Multisport: Bevan on the road to Melbourne

The 2004 world triathlon champion, Bevan Docherty, turned around a testing year to qualify for next year's Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. Docherty and training partner Kris Gemmell claimed the two New Zealand men's spots yesterday, while Christchurch's Andrea Hewitt, contesting just her fifth triathlon, qualified with Auckland's Debbie Tanner for the women's team.

Olympic champion Hamish Carter and Samantha Warriner had already qualified for Melbourne by being the top-placed New Zealanders at last month's world championships in Japan.

After failing to finish the world championships, Docherty bounced back to finish third in yesterday's trial on the St Kilda course for the Commonwealth Games next March.

"It is a mixture of relief and excitement for me. I am so thrilled to be back in really good form again," the Olympic silver medallist said.

"It has been a whole year to get back to form and now I am determined to hold this through to the World Cup in New Plymouth and on to the Commonwealth Games."

It has also been a trying time for Gemmell, who broke a toe earlier in the year, and then suffered from giardia, which has slowed his progress.

"To tell the truth, I knew I was not right and I had written myself off today. This is a very strong field and there were also some damn strong Kiwis here," Gemmell said yesterday. "It has been such a struggle the past 10 weeks but I told Bevan near the end of the bike that we should go as hard as we could off the bike and see if we could bust it open. It worked. I just hung on as best I could at the end. It is such a thrill."

All the New Zealand contenders, including Docherty, Gemmell, Terenzo Bozzone, Nathan Richmond and Shane Reed, were in the 20-strong pack at the front on the bike. Docherty, of Taupo, and Gemmell, of Christchurch, pushed hard at the start of the run, breaking clear with England's Tim Don, a two-time World Cup winner this year.

Australia's Greg Bennett, fourth at Athens, flew home for second.

Hewitt and Tanner, both 23, also finished third and fourth respectively in the women's race. The two edged out Kapiti Coast veteran Evelyn Williamson and North Harbour's Nicky Samuels, who finished fifth and sixth respectively.

It represents a remarkable introduction to the sport for Hewitt, a former national surf lifesaving representative, who won the under-23 title at the world championships last month.

Germany-based Tanner, who opted to compete in the elite division at the world championships at which she was 19th, said: "I didn't want to get caught battling the other Kiwis. But the way the race went, the four Kiwis were all watching each other. I just went as hard as I could. I've worked my butt off for this."

The four New Zealanders, Hewitt, Tanner, Williamson and Samuels, were out of the 1500m swim together and formed an eight-strong pack on the bike, chasing world No 1 Annabel Luxford, American Laura Reeback and England's Julie Dibens.

Luxford won comfortably from Dibens, each qualifying for the Commonwealth Games, with Hewitt and Tanner managing to break clear from the chasers.

- NZPA