Triathletes go head to head in Beijing

New Zealand’s elite Olympic distance triathletes face arguably their biggest test of the year when lining up in Beijing this weekend with World Cup race pressure magnified by the lure of Olympic qualification.

The 12th round of the BG World Cup is also the first official Tri NZ selection race for the 2008 games and offers athletes the chance to pencil their names in for the real thing in just under a year’s time.

The red ink can only be delivered by the New Zealand Olympic Committee but the athletes know a strong performance will effectively see them reaching for the Chinese phrase book.

Tri NZ High Performance Director Stephen Farrell is in Asia with the athletes and can already feel the extra tension.

“The Beijing World Cup is without question the big race of the year for most of our athletes with a possible place in Beijing next year the ultimate carrot,” said Farrell.

“Terenzo Bozzone has clearly stated his case for consideration as one of New Zealand’s top three athletes with his 7th place at the Hamburg World champs, putting pressure on others such as Shane Reed and Clark Ellice to find form quickly or risk missing out but equally sending a message to Bevan (Docherty) and Kris (Gemmell) that they cannot rest on their reputations either.

“The women’s race is equally intriguing. Samantha Warriner, Debbie Tanner, Andrea Hewitt, and Nicky Samuels would probably be guaranteed inclusion in any other national Olympic team except New Zealand’s. But there are no selection guarantees in our team with those athletes ranked 2nd, 5th, 12th and 29th respectively.

In the case of current world number two Sam Warriner, winning is her only goal. The Whangarei athlete knows the easiest way to earn a spot at Beijing is to pick up a third BG World Cup victory in an already impressive season.

“I’m not even thinking about the other New Zealanders, even though they see me as their competition; I’ve got my sights set higher. I really want to come home with one more win under my belt. My partner said to me the other day that if you chase two rabbits both will get away, it took me a day or two to realize what he meant. I’m going to Beijing with one thing in mind and that’s winning another World Cup”.

Warriner has no special plans for the technical and demanding Beijing course, the same one that will be used when the medals are on the line in a year’s time.

“Nothing out of the ordinary, I’ve won 2 World Cups this year, finished 2nd and 4th too and any one of those positions would guarantee me a spot at the Olympics. I’m ranked second in the world at the moment so I’m just going to do what I always do - give it 100% and go out hard right from the swim start. Then it’s a case of looking after my legs on the bike and running as fast as I can on the run. I’ve done everything I can so now it’s just a case of believing in me and the training that I have done over the year”.

Number one Kiwi male Bevan Docherty is in a relaxed frame of mind and in fact has been battling not to ‘over train’ while at camp in Japan.

“I’m feeling pretty good heading into the weekend. The flight from Europe is a long one but I am used to the travel now and it is good to get some training in at sea level for a change. The biggest issue is sitting around doing nothing during a taper like this. You spend most of your day doing very little when the brain says get out and do some work but you need to resist knowing the hard work has already been done.”

After a flat criterium type course at the World Championships in Germany, the powerful Kiwi is looking forward to Beijing.

“The course here will suit me, much more so than Hamburg. The hilly bike and in particular hilly run will play to my strengths; I’m looking forward to it.”

Second ranked New Zealand male Kris Gemmell was one of the first to arrive in Asia, spending time in Japan to get over jet lag and the change in weather conditions.

“Everything I've done this year will be put to the test when I line up on Sunday afternoon. If I race the way I know I can I know things will happen,” said Gemmell.

“It’s been bloody warm here in Japan but perfect for what we will encounter in Beijing. I've slowly gotten over the jet lag which was one of the main reasons for traveling over early from Europe. And I have really started to feel great heading into the weekend.”

Gemmell is taking inspiration from an unusual yet ‘close to home’ source.

“It was amazing to see one of my best mates Daniel Unger (GER) taking the win in Hamburg. He wasn't alone at the front though as my flat mate Jan Frodeno (GER) also pushed himself into 6th and booked his ticket to Beijing. And then there was Miss Dittmer (GER), she nearly gave me heart failure with her amazing effort on the run to haul in all that was before her and also grab her Beijing ticket! So two parts of our little home in Saarbrucken (Germany) are Beijing bound. Now its time for this guy to go out there and give it everything I have.”

The next 48 hours will see the athletes arrive in China, most from Japan where they have been training and acclimatizing in Nagano.

Tough Qualification Criteria

Given the current quality and depth of New Zealand athletes, it is no surprise the selection criteria are set at a demanding level. The Tri NZ selection policy states that the first Kiwi athlete over the line in Beijing will be automatically nominated to the NZOC provided they finish in the top 16 overall.

The same applies to the second placed NZ athlete provided they finish in the top 10 overall. A third placed NZ athlete could also qualify if they finish in the top 5 overall.

Stephen Farrell does not expect all places to be filled in Beijing, but would not be surprised if a sizeable number booked their spots on the weekend.

“We hope to have at least two athletes of the total six possible qualified from the Beijing World Cup but would be delighted if three or more athletes qualified. The second selection is the Mooloolaba World Cup in March 2008 when athletes have another shot at qualifying.”

Regardless of the Tri NZ policy, New Zealand must still qualify as one of the top eight nations through the ITU Olympic qualification criteria to guarantee three athletes on the start line in Beijing. At this stage New Zealand is comfortably ranked inside the top eight nations for both men and women.

However, qualification races don’t finish until the 2008 World Tri Champs on 7/8 June so Tri NZ must keep a close eye on rankings to make sure both men and women stay in the top 8 nations overall and guarantee three places on the pontoon in Beijing next year.


BG World Cup, Round 12, Beijing, China


Elite Female

2pm, Saturday 15th September NZT

Name City ITU rank

Sam Warriner Whangarei 2

Debbie Tanner Auckland 5

Andrea Hewitt Christchurch 12

Nicky Samuels Whangarei 29



Elite Male

2pm, Sunday 16th September NZT

Name City ITU rank

Bevan Docherty Auckland 3

Kris Gemmell Palmerston Nth 5

Shane Reed New Plymouth 18

Terenzo Bozzone North Shore 36

Clark Ellice New Plymouth 66

Ben Pulham North Shore 100