“I’ve been to five world champs and not medalled. My best placing is 11th, the same as the individual race at the Commonwealth Games.
“I’ve also set my sights on the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.”
Reid showed his potential as a future Olympian when he came out of the water in the individual race alongside England’s Alistair Brownlie, who is regarded one of the best triathletes in the history of the sport.
“The individual and team races have reinforced my belief that I can compete against the best triathletes,” said Reid, who is enjoying time at home after arriving back from the Gold Coast on Friday.
Reid's performance was 'bloody good'Reid’s coach for the past six years, former professional triathlete Stephen Sheldrake, rated Reid’s performances in both races as “bloody good”.
“In the individual race, he was used in a domestique role. His job was to try to help Ryan (Sissons, New Zealand’s top-ranked male triathlete) get on the podium.
“Ryan was seen as our best medal hope in the race and Tayler’s role was to try to slow the pace of the swim and bike legs down.
“He copped a bit of flak in the bike for not taking his turn at the front but he was working as a team member.
“It says a lot for him that he took the abuse but stuck to his role and refused to name the riders involved. As he said, he has developed a thick skin and is not a snitch.”
Reid wasn’t interested in revisiting the “abuse” scenario.
“My Commonwealth Games was about doing what was best for the team and winning a bronze medal in the mixed relay.
“The mixed team felt that if we all raced to our potential we were in with a chance of a medal.
“Nicole got us off to a great start, as we knew she would. She has had a great summer and if others might have been surprised (by her), we weren’t.”
Sissons kept New Zealand in the hunt for bronze, then Hewitt gave Reid a six-second lead on the fourth-placed country for the final leg.
“In an individual race that’s nothing but it was a good lead for me,” said Reid.
'I knew if I focused on what I had to do I could bring the team home'“I knew if I focused on what I had to do I could bring the team home, but the gap went back and forth as Canadian Matthew Sharp — a big strong runner — tried to claw it back.”
Reid said he was prepared to “hurt” to not let the team down.
“It wasn’t until I hit the final straight and looked back and realised we were going to get bronze that it sank in. I just threw my arms in the air as Ryan, Andrew and Nicole hugged me, which was just as well, as my legs weren’t holding me up.”
Reid missed the closing ceremony.
“I had a wedding to attend back home and even though it would have been good to have been there, there was no way I was going to miss it.
“I spent almost three months away from home (in Cambridge) preparing for the Games and I missed all the family, the home cooking and the beaches.”
Reid had the support of a large contingent of family and friends decked out in “Team Reid” T shirts and blond wigs.
Team Reid were definitely the largest and loudest support crew at the Games“They were definitely the largest and loudest support crew at the Games. They were awesome. I could hear them cheering me on and it was great to have them there.”
As well as competing at his first Commonwealth Games and winning a medal, Reid said being in the New Zealand village and mixing with other competitors like Dame Valerie Adams, Tom Walsh and Sophie Pascoe, who he had only ever seen on TV, was “awesome”.
”I keep using that word but everything about the experience was awesome. Standing on the podium was emotional.
“I think I wore my medal for four days. It was great to see people’s eyes light up when they touched it. But now it’s time to put it in a little box and focus on winning some more.”
Sheldrake, who took over from John Scott as Reid’s coach, said this was the start of his international career.
“He’s proved he can match it with the best in the swim and bike, and he has recorded times on the run faster than what he did in the individual race.
Tokyo 2020 is the next major goal“Tokyo 2020 is the next major goal. Realistically it will probably be more a learning experience, but you never know . . . on the day, anything can happen. By 2024, Tayler should be at his peak as a triathlete.”
Reid said he could not stress enough how much he owed Sheldrake.
“He has put so much time and effort into working with me, and having him at the Games made a huge difference. Stephen put on the fins and got into the pool for me to chase him, and got on the bike to make me work hard.
“He’s not someone who is easily pleased when it comes to training and I’m not always the easiest to coach. But I’m getting better and I could tell by Stephen’s reaction that he was stoked.”
Sheldrake laughed when told about the “not always the easiest to coach” comment.
“I’m very proud of Tayler’s performances. He’s a work in progress and has come though some hard times, including breaking his elbow. But he has a great work ethic. I’m very proud of what he’s achieved.”
