Olympics: Ulmer misses out in frustrating day for NZ

7.20am

ATHENS - New Zealand's Olympic medal tally remained statue-like for another day here despite the best efforts of track cycling stars Sarah Ulmer and Greg Henderson.

Ulmer, who provided one of New Zealand's two gold medals at Athens - along with rowing sisters Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell, could not repeat her individual pursuit success in her secondary event today.

She was sixth in the women's points race while Henderson and Hayden Roulston placed seventh in the men's Madison.

Ulmer's eight points left her four points off securing bronze and well off the 20 points of Russian winner Olga Slyusareva.

"I think it could well be my last points race," Ulmer admitted.

"It was positively awful. It's not a cop out but I don't train for them and if I can't train for them properly I probably shouldn't race them."

Henderson, who was a gallant fourth in the men's points race yesterday, would have been hoping for better in the two-man event today.

While the New Zealanders were among the seven pairings to finish in the leading lap they registered points in just one of the 10 sprints to finish with two points, well down on the 22 of Australian winners Graeme Brown and Stuart O'Grady.

On the athletics track Michael Aish and Jason Stewart failed to qualify. Aish was 17th in his 5000m heat in 13 minutes 50.00 seconds while 800m runner Stewart placed fifth in his heat in 1min 46.24sec.

New Zealand's best result today came once again at the Helliniko Olympic Complex where the New Zealand men's hockey team continued their winning run with a last minute 4-3 defeat of Korea.

A return to the prestigious Champions Trophy rather than medals has been their aim for several days and a winning goal from hat-trick hero Phillip Burrows in the penultimate minute kept them on track.

It was New Zealand's fourth straight win and handed them a likely ticket to the elite six-team Champions Trophy tournament in Pakistan in November. New Zealand were last ranked among the world's top six men's teams in 1982.

The women's team have already qualified for the Champions Trophy at these Games.

New Zealand's disappointing yachting regatta ended on defiant note at the Agios Kosmas centre today when Barbara Kendall declared she would return for a shot at the fourth Olympic medal at the Bejing 2008 Olympics.

By finishing fifth overall in the women's Mistral, after a fourth placing in her final race today, 36-year-old Kendall missed out on a Games medal for the first time in three attempts. It was also her first non-podium finish in any regatta for eight years.

"You have to back off after one of these things (Olympics) because they exhaust you but I'm not quitting, I'm not throwing the sail in," she said.

In horribly unpredictable conditions, Tom Ashley was 11th in the men's Mistral to hold onto his 10th placing overall.

There were solid, if not staggering, results from women's triathlete Samantha Warriner and two men's track runners today.

Warriner was 18th in the 50-woman field, four minutes behind Austrian winner Kate Allen.

Despite finishing well in sweltering conditions on a tough course, the 33-year-old teacher said she expected better and was too drained to attack on the 10km run leg.

Warriner was always considered an outside prospect, unlike the men's trio of Bevan Docherty, Hamish Carter and Nathan Richmond who all have designs on the podium after their race tomorrow (1900 NZT).

World champion Docherty and Richmond are ranked in the world's top four while accomplished veteran Carter is determined to make up for a forgettable performance in Sydney four years ago.

The tougher the course, the better, according to standout hope Docherty.

"If we wanted to design a course that suited us, we couldn't do it any better," he said.

"It is a really fair course and definitely a true triathlete will win at the end of the day. I've worked hard on all three disciplines and I feel I'm starting to peak in all three."

Meanwhile, New Zealand's showjumpers scored a coup late last night by securing two places in a final for the first time.

Daniel Meech had already qualified for the top 45 but compatriot Grant Cashmore received a late reprieve when Games rules saw several riders above him eliminated because some countries had more than the maximum three riders allowed in the final.

- NZPA