Tayler Reid has hauled himself into World Triathlon’s all-important Olympic Qualifications Rankings top-30 alongside Dylan McCullough. The challenge now for both Kiwis is to stay there. By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwi The numbers have been crunched, potential threats identified, and race strategies crystalised. Now it’s over to Dylan McCullough and Tayler Reid to quiet all the outside noise and deliver, once again, with little more than a fortnight left before the XXXIII Olympiad qualification window slams shut. After the abandonment of Abu Dhabi in early March, Saturday’s mouth-watering WTCS Y ..read more

By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwi Freshly minted Tri NZ Female Long Distance Triathlete-of-the-Year Amelia Watkinson is loving the opportunity to test herself against the best on the T100 Triathlon World Tour. Which is a good thing because the PTO’s best just got even better. The 32-year-old Sunshine Coast-based Kiwi has been confirmed in the best women’s field yet for the third round of the eight-stop global 100km circuit in San Francisco on June 8. World No.2 Taylor Knibb is in for San Francisco, ensuring a blockbuster series-first showdown with Aussie Ashleigh Gentle, the only women above her i ..read more

Photos: Sean Haffey Getty Images for Ironman By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwi During Ironman New Zealand in early March, the boisterous “Team Hammy” support crew popped up at various locales around Taupo waving a sign that read: “Underdogs always find a way”. The encouragement undoubtedly helped spur Ben Hamilton on to a surprise 3rd in the 40th anniversary edition of the world’s second oldest full distance Ironman. The secret of the pro cyclist turned pro triathlete was out, at least to an unsuspecting domestic audience. But how would the 25-year-old Aucklander go on the international stage i ..read more

Photos: Lindahls Pro+ Triathlon Series By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwiA puncture prevented a true Paris prelude mano-o-mano with Alex Yee but Hayden Wilde showed more than enough in his French Grand Prix season bow overnight to suggest their highly-anticipated Olympics showdown will be epic. The Kiwi No.1, racing again for Triathlon Club De Lievin in the opening round of the rebranded Lindahls Pro+ Triathlon Series, had to settle for second individually behind an impressive Yee in Fréjus on the Côte d’Azur. Wilde was in good position until suffering a flat tyre within a kilometre of T2. He rode h ..read more

Photos: AusTriathlon By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwiJames Corbett felt so poorly in the lead-up to Friday’s Oceania Super Sprint Championships, he very nearly shied off the day of rapid-fire racing on the Gold Coast. He’s sure glad he didn’t after producing three races that ultimately morphed into one of his career-best performances. The 22-year-old Aucklander shrugged off the after effects of a virus to finish 4th at Runaway Bay behind an all-Aussie podium featuring the Schofield twins, Jayden and Luke, and Brayden Mercer. RELATED: Relocation affirmation as Goodisson performs at Gold Coast Sup ..read more

Photos: AusTriathlon By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwiA new home away from home is already helping Eva Goodisson feel more like the not so old version of herself. The Hawke’s Bay 25-year-old relocated to the Gold Coast after placing 9th at the Oceania Standard Distance Championships in Taupo a fortnight ago and took advantage of her familiar new surrounds to snare 4th at the inaugural continental super sprint championships on Friday. RELATED: Corbett shrugs off lingering virus to headline Super Sprint Kiwis on Gold Coast Goodisson finished just four seconds off an all-Australia podium of Charlotte ..read more

Photos: Alan Lee/Photosport By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwi Perhaps we shouldn’t be that surprised Bruce Jordan won the Suzuki Prize Draw with the very last key to open the resurrected Tri NZ Awards in such dramatic fashion. The New Plymouth 50-year-old is, after all, a triathlete adept at beating long odds. Jordan couldn’t quite believe his luck when he thumbed the 15th and last key fob left in the bowl during Saturday night’s live draw at AUT Millennium and the lights on the nearby Swift, a 1.2 GL automatic model, flashed bright in the darkness. In an unbelievable repeat of last year’s Suzuki ..read more

By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwiWhile the race for Olympic Games spots in Paris is the all-consuming short course narrative currently, Tri NZ’s future-focused next gen is set for a closer to home development challenge. A 21-strong NZL team will contest the inaugural Oceania Triathlon Super Sprint Championships on the Gold Coast on Friday, including recent NZ Schools champions Hayley Cornwall (main picture) and Finnley Oliver. It promises to be a brutal and rapid-fire eight hours with qualifiers, repechages, semifinals and finals at the impressive Gold Coast Performance Centre in Runaway Bay. Each ..read more

Photos: Alan Lee/Photosport By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwi Community, para and age group excellence was celebrated at the resurrected Triathlon New Zealand Awards – and there is a promise of more to come. Rotorua Constable Angie Keen, Triathlon Tauranga’s Blake Miller (both short course), Melbourne-based Vanessa Murray and Aucklander Michael Glynn (long distance) were named Tri NZ Age Groupers of the Year in their respective categories at last Saturday’s gala dinner at AUT Millennium. Cathi Davey was unveiled as Tri NZ Technical Official of the Year, fellow Wellingtonian Maria Williams and Auc ..read more

By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwi Much more to give and so much left to play for. That was the pragmatic sentiment shared by two of the three Kiwis post Ironman Texas. Even for Hannah Berry (8:50:50) who made a fantastic start to her Ironman Pro Series campaign with 4th in Houston to seal qualification for the women’s VinFast World Championships in Nice this September, there were niggly moments to improve upon. Rebecca Clarke (9:28:45) meanwhile, was 13th after another trademark strong swim while Braden Currie recorded a head scratching DNF. After skipping Ironman New Zealand to ensure she was as we ..read more