Triathlon: Kiwi men fail to fire again

Bevan Docherty. Photo / Kenny Rodger

There was more Olympic disappointment for New Zealand's male triathletes yesterday at the world championship series final in a cold Beijing.

None of the six Kiwi athletes finished in the top eight, so New Zealand has yet to have anyone inked in for one of three spots available under Triathlon New Zealand's qualifying criteria. It highlights a lack of performances at specified Olympic Games qualifying races, following the same result at the London round of the world series last month.

Ryan Sissons was the best-placed Kiwi in Beijing, finishing 14th, 1m 15s behind the winner, while Bevan Docherty finished 19th on the course where he won bronze at the Olympics.

Kris Gemmell, Clark Ellice, James Elvery and Martin van Barnefeld also lined up. Their next opportunity is the world championship series event in April at Sydney but they have lost a crucial chance to get in preparation less than a year out.

Docherty is still seen as New Zealand's best male Olympic medal hope but this follows disappointment with his effort in the London qualifying race last month where he finished 15th - outside the required top 10.

He and coach Mark Elliott believed they had done the necessary work to start in perfect shape, as they did this time. In London, the 34-year-old blamed a poor transition between bike and run but it was a similar result in Beijing.

Last time his bike rack space was positioned towards the end of the transition area. With other athletes arriving earlier and crossing his path it meant his transition time was 38 seconds compared to an average of 31s; all his own fault.

He was stuck in running traffic, getting cut off as he moved along. By the time the pace settled in the first kilometre, he was isolated from the main pack and could not run the three seconds faster a kilometre to catch up.

Already this season Docherty has dismissed talk of being an older man struggling against the vitality of youth.

He will be 35 if he competes at London. Hamish Carter was 33 when he won in Athens and Canadian Simon Whitfield was 33 when he took silver in front of Docherty at Beijing.

The key area for the New Zealand men to work on leading to the Games is preventing the British Brownlee brothers, Alistair and Jonathan - currently ranked one and two in the world respectively - from coasting away with faster split times on the run.

A flat course at London means unless pressure is exerted earlier, like on the bike leg, the race could be sewn up on the first lap of the run.

After the initial London qualifier there was a meeting of key Triathlon New Zealand coaches and staff to discuss how to deal with that situation. It may mean the Kiwis work together more on the bike to set up Docherty to hunt for a medal. However, that is a scenario that will only be contemplated at the Olympics rather than other races where athlete financial security is on the line.

Further research seems necessary to solve this recurring problem. Docherty (30m 30s) and Sissons (30m 45s) had close to, if not their best, 10km splits for the run in London last month but found others were still going faster over the flat terrain. They could not make up the distance in Beijing either.

The Kiwi women race at 5.30pm (NZT) today. Andrea Hewitt is close to an overall top three finish after her consistent season. The 29-year-old is currently ranked fourth this year.

In five world championship series events she has been outside the top six just once. She was third in the world last year and eighth at the Beijing Olympics - an encouraging sign. Hewitt is the only New Zealand triathlete qualified for the London Olympics so far.