{"id":17226,"date":"2022-09-01T09:00:43","date_gmt":"2022-09-01T07:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.220triathlon.com\/?p=111641"},"modified":"2022-09-01T09:29:14","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T07:29:14","slug":"why-triathlon-paid-the-penalty-at-the-2022-commonwealth-games","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/rss_feed\/why-triathlon-paid-the-penalty-at-the-2022-commonwealth-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Why triathlon paid the penalty at the 2022 Commonwealth Games"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Tim Heming\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 01 September 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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It was always going to be difficult to split Britain\u2019s Alex Yee<\/a> and New Zealand\u2019s Hayden Wilde<\/a>. There was just one podium place between them \u2013 Yee\u2019s silver, to Wilde\u2019s bronze \u2013 in last year\u2019s Tokyo Olympics<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s currently two wins apiece in a 2022 World Triathlon Championship Series they\u2019re dominating. Even their 5km personal bests \u2013 Yee edging it with a speedy 13:26 \u2013 are just 3secs apart.<\/p>\n

So, when they entered the final run lap in this year\u2019s Commonwealth Games<\/strong><\/a>, with the boy from Brockley in southeast London breathing down his Kiwi rival\u2019s neck, we were destined for a sprint finish for the ages.<\/p>\n

Stood a few hundred yards and one sweeping turn from the finish, that\u2019s the way it looked to me too. Wilde screamed past; Yee followed with that bounding stride that makes me think he\u2019d excel as a triple jumper.<\/p>\n

They reached the final bend and Wilde, with a low five and fist bump, stopped. A 10-second penalty issued for unfastening his helmet before his bike was properly racked in T2 was the cause.<\/p>\n

An appeal was dismissed in the aftermath. At time of print it\u2019s still unclear whether New Zealand might lodge a further complaint with a plea to upgrade to joint gold.<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The moment Hayden Wilde incurs his penalty but was it justified? (Credit: Ben Lumley\/World Triathlon)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Numerous slow-motion replays are inconclusive. Wilde has his hand on his helmet strap and bike at the same time, but was the bike already secure? The helmet undone? The wording of the rule 7.1a is a little ambiguous.<\/p>\n

Honestly, it\u2019s a bit of a mess \u2013 the only grey area in an otherwise sunny weekend of action. This is a sensitive area.<\/p>\n

Technical officials are essential \u2013 willing servants whose intentions are to help provide the fairest and safest race possible. But the laws are in place for fairness and safety, not to trip up triathletes for tiny misdemeanours.<\/p>\n

The power bestowed should be used judiciously in the spirit of the sport. Rules may be rules, and a line has to be drawn somewhere, but Wilde fell foul of a law designed to stop triathletes riding dangerously without a securely fastened helmet. What he did was neither unsafe, nor gained him an advantage.<\/p>\n

It also detracted from an otherwise exceptional triathlon competition: from the brilliance of Dame Flora Duffy<\/strong><\/a> to Non Stanford<\/strong><\/a> capping an outstanding career with silver for Wales in the mixed relay; paratriathlete Dave Ellis<\/strong><\/a> finding redemption for a snapped chain in Tokyo<\/strong><\/a>; the emergence of 18-year-old Katie Crowhurst and Irish twins, Chloe and Judith MacCombe, the latter guided by 60-year-old Anne Paul; and the willingness of triathletes from smaller Commonwealth nations to rise to the challenge.<\/p>\n