Triathlon: Sydney hopes hit hurdle

SYDNEY - Rina Hill's quest for New Zealand citizenship may not be approved until after the world triathlon championships in Perth on April 29, throwing a spanner in the national Olympic Games selection works.

The Australian 29-year-old's initial application for citizenship was declined by the New Zealand Immigration Department in February and Triathlon New Zealand has appealed against the ruling on her behalf.

The New Zealand team to compete at September's Olympic Games will be named a day or two after the world championships after consultation with the New Zealand Olympic Committee.

However, Trinz national selector Graham Park suggested a special case may have to be made for the world No 5, who has been married to her New Zealander husband, Alistair, for five years and has lived in Auckland since December.

"We sent another letter off to immigration late last week but haven't heard any more," Park said.

"I'd imagine approval probably won't be until after the world champs. It may even depend on her result [in Perth] as to what reaction we'll get. But I hope it will go through fine."

As a resident, Hill can represent New Zealand at World Cup or world championship level but not the Olympic Games, where citizenship is required.

Park said the biggest stumbling block to approval was that Hill, the 1998 world long-course champion, had not lived in New Zealand for a solid 15-month period.

"She's been in New Zealand on-and-off since 1996. We have to remember she's a professional athlete, so she's always travelling away for races and training.

"After her father became sick a few years ago she spent a fair bit of time in Brisbane. But I see it is as not a lot different to guys like Paul Amey and Shane Reed, who are New Zealanders but have been living on the Gold Coast for a long time now."

Park said the citizenship debate would be a worthless one if Hill did not produce the goods at Perth as it was her last chance for a top-15 qualifying performance.

She did not race at the Sydney World Cup event last Sunday because of the death of her father earlier in the week.

- NZPA