Triathlon: Legend asked to further Kiwis' cause

Athletes from left- Kate McLlroy, Ryan Sissons, Andrea Hewitt, Tom Davison and Tony Dodds. The Commonwealth Games team for Triathlon.

One of triathlon's all-time greats has been approached to help improve the performance of New Zealand's top competitors.

Canadian Simon Whitfield, who won the Olympic triathlon gold in Sydney 14 years ago and bronze in Beijing in 2008, along with 14 World Cup titles, has been in talks with Jon Brown, Triathlon New Zealand's head coach for the Rio Olympics.

Brown, who finished fourth in the marathon at the Sydney and Athens Olympics when running for Britain, has coached Whitfield and knows him well after he switched his allegiance from his native England to Canada in 2007.

New Zealand's leading men, Ryan Sissons and Tony Dodds, were ranked 19th and 28th respectively on the year-ending world rankings. They are some way off the highly competitive pace being set by Britain's Brownlee brothers, Alistair and Jonny, and Spain's Javier Gomez.

Not long ago, New Zealand triathlon legends Hamish Carter and Bevan Docherty were at the top of the sport. Now Brown wants sharp improvements.

"I just want to get the men thinking more about what they're doing and how they apply themselves," he said.

He wants Whitfield to be "brutally honest" and hopes Sissons, Dodds and others brought into the mix heed the tough talking on what is required from them in the 20 months before the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Brown hopes Whitfield, 39, can come to New Zealand within the next four months for a training camp.

If it has a positive result, he would like to see something more significant develop.

"He's pretty keen on that," Brown said of Whitfield's response.

"We're looking for the right opportunity, then see how it goes, if the guys really respond to him."

Brown reckons Triathlon New Zealand needs to take a creative approach to how it operates.

"Success isn't really all about training. It's a component of that. Look at the winners in triathlon. They're pretty crafty thinkers, guys who are driven and make things happen."

New Zealand's leading women, Andrea Hewitt and Nicky Samuels, had a fine end to their year, with podium places in both the final round of the world series and the grand final in Edmonton six days later to finish third and fifth respectively on the world standings.

They are tracking well for Rio. The men, however, need some help and Brown is on their case.