Dodds confirmed for Games
Tony Dodds’ decision to drop his appeal against Commonwealth Games exclusion and focus on his training has paid off after his naming in New Zealand’s Gold Coast Games squad.
The 30-year-old, who finished 21st at the Rio Olympics, appealed after he was left out of the team named in November last year.
But a delighted Dodds will now go to the Gold Coast after Triathlon New Zealand confirmed his return yesterday.
Dodds told Stuff he did appeal his initial omission, but later changed his mind.
‘‘I had 48 hours to decide whether or not to appeal. That [decision] was made on emotion. But I realised later that it’s not going to help anybody; it’s not going to help me and it’s not going to help them.’’
So Dodds withdrew his appeal. Rather than mope, Dodds took his career into his own hands. He moved back to Wanaka, where his partner is based, and focused on his training and his online coaching business.
‘‘The training I’ve been doing has made me really strong and injury free and we haven’t even touched on our hard zones for training yet so I think I’m really well prepared,’’ he said.
The Wanaka move made Dodds ‘‘put the Commonwealth Games on the back burner’’ and devote his energies to his training and racing.
‘‘I think the selectors have seen that,’’ he said.
Triathlon New Zealand high performance director Mark Elliott said Dodds had ‘‘challenges at the end of last season including a significant injury which had him out of competition’’.
‘‘To his credit he fully committed to a strong rehabilitation programme and trained with great focus over these last three months,’’ Elliott said. ‘‘It’s great to see that application and focus be rewarded with selection to the team.’’
Elliott said Dodds’ ‘‘significant international experience in Sprint Distance and Mixed Team Relay’’ made him ‘‘a strong addition’’.
Dodds said he had switched coaches, ‘‘back to John Hellemans, who was my first coach’’, and had ‘‘got on a time trial bike’’ and was pleased with his progress.
To put the Commonwealth Games out of his mind, he focused on entering the Challenge Half Marathon long-distance triathlon (1.9km swim, 90km cycle, 21km run) for the first time.
He told Stuff in January there was ‘‘no point worrying about’’ Commonwealth Games selection and wanted to ‘‘focus on something else, while the selectors take care of what they need to do. It has been a good sidetrack.’’
Challenge Wanaka rolls around this weekend and he will now require a change of tactics.
‘‘I really wanted to go out there and smash it,’’ Dodds said yesterday. ‘‘But now I’’m going to the Gold Coast I’ll have to switch my focus around and be fully committed to the Commonwealth Games.
‘‘The Commonwealth Games will be the biggest race of the season so I have to make sure I don’t get injured and recover pretty well.’’
Dodds said his move back to Wanaka was ‘‘a no-brainer’’.
It was time for a change, he said after ‘‘three or four years’’ in Cambridge at triathlon’s high performance training base.
He quipped he was now ‘‘pretty old and stubborn’’ and could operate independently.
Dodds will divide his time between Wanaka and Dunedin and will have South Africa’s Richard Murray as his training partner for the final few weeks before the Games.