Barclay's selection huge boost

Southland's Aaron Barclay has received a major boost to his triathlon career after being named in the New Zealand elite under-19 squad.

The 17-year-old will represent his country at the world championships in Budapest, Hungary, this year and could also be selected for the Youth Olympics in Singapore in August.

Barclay should also now qualify as a carded athlete under the Sparc funding system next month, giving him free access to a range of high-performance facilities. He was looking forward to having a lengthy chat with coach Sid Cumming last night after getting the news from the national selectors.

Barclay's success has been earned with plenty of hard work.

Over the two selection races for the national squad, he finished seventh overall and the second New Zealander at a race in Canberra, and then fifth overall and the second New Zealander at the Oceania championships in Wellington last weekend.

While Barclay has been a member of New Zealand squads in the past, this is his first selection in an elite team.

He will finish his season at the national secondary schools championships at Lake Karapiro next month and will then take about a month off before beginning his training for what promises to be a big season.

Training partner Penny Hayes was also in line for selection but had not been told anything late yesterday.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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