Triathlon: Flag a test of endurance for Carter

Hamish Carter

The centre of New Zealand attention at the opening ceremony, Olympic champion Hamish Carter, is in lock-down after his flag bearing responsibilities threatened to derail his preparation for tomorrow's triathlon.

Carter was off limits to the New Zealand media yesterday as he focuses on adding the Commonwealth title to the Olympic gold he won in Athens two years ago.

A bronze medallist at Manchester in 2002, Carter is among the favourites in the multisport endurance event which often resembles a lottery.

Unfortunately, the Aucklander's odds may have lengthened because he was selected to carry the flag at the opening ceremony.

"The biggest upset to us, even though it's a great thing, is Hamish being named flag bearer," said Triathlon New Zealand high-performance manager Stephen Farrell.

"It's a great honour for him and it's great for triathlon but it puts more pressure on us.

"They [triathletes] have a routine they go through to get their things together.

"But all the New Zealand team members want a piece of him, they all want a photo - he can't relax for five minutes and he's behind getting himself together."

Carter's quest to revert to a normal preparation was boosted when the six triathlon competitors moved out of the athletes' village to apartments in St Kilda, the coastal suburb where the men's and women's races are held back to back.

"We've got a couple of quiet days where guys know they can just walk down to the race start. They don't have to worry about lanes being blocked," said Farrell.

After browsing at the swim course and heading to St Kilda beach early, Carter was expected to return to the course later for more familiarisation.

He and fellow New Zealanders Bevan Docherty and Kris Gemmell are already aware the flat nature of the course is tailormade for Australian veteran Peter Robertson and up-and-comer Brad Kahlefeldt.

The New Zealanders prefer hilly cycling and road legs where their strength reserves carry them through.

Docherty, the Athens silver medallist, said the New Zealanders had no option but to grin and bear it.

"It's a little unfortunate there's no hills on this course but I qualified on this course six months ago so I know what I'm in for.

"A lot of the guys are backing themselves for the run ... I'm a strong runner as well - I think I'm in good enough form to come away with a medal."

Farrell said the layout had forced a change in the squad's training schedule.

"Our guys and girls are real strength athletes. They've had to rejig their training to put the emphasis on more speed training for the run - they're running 200s and 400s rather than 800 [metres] and 1600s.

"The key to this race is getting in the front bunch on the bike. If they're in the bunch it's then a matter of who looks [after] themselves and who runs the fastest."

Samantha Warriner, Andrea Hewitt and Debbie Tanner carry New Zealand's hopes in a women's race expected to be dominated by Australia's current world No 1 and 2 Emma Snowsill and Annabel Luxford.

- NZPA