And then there were? Bill Davoren gives us the score
Tuesday, 27 May 2008 11:34
Bill Davoren is a man with plenty on his mind. Last weekend was a disastrous one for the Australian Olympic Triathlon Team. Good results for both Russian and U.S teams mean that the strength of the Australian team could be compromised. We caught up with Triathlon Australia's High Performance Director waiting for his flight out of Madrid, one he was probably happy to take. We get the inside word on what happened in Madrid, how the team now shapes up, Brad Kahlefeldt's injury and the up and coming world titles in Vancouver.
There have been all sorts of rumours about what happened in Madrid. What's the real story?
Firstly let me tell you that Sexton crashed. I'm not sure if people realise that, but he crashed on the first lap. Conditions in Europe have been horrendous for the last month. If I'd said to you that Madrid was going to be a wetsuit swim and freezing cold and 30 guys are going to DNF (did not finish) with borderline hypothermia, you would've laughed. So we've had some freak conditions.
Brendan's (Sexton) crash on the first lap came after rain had brought all this gravel onto the course and basically his wheel slipped out from in front of him. He landed pretty heavily and there was just no way he could continue. And they are the facts. Did we foresee that? No, you can't plan for that. That's the reality of the game.
As that scenario unfolded and you realised that the U.S and Russia had overtaken Australia on the points table, possibly limiting our men's field to 2, did you contact Greg Bennett?
I haven't spoken to Greg at this stage. I received an email this morning and I'll talk to him when I get to Vancouver in the next 24 hours. The bottom line is the game is still alive. It's alive until the end of the world Championships in Vancouver in two weeks time.
The fact that we're 9th (only the top 8 can field 3 athletes at the games) means we still have one last shot to rectify that. Even if Brendan had scored points, and we anticipated that he would've scored some, the game would still be alive in Vancouver, that's how tight it is. We've known for 18 months that it was going to be touch and go all the way.
Have you changed your race tactics for the World's since the Madrid result?
It's definitely something we're considering yes. We've got two options: one is to get an Australian on the podium and hope either the U.S or Russia don't get on the podium. If that happens we're safe; the other option is to make sure that Brendan Sexton is as highly placed as he possibly can be and hopefully he's clear of the two Russians by between two and four places.
Greg (Bennett) might have to get out there himself and do the business if he is to maintain the spot?
That's the irony of the whole thing in the end. Greg rolled the dice to choose not to do World Cups for the last 18 months and then he picked his two races that he put his performances up in to be considered for the Olympic Team. Now ultimately it's a gamble that he's taken and in some ways I suppose, his fate rests in his own hands.
Are you in favor of a process that is still to be worked out less than 75 days out from the Games?
We've known for a long time what the ITU qualification system is. You need a PhD in mathematics to understand it and I think one of the failings (of the qualification system) is that a lot of the people don't understand the it. But we do. We met 18 months ago as a high performance program and flagged that this was going to be a very tight run for a number of countries. The fact of the matter is that right now there are probably four countries that are still in the hunt for those last spots. And that's reflective of where the sport has gone.
In four years time, it won't be nine countries chasing a top eight ranking, it will be more like 12 - 13. So whether I'm in favour or not (of the process) is irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that we have known for a long time what the process is and we've had strategies in place to deal with that. We're not surprised that we're still in the mix with two weeks to go.
Everyone wants to know why we're in this situation, and it's pretty straight forward really. We've had two guys stand up in the last two and half years in Kahlefedlt and Atkinson. They're the only two guys who have been on the podium in key races. Then we've had a bunch of young guys who have taken the step, like Sexton and couple of those other guys who are all 2012 (Olympics) material, and then we've got a bunch of older guys that have simply either been injured, have failed to perform or have chosen other options. And that's why we find ourselves in this situation.
Worse case scenario we only get two into the Olympics - does that change your approach?
No. In the end, if we've got two, we've got two. There'll be a lot of people who will come out of the woodwork and ask a lot of questions as to why we've got two. Ultimately, it will be my responsibility and I understand that. But we move on. We've still got medal contenders in both the men's and women's. Having three (male athletes in Beijing) is what we want and that's our focus in the next to weeks. After that, we'll deal with whatever comes. If it is two in the men's, so be it, we'll move on.
Are you disappointed that Robbo (3 time World Champion Peter Robertson) decided not to race the World Championships?
No, not really. Peter has been dancing to his own tune pretty much for the last 18 months. He's made some decisions about how he wanted to make the team and ran his program from there. It's his call ultimately. Contrary to alot of opinions, I only wield the baseball bat when I have to and with a guy like Robbo, you're talking someone who was pretty clear with what his choice was. However, it does give a couple of young guys a chance for the future, which is exciting.
Are Javier Gomez and Vanessa Fernandes the ones to beat at the Worlds in Vancouver and the Olympics in Beijing?
They're the clear favorites for Vancouver. Gomez would have to be the favorite in Beijing at this point in time, and with Fernandes, there's no way that people won't mention Snowsill's name (Emma Snowsill of Australia) in conjunction with Fernandes. It's up to us to try to get ourselves in the mix and I'm confident I can do that.
Do you have a prediction for the World titles in Vancouver?
Fernandes will win the women's. The field for the men's is still unknown. There are still athletes dropping out as we speak, so the men's field won't be truly representative of a World Championships. We'll know the start list 48 hours out from the start so we'll approach it from there. The other big factor is the weather, which changes the dynamic of the race. We start with a broad race plan and then hone in with the knowledge we get.
How is Brad Kahlefeldt coming along with his injury (which forced his withdrawal from the World Championships)?
Brad's in France continuing to train at altitude and is training well. It was a no brainer for him not to go to Worlds. I'm actually more positive about him not going to Worlds than I originally was. The injury he had was not ideal, but it was an easy solution to withdraw from a couple of races and just continue to focus on training at altitude. He'll be in France for another four weeks giving him an eight week block at altitude which is great for him.
Stay tuned for more about our Australian Olympic Triathlon team as it unfolds in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, take a look at our chat with both Brad Kahlefeldt and Greg Bennett for more ....
