World class New Zealand triathlete Paul Amey is set to switch allegiance to Britain.
The Dunedin-born 27-year-old, runner-up at the 1998 world championships in Switzerland, believes it is his only option to make a decent living from the sport.
Amey is widely acclaimed as one of world triathlon's fastest 10km runners and
was considered unlucky to miss selection for the Sydney Olympics after suffering a stress fracture in one leg.
He qualifies to race for Britain through his England-born father, Anthony, but must declare before January 1 which country he intends representing for the period up to and including the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Amey said the virtually non-existent prizemoney available to triathletes in New Zealand and lack of sponsorship opportunities meant he was likely to jump ship.
He has based himself on Queensland's Gold Coast for the past four years and splits each year between Australian and Europe, chasing the lucrative prizemoney and ideal training conditions.
For the past two years he has raced professionally for a French club in Europe but has been criticised for doing that and then competing for New Zealand at International Triathlon Union World Cup events and world championships.
"It's a hard decision for me to make, but the bottom line is it comes down to making a living," he said.
"I'm still going to be doing this sport for at least another six years, so it is probably better for me to base myself in Great Britain and to become part of the European [triathlon] community.
" "I've made a bit of a name for myself in Europe so I'm better off to try and pick up some more sponsors over there."
Amey has spoken to British triathlon officials. Part of the deal if he switches is a salary rumoured to be between $60,000-$70,000 a year and funding, including travel and accommodation, to European championship and World Cup races around the globe and training camps in Europe and the United States.
Triathlon New Zealand high-performance manager Graham Park said Amey would be a huge loss to the sport in New Zealand but he could understand his reasons.
"It's a great shame because he's one of the best runners and a very popular member of the team," he said.
"If it hadn't been for his injuries I'm sure he could have been one of our best performers at the Olympics.'
NZPA
