Selection stoush over NZ triathletes

Selection controversy: Gisborne triathlete Tayler Reid is at the centre of a row over the non-selection of Sam Ward in the Olympic nominations. File picture

An Olympic triathlon selection stoush is brewing after nominations for both the men’s and women’s team have been appealed.

Triathlon New Zealand last week notified the eligible athletes it intended to nominate for Olympic selection and caused a stir when it was discovered that Tayler Reid was picked ahead of Sam Ward.

Reid, from Gisborne, is ranked 51st in the world and has an Olympic individual qualification ranking of 56. Ward, who lives in Cambridge, has a world ranking of 24 and a qualification ranking of 16.

Athletes were given 48 hours to appeal the decision after they were notified on Friday and The New Zealand Herald understands Ward has appealed.

Ainsley Thorpe and Nicole van der Kaay have been selected on the women’s side and a source said this had been challenged by veteran athlete Sophie Corbidge.

It is the men’s selection that has caused plenty of chatter in the small but passionate triathlon sector.

Hayden Wilde is New Zealand’s top-ranked triathlete at No.14 in the world and would have been the first man selected.

It is the two below that have been the subject of debate. Do you pick your next best athlete, or pick someone specifically to work as a domestique — someone who sacrifices their own race to pace the better athlete through the swim and bike — for Wilde in the individual event?

If the latter is the answer, it opens up philosophical debates around the dispersal of high-performance funding and the nature of the sport itself.

The nominations cover the individual event at Tokyo — postponed from last year — as well as the mixed team relay.

The athletes will be required to race both events and Triathlon NZ feels its best chance to win a medal will come in the relay (a “dubious” belief according to one source), and it is understood they have picked a team with that in mind.

While Ward is recognised as a superior individual athlete to Reid, the latter has been given more opportunities in relay situations.

He was part of the team who won bronze in the Commonwealth Games along with Ryan Sissons, Andrea Hewitt and van der Kaay.

Former triathlon gold medallist Hamish Carter said he couldn’t talk about who Triathlon NZ had nominated, but said the process was “ongoing”.

Carter is general manager of performance at the organisation.

A long-time source said the decision left Triathlon NZ open to accusations of favouritism.

Reid is coached by Stephen Sheldrake, who is national performance manager at Triathlon New Zealand. On Triathlon NZ’s website it lists among his roles “selection and appeals support”, although he was not involved in picking this Olympic squad.

Efforts to reach Sheldrake for comment were unsuccessful.

The source highlighted the run as a point of difference between Reid and Ward.

“Sam’s an amazing runner and the run is where you win triathlons.”

The Olympic selection process is often fraught.

Each national sports organisation (NSO) and the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) draw up selection criteria. The NSO then nominates the athletes from the criteria. The nominations are then effectively rubber-stamped by nominal NZOC selectors Simon Wickham, Mike Kernaghan, Tony Hall and Lesley Rumball.

When there are limited places and more than that number have met the criteria, the selectors use their judgement, although it is rare for an athlete to be chosen ahead of another with such a wide rankings disparity.

The key clause of the NZOC’s selection criteria is 3.3.2, which states: “Any nominated athlete (or athletes in the case of a pair, crew or relay team) seeking to be selected . . . in an individual event must demonstrate (they) are capable of achieving a top-16 placing . . . with the potential to win an Olympic Diploma (top 8 placing).”

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