London 2012 Triathlon Athlete Profiles and Media Information

The Olympic Women's Triathlon starts at 7:55pm (NZ time) on Saturday August 4th with Hewitt competing along with Kate McIlroy (Wellington) and Nicky Samuels (Wanaka).

Three days later the men are in action, starting at 10:55pm (NZ time) on Tuesday August 7th featuring Bevan Docherty (Taupo), Kris Gemmell (Palmerston North) and Ryan Sissons (Auckland).

The athletes will be available for comment t the the NZOC press conferences in London (dates and times to be advised):

Andrea Hewitt
DOB:  4 April 1982
Home Town: Christchurch
Coach: Laurent Vidal
Current world ranking: 1st (post Hamburg WTS 2012)
Website: www.andreahewitt.com

Hewitt was a renowned surf lifesaver before embarking on a triathlon career in her early 20’s, and she was quick to show her abilities, winning the World U23 title at Gamagori. Hewitt is coached by her partner and fellow elite triathlete Laurent Vidal, splitting her time between Vidal’s home in France and hers in Christchurch.
London will be Hewitt’s second Olympic Games after finishing a creditable 8th in Beijing. A strong all rounder, Hewitt is a fierce contender when on the run and is rarely far away from the podium in the big races, winning the 2011 ITU World Triathlon Series Grand Final in Beijing to confirm her second place overall in 2011.

• 2006 Commonwealth Games; bronze medal

• 2008 Beijing Olympic Games; 8th place

• 2011 ITU World Championship Series; silver medal

Kate McIlroy
DOB: 26 August 1981
Home Town: Wellington
Coach: Greg Fraine
Current world ranking: 8th
Website: www.katemcilroy.com

McIlroy is a former elite level runner, winning the 2005 World Mountain Running Championship and competing and qualifying for the Olympic Games in the steeplechase on the track before injury curtailed her Olympic participation. McIlroy turned to triathlon as an alternative to the bigger running workload from the track and immediately showed her talents, winning a World Cup race in Hungary as a relative novice in the sport.

McIlroy is coached by Tri NZ National Coach Greg Fraine and finished 2011 on a high with a 6th place in the Beijing World Triathlon Championship Grand Final followed a week later with a podium finish in the postponed WTS round in Yokohama.

• 2006 Commonwealth Games; 5th 3000m steeplechase
• 2005 World Mountain Running Championships; 1st place
• 2009 Tisjvaouros World Cup Triathlon; 1st place
• 2011 Yokohama WTS; 3rd place

Nicky Samuels
DOB: 28 February 1983
Home Town: Wanaka (born in Whangarei)
Coach: Mark Elliott
Current world ranking: 13th
Website: www.nickysamuels.com

Samuels has had an incredible road to London, with two heart surgeries and an appendectomy in 2012 to go with her qualification for her first Olympic Games, there can be no doubting her tenacity. Samuels is a renowned swim biker, one of the best on the ITU circuit and is the current NZ national road cycling champion.

Samuels made a breakthrough in 2011 winning her first ITU World Cup in Mooloolaba before her heart condition slowed her progress through the remainder of the season. However, with the surgeries behind her, Samuels has upped her training and the results have followed, in particular in her running.

Bevan Docherty
DOB: 29 March 1977
Home Town: Santa Cruz, USA (Taupo NZL)
Coach: self coached
Current world ranking: 12th
Website: www.docherty.co.nz

Docherty is one of the greats of the sport, winning back to back Olympic medals with silver in Athens and bronze in Beijing, he races at his third games in London. There is little that the fiercely determined Docherty hasn’t won, with a World Championship (2004), multiple World Cup victories and a silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games amongst his haul.

Ryan Sissons
DOB: 24 June 1988
Home Town: Auckland
Coach: Chris Pilone, Andrew Nicholls
Current world ranking: 22nd
Website: www.ryansissons.com

Sissons is the ‘young man’ on the NZ team, emerging as a world class elite triathlete with a string of consistent performances over the past 18 months. Sissons has pure running ability and is gradually adding the strength and endurance to match it with the best in the world over the final 10km.

A string of consistent performances from Sissons saw him emerge as a genuine contender last year, ending the season ranked 15th in the world. Sissons was runner up at the U23 World Championships in 2010.

Kris Gemmell
DOB: 28 April 1977
Home Town: Palmerston North
Coach: Chris Pilone
Current world ranking: 21st
Website: www.gemmell.co.nz

Gemmell races at his second Olympic Games after narrowly missing Athens and being selected for Beijing, only to badly cut his foot just days before racing in China, an injury that ultimately ruined his chances when in the ‘form of his life’.

Gemmell gave up hopes of a rugby career after a string of injuries and came under the tutelage of John Hellemans in Christchurch. From that moment a triathlon career blossomed that has seen Gemmell win all over the world and rank consistently in the top ten on the world rankings.

Gemmell has had to overcome illness that affected his racing in 2011 to qualify for London but showed with victory at the Auckland World Cup race in November 2011 that he was nearing his best again, with an emotional victory in front of family, friends and a huge home crowd.