Triathlon: Hayden Wilde must wait longer to find out Commonwealth Games gold protest

Hayden Wilde was denied a chance at a gold medal after a controversial penalty - but there could be a twist to the tale. Photo / Photosport

It will take up to three months before Hayden Wilde finds out if he is a Commonwealth Games gold medal winner.

Triathlon New Zealand is lodging an appeal to the world body over the 10-second transition time penalty which affected Wilde's bid in Birmingham.

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If successful, the 24-year-old Wilde will share the gold with Brit Alex Yee, a good friend of Wilde's.

Triathlon New Zealand boss Pete de Wet said the investigation will take between one and three months.

"Because it is high profile they'll put a lot of time and effort in," he said.

New Zealand's Hayden Wilde congratulates England's Alex Yee. Photo / Photosport

"A lot of work goes into it…a detailed and lengthy process. You only get one shot at it.

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"We want to do right by our athletes and it was unclear on the day if the decision was right. We definitely stand by him."

Silver winner Wilde was penalised for unclipping his helmet early between the cycle and run legs. He was 16 seconds ahead of Yee at the transition and finished the race 13 seconds behind him.

After reviewing many angles of the incident for almost an hour, the race jury simply couldn't make a final call.

"It's happened before, that there's been a double gold medal," Wilde said after the race in Birmingham. "We're amazing mates behind the scenes and we're great rivals on the course. I do not want to take that medal away from him - he absolutely deserves it.

"When I crossed the line, I told everyone that there was nothing we could do now. But it sounds like we can try to do something. I don't know too much about it.

"It's the first time I've been in this scenario so I'm as clueless as you guys."