How has the Olympics changed triathlon?
The whole triathlon fraternity found it overwhelming. It’s also taken away a bit of the prize money. Now that we’re on an Olympic team, you’re expected to do certain things – you don’t have a choice. You have to do certain races and the race organisers know that. Have relationships deteriorated? Around selection time when the selection criteria comes out, there’s always a bit of bickering about what the selection policy should be, especially in countries like Australia where there are only three spots and ten capable athletes. What about the quality of the field? In an Olympic year, the Games are the only focus, whereas in the past, the world champs were. So, in an Olympic year, the world champs always fall short. You don’t get the best athletes competing. You used to get fields of 80 – now you’re only getting 50 because people are aiming to peak for the Olympics. And with other countries, like Sweden, it’s easy to make the Olympic team. That means the quality of the field is a lot les
