KEY POINTS:
New Zealander Matt Reed will represent the United States at the Beijing Olympics, competing against his brother Shane.
Matt Reed secured his place in the American team on Sunday with a win at their second US Olympics trial at Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
"It's a dream come true to go to the Olympics. It's the pinnacle of my sporting career. I just put in so much hard work, it's unbelievable to actually achieve the goal," he told the Tuscaloosa News.
Reed, 32, became an American citizen last year. Shane, 34, was named in the New Zealand triathlon team this month.
Reed charged into the lead with a daring break on the last of eight bike laps on a hilly course along the Black Warrior River, gaining a 25-second advantage over Americans Andy Potts and Hunter Kemper.
After Kemper had let Reed have his last-lap bike surge, believing he could overtake him, the New Zealander turned on a race-best 31min 03sec 10km run that left both Potts (31min 07sec) and Kemper (31min 07sec) behind.
Reed finished in 1h 52m 15s.
"Had he been pushed, Reed could have run even better," the Inside Triathlon website said.
"He spent a happy 20 seconds exulting, working the crowd and drinking in the moment - and still had a 20-second advantage over runner-up Andy Potts and 24 seconds over third placed Hunter Kemper."
Reed said he had worked hard and wanted to enjoy the moment.
Tuscaloosa marked the second straight upset of the US's most decorated Olympic distance triathletes in 2008 Olympic Trial races.
With Jarrod Shoemaker securing the first slot in the US men's team last September and Reed the second, Potts and Kemper are left with the battle for the third at June's Hy-Vee Triathlon in Des Moines.
The 1.95m tall Reed, perhaps the world's tallest professional triathlete, began switching his allegiance to the US about the time he narrowly missed selection for the New Zealand triathlon team to compete in the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
"I guess I felt wanted by America. It felt natural. I am proud to be from New Zealand and it will always be a part of me, but my life is here in the USA."
Reed lives with wife Kelly, also a triathlete, and a son and daughter in Boulder, Colorado.
- NZPA
