Kris Gemmell (Palmerston North) booked his spot at the London Olympic Games with a 7th place finish at the Sydney ITU World Champs Series race today earning an automatic nomination from Tri NZ to the NZOC.
Gemmell raced steadily throughout, swimming well before riding prominently near the lead of the chase group on the bike, at one point dicing with a small breakaway before settling back into the front of a big pack chasing Ivan Vasiliev (RUS) and James Elvery (NZL) who had grabbed a minute on the field.
Gemmell was delighted, especially given his history of bad luck when it comes to Olympic Games.
"I am just so happy at this result, so happy to have the qualification and know that I can concentrate now on preparing for London, you can't exactly say I have had good luck when it comes to the Olympic Games over the years!
"I will now likely race in San Diego but may not look at Madrid given the Aussies have had a bad day and that may impact on our need or not to chase points to secure the third spot in London."
Bevan Docherty also did his Olympic Games chances no harm, finishing in 12th place with another consistent performance. The two time Olympic medallist has made it clear he is aiming to peak in London so no doubt has plenty of improvement in him over the months ahead and was happy with his race today.
Ryan Sissons however could not impress the selectors due to a crash on the bike with early reports suggesting the 23 year old suffered a broken nose and facial cuts when he hit the road in a heavy crash early in the bike leg. Those reports are at the moment unconfirmed however, with Sissons receiving medical help at the time of going to print.
The race was won by Stefan Justus (GER) from Richard Murray (SAF) and Laurent Vidal (FRA) who made it a bronze double with his partner Andrea Hewitt also finishing third today.
Of the other Kiwis, Elvery's brave bid on the bike saw him pay the price on the run as he faded badly on the run, Clark Ellice finished 26th, while results for Tony Dodds, Martin van Barneveld and Bryce McMaster (still racing under ITU as he awaits his clearance to race for New Zealand after transferring from Australia) weren't available at the time of going to print.
The New Zealand selectors will now spend the next 24 hours poring over key results and criteria as they look to name athletes to join Andrea Hewitt and Gemmell in the team for London. That team will be named at an official NZOC function on Wednesday in Auckland
New Zealand has 2 male and 2 female spots guaranteed (subject to NZOC approval) but will pick up third spots for both men and women if they finish in the top 8 nations on the ITU Olympic rankings at the end of May. Those results will be published by the ITU on June 8th.
ITU World Champs Series: Sydney, Australia
Elite Men
1. Stefan Justus GER 1:51:04
2. Richard Murray SAF 1:51:13
3. Laurent Vidal FRA 1:51:15
4. David Hauss FRA 1:51:30
5. Alexander Brukhankov RUS 1:51:31
6. Ivan Vasiliev RUS 1:51:34
7. Kris Gemmell NZL 1:51:42
8. William Clarke GBR 1:51:43
9. Dmitry Polyansky RUS 1:51:49
10. Jarrod Shoemaker USA 1:51:51
Plus NZers
12 Bevan Docherty NZL 1:52:03
26 Clark Ellice NZL 1:52:43
