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Triathlon New Zealand has commenced the final part of its preparations for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, with media recently invited into the High Performance base in Cambridge to meet with coaches and athletes and to hear of the objectives and goals for the months ahead.

High Performance Director Graeme Maw said there is a real buzz around Cambridge with the Olympics approaching, stating “we are excited about the year ahead, Rio has of course been top of mind for us for some time, as are other pinnacle events such as Tokyo 2020 and the 2024 Olympics playing a big part in our planning and athlete development.

“Rio though is about the very best we have and their ability to perform to their best, to execute race plans and put in place all the planning and hard work that has been years in the making.”

In conjunction with the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC), the Tri NZ Elite Selection Commission has set a purposely high bar so as to challenge the athletes to not only qualify for the Olympics, but to do so knowing they are in a position to really perform on race day. The criteria the Selectors will consider in order to earn a nomination to the NZOC for Rio selection include World Triathlon Series (WTS) podia or top 8s, or the ability to assist the medal potential of another athlete.

With Andrea Hewitt having already earned her nomination, Tony Dodds, Ryan Sissons and Nicky Samuels have all ticked one eligible WTS finish and will be looking for a second similar performance early in the year to further their nomination to the NZOC.

Dodds spoke at the open day of the task facing him, adding “I am excited and a little nervous. Excited that the Olympics have come around pretty quick, and knowing I have areas of my racing that I can work on and improve on.

“I have never been worried about the selection bar being set so high, I know I would have achieved a second top 8 WTS last season without the injury. We have known what we need to do, it has always been very clear and I have the confidence to go and achieve it.”

Maw concluded “there is very little grey area in the selection process.

“If an athlete posts the results to satisfy the criteria, they will be in the mix for nomination to the NZOC. If they don’t, they won’t get nominated.

“There is some discretion for the Selectors in relation to team tactics and the longer term view to Tokyo, but regardless the bar has been set deliberately high and clear.”

Based on current ITU Olympic points tracking, New Zealand is likely to earn three spots for the women and two spots for the men on the start line in Rio (the top eight nations in women’s and men’s racing earn 3 spots at the Olympics).

Just who fills those spots is down to the athletes and their ability to perform in the first months of 2016, with the team to be finalised in May next year.

Triathlon New Zealand’s National High Performance Centre, the focal point for the sport's High Performance Programme, is based at the Avantidrome (pictured).

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