SYDNEY - Former Australian Ben Bright unexpectedly became the first New Zealand triathlete to book an Olympic Games ticket, with an outstanding fifth placing at the ITU World Cup race here yesterday.
On a humid day when upsets abounded in the men's race, former junior world champion Bright snared one of the three New Zealand games spots while compatriots Craig Watson and Jamie Hunt significantly enhanced their claims with sixth and eighth placings respectively.
The shock winner was 112th-ranked Australian Peter Robertson, who was 67th after the 1.5km swim and 43rd after the 40km cycling leg. But his 10km run time of 31 minutes 26 seconds blitzed the field and he bounded home, playing up to a large crowd over the final kilometre.
Holding down the next spots were three unfancied Europeans, Stefan Vuckovic of Germany, Ukraine's Volodymyr Polikarpenko and Dutchman Eric van der Linden.
"That was very tough. I'm not a runner and at the halfway mark of the run it felt like there should be 500m to go," said an exhausted Bright.
"So it was a case of holding on, but luckily I think everyone else was the same. I realised I was fifth and, in the same situation, I'm sure I would have gone okay but I knew I had a bit more to run for today."
The Olympic hopes of world No 2 Hamish Carter took a steep dive with a disappointing 32nd, while world No 13 Shane Reed also struggled in 23rd place.
They will need to improve significantly at the world championships in Perth on April 30 or miss out on the sport's showpiece race in September.
Female world No 1 Michellie Jones of Australia was an easy winner of the women's race, and New Zealand's Evelyn Williamson narrowly missed the games qualification guideline of a top-15 finish by placing 18th.
Triathlon New Zealand stipulated a top-five finish on the games course would guarantee selection and Bright just held off the fast-finishing Watson to claim it.
Watson's effort was so impressive that New Zealand selector Graham Park said it might be enough to earn him an automatic games berth, meaning he, like Bright, would not have to compete at Perth in a fortnight.
The 25-year-old Bright was born in New Zealand, lived here for 12 years and competed wearing a black singlet in the junior triathlon at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, where the endurance test was a demonstration sport.
Shortly afterwards, he moved to Australia and switched allegiances before winning the 1994 junior world title in Wellington.
After a spell of few races he developed a desire to compete in more World Cup events and switched back to New Zealand in 1997 to open up opportunities.
Park said former world No 1 Carter was obviously off his best at the moment but said exceptions could not be made for games selection based on past results.
- NZPA