Triathlon: Commonwealth Games team named

Tayler Reid has been selected for his maiden Commonwealth Games. Photosport

Three triathletes will make their Commonwealth Games debuts for New Zealand on the Gold Coast next year.

Rebecca Spence, Nicole van der Kaay and Tayler Reid will be joined by veterans Andrea Hewitt and Ryan Sissons for April's event.

After seven years in retirement, Spence burst back onto the triathlon scene in 2015 and has produced strong international results.

This year she placed fourth in both the Karlovy and Tongyeong World Cup events and 11th at the world triathlon series event at Abu Dhabi. She was a junior cycling time trial world champion in 2006.

Van der Kaay debuted on the world triathlon series last year with 16th in Mooloolaba. In 2017 she placed fourth at Karlovy in September and sixth in the Tongyeong test event in October.

Reid has also displayed consistent results, claiming his first elite podium with a third at the Karlovy World Cup in September.

Seasoned Games campaigner Andrea Hewitt is the most experienced of the quintet.

The 35-year-old won bronze at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games and finished fourth in Glasgow four years ago. This year Hewitt won in Abu Dhabi and on the Gold Coast.

Ryan Sissons is the other athlete with experience, having competed at the London and Rio Olympics and Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Sissons won the Madrid ITU Triathlon World Cup this year, and placed third in the Hamburg world series event.

All the athletes will contest the individual events, and two men and women will contest the mixed team relay.

The individual women's and men's events will be "sprint" triathlons consisting of a 750m open water swim, 20km cycle and 5km run.

The races begin and finish at Southport Broadwater Parklands.