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Andrea Hansen, 40, has been named in New Zealand’s triathlon squad for Birmingham 2022 so is set for a fourth Commonwealth Games having come back from retirement.
Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Hayden Wilde also makes the cut as expected.
Hansen, who also competed in three Olympics, gave birth to daughter Flossie 15 months ago and adapted her training regime to runs with the baby in a pram.
“I’ve been working towards this but it’s still a bit of a surprise to be named,” Hansen admitted.
“I didn’t know how I’d recover after having my daughter, so I’m feeling very lucky to be back for my fourth Commonwealth Games.”
As Andrea Hewitt, she won individual bronze at Melbourne 2006 and another in the mixed relay at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Her fellow mixed relay bronze medallists Nicole van der Kaay and Tokyo 2020 Olympian Tayler Reid are also named in the squad of six.
“I am stoked to be chosen for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games team,” Reid said from his training base in France.
“The Gold Coast was an awesome experience and I want to improve on my achievements.
“I believe we are bringing a super strong team and should be on the hunt for medals in the individual and mixed relay.”
The squad is also certain to benefit from men’s Olympic bronze medallist Wilde.
Since the Olympics, Wilde has also taken the 2021 Xterra world title and finished second in Super League Triathlon.
Less than a fortnight ago, he claimed silver at the Yokohama World Triathlon Championship Series event behind Olympic silver medallist Alex Yee from Britain.
Ainsley Thorpe will be hoping for better fortune than she experienced in Tokyo where a crash on the bike put paid to her chances in the individual race.
“I’m super excited to be selected to represent New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games,” Thorpe said.
“I’m looking forward to my overseas campaign in the lead-up to the Games alongside my team-mates.”
The squad also includes Dylan McCullough, a graduate of the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires where he won gold.
“I have just turned 21 and the Commonwealth Games is something that most New Zealand school kids learn about at some stage during their schooling,” McCullough recalled.
“I remember doing a project on the Commonwealth Games in primary school, so to get the opportunity to represent New Zealand now in Birmingham is a very special feeling.”
New Zealand Olympic Committee chief executive Nicki Nicol added: “New Zealand has a proud legacy in triathlon at the Commonwealth Games and we look forward to these athletes adding to that history in several months time.”
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Philip Barker, a freelance journalist, has been on the editorial team of the Journal of Olympic History and is credited with having transformed the publication into one of the most respected historical publications on the history of the Olympic Games. He is also an expert on Olympic Music, a field which is not generally well known.
28 July 2022
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Support insidethegames.biz for as little as £10
For nearly 15 years now, insidethegames.biz has been at the forefront of reporting fearlessly on what happens in the Olympic Movement. As the first website not to be placed behind a paywall, we have made news about the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Commonwealth Games and other major events more accessible than ever to everybody.
insidethegames.biz has established a global reputation for the excellence of its reporting and breadth of its coverage. For many of our readers from more than 200 countries and territories around the world the website is a vital part of their daily lives. The ping of our free daily email alert, sent every morning at 6.30am UK time 365 days a year, landing in their inbox, is as a familiar part of their day as their first cup of coffee.
Even during the worst times of the COVID-19 pandemic, insidethegames.biz maintained its high standard of reporting on all the news from around the globe on a daily basis. We were the first publication in the world to signal the threat that the Olympic Movement faced from the coronavirus and have provided unparalleled coverage of the pandemic since.
As the world begins to emerge from the COVID crisis, insidethegames.biz would like to invite you to help us on our journey by funding our independent journalism. Your vital support would mean we can continue to report so comprehensively on the Olympic Movement and the events that shape it. It would mean we can keep our website open for everyone. Last year, nearly 25 million people read insidethegames.biz, making us by far the biggest source of independent news on what is happening in world sport.
Every contribution, however big or small, will help maintain and improve our worldwide coverage in the year ahead. Our small and dedicated team were extremely busy last year covering the re-arranged Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, an unprecedented logistical challenge that stretched our tight resources to the limit.
The remainder of 2022 is not going to be any less busy, or less challenging. We had the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing, where we sent a team of four reporters, and coming up are the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the Summer World University and Asian Games in China, the World Games in Alabama and multiple World Championships. Plus, of course, there is the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Unlike many others, insidethegames.biz is available for everyone to read, regardless of what they can afford to pay. We do this because we believe that sport belongs to everybody, and everybody should be able to read information regardless of their financial situation. While others try to benefit financially from information, we are committed to sharing it with as many people as possible. The greater the number of people that can keep up to date with global events, and understand their impact, the more sport will be forced to be transparent.
Support insidethegames.biz for as little as £10 – it only takes a minute. If you can, please consider supporting us with a regular amount each month. Thank you.
Read more 