Wilde opts out of 10,000m due to pressure of schedule
OLYMPIAN Hayden Wilde has been forced to pull out of the Dick Tayler commemorative national 10,000m championships tonight.
It was not a decision the triathlete made lightly, but after a busy workload in the past month and the Paris Olympic Games getting closer, it was a necessary one for his recovery ahead of a big year.
‘‘I hate pulling out of things,’’ he said.
‘‘It was a tough decision. ‘‘At the end of the day we’ve got to think of the big picture and aim for July [the Olympics].’’
Wilde, who won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics and silver at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, had been looking forward to his first event in Dunedin since the national crosscountry championships in 2020 and his first time racing at the Caledonian Ground.
He had also been excited about racing alongside training partner Julian Oakley, who is now the top seed for the men’s race.
‘‘We were really looking to kind of like pull the race along which would have been really nice.
‘‘But . . . we were hoping that the body would’ve recovered a little bit better.
‘‘I guess we’d rather just save our ammunition later on in the year and not risk too much.’’
Wilde, who will still compete at the national 3000m, one mile and world triathlon championships in New Zealand, praised the 10,000m organisers for creating a great event, commemorating Tayler’s 1974 Commonwealth Games gold medal run, and tipped the race to be one to watch.
‘‘It’s super nice that they’ve actually taken it down to the South . . . and making it such a nice event.
‘‘It’s actually amazing and it’s great to still see that really nice field there. It’s going to still be a really nice race to watch.’’
Defending champion Oli Chignell (Hill CityUniversity) is out with injury, but local runners Nic Bathgate (Leith), Jonah Smith and Nathan Shanks (both Caversham) are entered in the men’s 10,000m.
Katherine Camp is the top seed in the women’s 10,000m , followed by Anneke Arlidge.
Dunedin runners Catherine Lund and Zara Geddes will lead the 5000m open and there is also a 10,000m community run and relay events.
It is a big night to celebrate Tayler’s achievement, who will be commentating the livestream alongside broadcaster Paul Allison.
The programme will start at 7pm at the Caledonian and the men’s 10,000m is scheduled for 9.15pm.
❛ At the end of the day we’ve got to think of the big picture and aim for July