Wilde to put a lid on it after appeal turned down
Hayden Wilde has had his appeal dismissed by World Triathlon, meaning his Commonwealth Games silver won’t be upgraded to gold.
Wilde appealed against his 10-second transition penalty for unclipping his helmet before he had racked his bike during the men’s race at the Birmingham Games in July.
The penalty cost the New Zealand No 1 the chance to sprint for gold with British rival Alex Yee, with Wilde having led the race to that point.
Triathlon NZ says it’s disappointed with the result, as it considers there was no evidence of Wilde doing what was alleged.
Triathlon NZ and Wilde considered a further appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) but decided not to take the matter further.
Wilde will now direct his energy into winning the World Triathlon Championship Series at the season finale in Abu Dhabi on November 27.
“I know what I did wasn’t wrong [in Birmingham], but at the end of the day, you can’t dwell on the past, you’ve got to look to the future, and that’s what I’m doing,” Wilde said.
“I’ve got my eyes set on being crowned a world champ, which is a huge opportunity for me and New Zealand. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a world champ; the last time was Bevan Docherty [in 2004].”
After victories in Leeds and Hamburg, and seconds in Yokohama and Montreal, Wilde will start the series decider in the United Arab Emirates in the No 1 bib.
The Whakatane 25-year-old will again be vying with Yee for the world title after Yee won in Yokohama, Montreal and Cagliari, the latter bypassed by Wilde, in addition to the final regular season event in Bermuda, opting instead to spend a month preparing in Abu Dhabi.
Wilde’s ‘Monk Mode’ training block in Abu Dhabi comes after he was crowned Super League Triathlon champion in Neom, Saudi Arabia, on October 29 after three wins and two thirds in the separate five-event series.
“I’m in a good head space. I think I was a little bit dark on it, but I just had to use that anger and frustration through Super League, which I came home with [courtesy of ] three wins and two podiums,” Wilde said.
“So [I’ll] definitely use that bit of frustration to build on heading into world champs.”