Kiwi triathlete Daniel Hoy took silver in the men's sprint triathlon today, bringing home New Zealand's first medal.
It was a strong field, with 16-year-old Hoy coming out of the water in 5th and making a smooth transition in to the cycle leg.
The rain started to come down here in Nanjing and the group bunched. Hoy attempted to surge away from the group a number of times in the 20km cycle leg, but eventually settled in to riding with the group to conserve energy.
The tactical move in the cycling paid off in the 5km run. "I was feeling pretty good going in to the run," said Hoy. "I backed myself for a sprint finish because I knew I had the raw speed coming from my track background."
Eventual winner, Ben Dijkstra, kept pace with Hoy and the surged away from the rest of the field coming in to the final 250 metres. It was a sprint finish and both crossed the line in 54min 43 seconds. It was a photo finish that gave gold to Dijkstra and silver to Hoy.
According to Hoy's coach, Nathan Richmond, the race was "textbook" with the Kiwi athlete's transitions some of the quickest in the field."We couldn't have put forward a better campaign," said Richmond. "He left his soul out there."
New Zealand's Aaron Barclay won gold in the triathlon at the last Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, 2010.
Hoy will join fellow New Zealand triathlete, Elizabeth Stannard, and the Australian duo in the mixed team relay on Thursday.