KEY POINTS:
BEIJING - For the second time in four years, New Zealand triathlete Bevan Docherty fought for an Olympic title in a desperate sprint to the line.
At the Athens Games, it was teammate Hamish Carter who pipped him by the narrowest of margins for the gold medal. Today, the margin was wider, and the medal was a different colour but Docherty refused to be disappointed.
"I had the race I wanted to today - all I asked for was the best I could and this was the best I could do," an exhausted Docherty said afterwards.
Going into the last 2km of the 10km run, Docherty was well-placed in a cagey group of four including favourite Javier Gomez of Spain, German Jan Frodeno and Canada's Sydney Olympic gold medallist Simon Whitfield.
First Whitfield then Gomez gradually fell off the pace, but while the Canadian battled back to regain touch with the leaders, Gomez couldn't and the race was decided in the last sprint into the finish line.
Frodeno took gold by five seconds from Whitfield, with Docherty further seven seconds back, the German running an astonishing 30 minutes 46 seconds for the 10km.
His 1hr 48min 53sec overall time was outstanding in the heat and humidity. Whitfield finished in 1hr 48min 58sec, while Docherty stopped the clock with 1hr 49min 5sec.
The New Zealander had no regrets afterwards, saying his motivation levels would be boosted for another four years by the lure of going for gold at the London 2012 Games.
"I know a couple of months down the track that gold medal's still going to haunt me ... I guess it'll keep me motivated and in the sport for another four years. Right now, I'm stoked to get another medal, especially in a field like this."
Despite his vast international experience at elite triathlon level, Docherty said he was still on edge going into today's race.
"I was super-nervous going into the race, I put a lot of pressure on myself because I really wanted to perform again."
New Zealand's other two entrants in the 54-strong field, Shane Reed and Kris Gemmell, were well-placed through the swim and cycle legs respectively before the heat and - in Gemmell's case - injury wore them down.
Reed led the field out of the water, bang on 18 minutes for the 1.5km swim, with Docherty 23sec down in a stretched out group which quickly telescoped as the 40km cycle leg began.
Gemmell may have been worryingly off the pace after the swim - he was 44th, 40sec down on Reed - but he soon got into his work with a eight-strong chase group and caught the front pack without too much effort.
Both Gemmell and Reed went through the second transition with the main group, but couldn't keep touch with the leaders as the pressure went on early in the run, and had to dig deep to finish. Reed clocked 1hr 52min 48sec to finish 34th - two places down on brother Matty competing for America - while Gemmell blanked out severe pain from a foot injury for 39th in 1hr 53min 49sec.
Gemmell suffered a cut to his foot during transition to the bike during a build-up race in Germany earlier this month, and the precautions he'd taken to protect the injury going into today's race came to nothing.
"I knew my back was against the wall going into the race," a disappointed Gemmell said afterwards. "I had to give it a try, but after about a kilometre (into the run) - I can't explain the pain, I wouldn't wish anyone else to go through that.
"Everything conspired against me. The little thing I had covering my stitches rolled up and my inner sole was up, so then I had to stop and biff those ... The problem was the downhill - I think as soon as I got to that, it just opened up."
Gemmell said he decided the Olympics were always going to be painful, and there was no way he was going to withdraw.
"I was always going to have a go, it wasn't as if I wasn't going to try."
NZ MEDAL WINNERS IN BEIJING
Gold: Georgina and Caroline Evers-Swindell, rowing, double sculls
Gold: Valerie Vili, athletics, shot put
Silver: Hayden Roulston, cyling, 4000m individual pursuit
Bronze: Mahe Drysdale, rowing, single sculls
Bronze: Nathan Twaddle and George Bridgewater, rowing, pairs.
Bronze: Sam Bewley, Hayden Roulston, Marc Ryan and Jesse Sargent, cycling, 4000m teams pursuit
Bronze: Bevan Docherty, triathlon.
- NZPA
