Triathlon: Richmond gets last Games spot

By IAN HEPENSTALL

Noted coach Chris Pilone has just doubled his workload for the Athens Olympics after Nathan Richmond upset more fancied fellow New Zealanders on Saturday to join training partner Hamish Carter in the triathlon team for the Games.

Richmond, who could not make the six-man team for the world championships in Queenstown in December, finished fourth at the Oceania championships in Devonport, Tasmania.

As the leading New Zealander, he claimed the one remaining men's spot for Athens.

Richmond was later joined by Whangarei's Samantha Warriner, who grabbed the one women's place up for grabs, finishing seventh.

Pilone, the endurance coach for Bays Cougars track club based at the Millennium Institute, said Richmond's performance was the highlight of his coaching career.


"It was a thrill because, despite the big gains Nathan has made in the last couple of months, this result was unexpected."

Richmond was one of nine New Zealanders in the Oceania men's field chasing the one remaining spot to join Carter and Bevan Docherty in the team for Athens.

"There were others with better international credentials like Kris Gemmell," said Pilone. "Nathan's big problem has been running off the bike, but his 32m 05s 10km run split was a major breakthrough for him."

Richmond, 24, is a former world junior champion but like many athletes had not been able to break through on the international scene.

"I told him he was soft, and he agreed," Pilone said. "And after missing out racing at Queenstown, his swim coach Mark Bone and I also were very candid with him about his focus and commitment.

"I looked closely at the Queenstown race and have revised my approach to triathlon coaching for this level. We have made some big strides.

"Having said that, his performance was both unexpected and a thrill."

Richmond broke clear with Australian Ritchie Cunningham midway through the 40km cycle, and the pair built up a 1m 25s advantage.

Australians Brad Kahlefeldt, and Miles Stewart caught Richmond 1.5km from the finish. The Aucklander held on strongly for fourth behind them and Cunningham.

Gemmell, who came to within 30s of Richmond at one point, faded to finish sixth.

Warriner, ranked 38th in the world, made up for her world championship disappointment to finish seventh after a fierce duel with Taupo's Shanelle Barrett.

"It's a childhood dream come true for me," Warriner said. "It was such a hard race. All three Kiwis were in the bike pack and Shanelle pushed me all the way on the run.

"After my bad race at Queenstown, I was determined that no Kiwi was going to pass me today."

Barrett, the former national champion, fought to within 5m of Warriner with 600m remaining, but the Whangarei triathlete held off the challenge. Barrett finished an agonising 15m behind in eighth.