Setting old rivalries aside, Australia’s Ellie Salthouse and Michael Gosman today teamed up with their New Zealand opponents to win silver in the team triathlon relay.

In an Olympic first, competitors from round the world were teamed up with each other in a fast-paced and exciting triathlon event.

Salthouse, who won silver in the individual women’s triathlon and Gosman who finished a respectable 12th in the men’s, teamed up with New Zealand’s Maddie Dillon and gold medallist Aaron Barclay.

The team, ‘Oceania 1’ were ranked third coming into the event, with teams formed according to ranking in the individual events.

Salthouse led the Oceanic assault, taking off into the East Coast Park waters for the first leg, a 250m swim. In form similar to her individual event, she exited the water in eighth place (out of 16), 18 seconds behind the leader.

The seven kilometre cycle and 1.7km run that followed, saw Salthouse gain valuable time and placings, tagging teammate Gosman in fourth place.

“The lactic set in pretty early from Sunday’s race still,” Salthouse said. “But I just had to push through it. I knew that it was only short and that it wouldn’t last long.”

It was a swimmer’s game in the second section, with fewer competitors in the water, meaning there was no opportunity to draft.

Eighteen-year-old Gosman from Canberra, who struggled in the water-leg of the individual event due to a goggles malfunction, produced a strong swim to transition into the bike in fifth place, 21 seconds behind Asia 1.

Gosman proved his mettle as an up-and-coming triathlon star, holding strong in both the bike and run legs, keeping Oceania not only in the front pack, but with a shot at the medals.

“I knew I had to stay strong and get a good position so Aaron would be able to come home at the end and go for the win,” Gosman explained of his race, finishing all three legs in 19 minutes and seven seconds.

The youngest member of the team, New Zealander Maddie Dillon, was up next tearing through the course in just over 21 minutes and leaving Oceania in a comfortable second place.

By this stage, it was a three-horse race. Americas 1, led by American medallists Kelly Whitley and Kevin McDowell were in first, Oceania in second and Europe 1 in third.

Argentinean Lautaro Diaz hit the water with a 19 second lead for the Americas 1 in the final stage of racing, followed by New Zealand’s Barclay and bronze medallist Alois Knabl of Austria.

Despite catching Diaz by over 10 seconds in the swim, Barclay and Knabl both dropped back in the bike with Americas 1 transitioning into the run with a 24 second, seemingly uncatchable lead.

As the leaders approached the finish line, the announcer called Austria to be in the lead, coming as a shock to both the nervous spectators and even the athletes.

A helmet infraction in the final transition dealt Diaz a costly penalty, putting Oceania 1 and Europe 1 in the lead.

“We were slogging our guts out there,” Barclay said.

“I thought we were fighting for silver and bronze until someone out the back of the course yelled that this is the gold position here.

“As soon as I heard that I had a real crack.”

Barclay and Knabl powered home, with the Austrian edging out the New Zealander in the dying seconds, winning gold in a total time of 1:19.51.

The Aussie and Kiwi contingent finished second, four seconds behind Europe 1 in 1:19.54 and the Americas 1 were forced to settle for bronze in 1:19.58.

The new format was a huge success with all athletes enjoying the multicultural experience and spectators being held on the edge of their seats and cheering for athletes from round the globe.

“I liked it,” Gosman said of teaming up with the Kiwis.

“We’re normally battling it out with each other, so to team up is really cool,” Barclay added.

Alice Wheeler
AOC