Reid awarded Olympic Solidarity grant

The work continues: Reid continues his Commonwealth Games selection bid in Taupo this weekend. The Oceana Triathlon Cup Taupo on Sunday is the third and final race of the Oceania Cup sprint tri series, and is also a pivotal part of the selection process for the Birmingham Games. Reid was second to Tokyo Olympic Games medallist Hayden Wilde in the opening series race at the Tri Taranaki Festival in New Plymouth two weeks ago. Wilde clocked 59 minutes 36 seconds while Reid crossed the finish line in 1 hour 1min 22sec. Reid was fourth in race 2 at Mount Maunganui last weekend. Wilde continued his dominance, powering home in the five-kilometre run leg to win in 53.08, with Janus Staufenberg second in 53.35 and Dylan McCullough third in 53.43. Reid was fourth in 54.04.Picture by Scottie Photography

OLYMPICS

Gisborne triathlete Tayler Reid is one of 10 promising New Zealand athletes to have been awarded grants through Olympic Solidarity funding.

Each of the athletes will receive US$15,000 (NZ$21,560) over the next 18 months to help them with their journey to the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The other athletes to receive the funding are Connor Bell (athletics), Elliott Connolly (judo), Justina Kitchen (yachting), Molly Meech (yachting), Georgia Nugent-O’Leary (rowing), Eddie Osei-Nketia (athletics), Zac Reid (swimming), Eve Thomas (swimming), and Nicole van der Kaay (triathlon).

Tayler Reid, Zac Reid, Thomas, van der Kaay and Meech have already competed at one or more Olympic Games.

Reid, 25, has represented New Zealand at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, where he was a bronze medallist in the triathlon mixed relay, and the Tokyo Olympics last year.

The athletes were nominated by their national federations and selected based on their athletic achievement and dedication to competing at the highest level.

The funding is distributed through the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Solidarity programme, which is handing out almost US$600 million in athlete scholarships and national federations’ coach and athlete development programmes in the Olympic quadrennial 2021-24.

New Zealand Olympic Committee chief executive Nicki Nicol said the grants lightened the financial load for the athletes on their Olympic journey.

She said Olympic Solidarity had funded 10 athletes on Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games scholarships. Seven of them went to Beijing, and two won medals.

Meanwhile, the competition schedule for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has been unveiled after being approved by the IOC executive board.

Under the schedule, 32 sports will be contested across 19 days of action, with 329 events to take place across 762 sessions.