breathe in the cold,” says Mum.

Two Christmases ago, her son was in an Intensive Care Unit after suffering a severe asthma attack.

But Kaia doesn't want pity, he just wants the podium. He dreams of becoming an Olympic mountainbike rider. And first place in the under-14 category for the ThermaTech 3D Rotorua Multisport Festival at the start of this month is just the beginning.

'That's going to look good on my CV,” says the Mountain Bike Tauranga rider. It's the first duathlon he's competed in and first place is what he'll be writing down for a CV he plans to give to potential sponsors.

Sponsors so he can progress in his mountain biking career. 'I'm aiming to be selected for the 2020 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships,” says Kaia. Just like his idol, French mountainbiker Julien Absalon.

Julien is six-time winner of the cross-country series and won a record 31 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup races.

Kaia has won two first-places. The talented teen won first-place in a 3D Rotorua Multisport Festival and first in The Nugget Multisport Festival at Waihi alongside his friend 'and amazing runner” Sam Sheaff.

Kaia's also won fourth place in the North Island Secondary Schools Mountain Bike Champs, Rotorua Nationals 2016 and Te Miro Nationals 2016.

So what keeps him motivated? He wants to be able to travel the world doing the sport he loves. 'I enjoy the environment it's held in. And the fact that I get to travel to lots of amazing places in NZ; and look forward to the places I will get to travel to when I achieve my goal of competing in worlds,” says Kaia. Notice he says ‘when' he achieves his goal.

How will he get there? 'Train hard.” And training hard means five or six times a week, riding, running and swimming.

Training hard is Kaia's advice to other teenagers with a similar dream. 'Never give up.”