Triathlon: Aussie praises kiwi triathlon power

10.00pm - By DANIEL GILHOOLY

New Zealand's historic day on the Olympic triathlon course drew glowing praise from everywhere - even their toughest Australia rival.

The gold medal to Hamish Carter and silver to Bevan Docherty couldn't go to any more deserving duo said current world No 1 and long-time trans-Tasman nemesis of Carter, Greg Bennett.

Bennett, 32, produced the second best run of the race but it wasn't enough to haul in the two New Zealanders or Swiss bronze medallist Sven Riederer.

He is great friends with both New Zealanders, having invited both to his November wedding, but has a special bond with Carter, 33. The pair first raced against each other in 1991.

"A medal for a mate is something special. We all commit so much to be the best in the world and he deserved it," Bennett said.

"I'd rather they won than a couple of guys I don't have anything to do with. They're good blokes and I know how hard they worked for it as well.

"If you're going to be beaten, you want to be beaten by tough bastards."

Bennett said he was relying on one of the leading trio dropping back so he could claim a medal but knew the likeliest chance to do so was Riederer.

"They were my two big picks before the race," Bennett said.

"Bevan's incredibly talented and it was just a matter of consistent training that he was going to put it all together.

"I'd imagine Hamish will retire soon so it's great."

Bennett said he and Carter had traded wins over the years.

"We've all held the world No 1. Hamish had it in the late '90s, I held it for the last three years and Bevan held it earlier this year.

"I think we were on par for how many times we've beaten each other."

"New Zealand has got a great depth of athletes like in Australia. Their type of racing is a strong man type of racing.

"I'd imagine they probably pushed each other over the last six months."

Bennett said their was no trans-Tasman rivalry on the greatest triathlon stage.

"The Olympics is one of these ones where the Kiwis and Aussies unite a little bit."

- NZPA