Olympic gold medal contender Hayden Wilde will be joined by Dylan McCullough at the Paris Olympics this summer, after the New Zealand squad was announced.
Missing out is Tokyo Olympian Tayler Reid, with McCullough favoured over the formerWorld U23 Champion in a move that could prove decisive for Wilde’s hopes of becoming the Olympic Champion.
The bronze medalist in Tokyo, it has been speculated that McCullough or Reid could be used as a domestique for Wilde in the French capital, with Kiwi Kyle Smith just one of the athletes calling for the federation to deploy this tactic.
Heartbreak for Reid
After featuring prominently in the New Zealand mixed relay team during the qualification window, Reid was gunning for a spot at his second Olympic Games and was unlucky to miss out on the team.
Taking to Instagram after the team announcement was made, the World #24 shared his thoughts on the decision and wished his teammates luck next month.
“It’s with massive disappointment that I must say I was not selected for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. I threw the f****** kitchen sink at it and honestly I thought I had done enough.
“I raced 6/7 Mixed Team relays, twice putting up the fastest time for my leg and other two within a second of the fastest leg. I’ve raced an entire race in my wetsuit, I’ve run the bike course barefoot with a flat tyre.
“To watch this team race without me in Paris is a tough pill to swallow. Angry with myself that I wasn’t able to hit the automatic qualifying standard. I left it to the judges score card and they couldn’t read.
“That being said above all else I still want what is best for the team and hope everyone achieves great results in Paris. I’ll be on the sideline’s cheering for the NZ Team.”
Can McCullough do the business?
A DNF in his last race at WTCS Yokohama, McCullough won the Oceania Championship earlier this season, and has featured in both of the Kiwi mixed team relay squads so far in 2024.
One of the best swimmers on the WTCS circuit, the former Youth Olympic Games gold medalist rarely misses the front pack, and has the perfect attributes to assist Wilde in his bid for the gold medal.
If Team New Zealand decide to allow him to race freely and not deploy him as a domestique, McCullough is unlikely to challenge for the medals.
However, at just 23 years of age, Triathlon NZ will likely consider Paris to be a great way for the rising star to gain experience for future forays on the biggest stage.
Mixed team relay medal on the cards
Joining Wilde and McCullough on the plane to Paris are Ainsley Thorpe and Nicole Van Der Kaay, who both featured in the the Kiwi squad that won silver at the mixed team relay world championship in Hamburg last year.
Whilst Wilde is the nation’s best chance to win an individual medal, the quartet lining up for the mixed team relay on August 5 will fancy their chances to vastly improve on their 12th place performance in Tokyo.
Returning medalists Britain, France and the USA will be hard to beat, but New Zealand, along with strong Dutch and Australian teams, will ensure that the mixed team relay race is one that you won’t want to miss.
