Hayden Wilde: Kiwi athlete on winning the silver medal in the Men's Olympic Triathlon

New Zealand has gained its second medal as Hayden Wilde takes the silver in the men’s triathlon. 

Wilde was overtaken by Brit Alex Yee around 300 metres from the finish line, cinching the gold. 

Wilde sat down to embrace his long-term rival on the finish line and immediately paid tribute to the efforts of teammate Dylan McCullough in helping earn him a silver medal. 

McCullough —who finished 19th— dropped back during the bike leg to help his compatriot rejoin the leaders after he came out of the swim more than a minute off the pace. 

Wilde told Mike Hosking that he did everything he could out there. 

He said he can’t thank McCullough enough, saying that he deserves the keys to New Zealand for helping him get the medal. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
To another middle.

Speaker 2 (00:00):
As you've heard this morning from Hayden Wilder, having waited
a couple of days, of course for the water to
improve enough to swim in the river, we got the
Trianthlan underway and the silver medal is ours Hayden.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Wild's with this morning.

Speaker 3 (00:11):
Yeah, man's going very well.

Speaker 1 (00:12):
Indeed, have you pulled.

Speaker 4 (00:13):
Up just kind of firing off adrenaline to the honest
has been full toys post race, straight for the finish
line and straight to media and antidoping and then straight
back to media to the New Zealand house.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
So it's been for Lyne brilliant. Did you pass your
antidoping test?

Speaker 3 (00:33):
I hope you know? Well ideally yes, Well we'll know
probably a week's time.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
I love it. How are you feeling about it?

Speaker 3 (00:41):
All?

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Silver versus gold pulled in at the end. How's that
settled with you psychologically? Yeah?

Speaker 3 (00:48):
Hey, I did everything.

Speaker 4 (00:49):
I'm good out there and I don't I don't think
I can say I can die try and gave everything
and yeah, I just want to say a big thanks
to my teammate Dylan, you know, he he he came
back and helped and put me in the position I
was in and Yeah, I can't thank him enough for that.

Speaker 3 (01:07):
The man deserves the keys of New Zealand for for
helping me get that mental And.

Speaker 4 (01:12):
Yeah, just just didn't really I could, you know. Obviously,
I think the heat played a massive role. I felt
like if we raced at the time we meant to
race obviously, you know, with the postpone date, Yeah we're
not normally meant to race at eight am, but with
ten forty five start, it was thirty one degrees, the
commidity was up, and yeah, just I just didn't prepare

(01:34):
for the heat as we didn't really need to. So
obviously the curve wall. Yeah, the leagues faded a little
bit earlier than they expected. But I was as proud
to give it everything and do everything I possibly could
on the day, and yeah, it just came short. But yeah,
a heat of a race and it was it was
great to have another battle with my with my great

(01:55):
mate Alex and rival.

Speaker 2 (01:57):
It was what it was, obviously, But do you read
Are you aggrieved at the way the whole thing was
handled over the days leading up?

Speaker 3 (02:06):
I think it was.

Speaker 4 (02:07):
I think it was handled well, you know, like we're
elite athletes, you know, we where where when we learned
to adapt and like it was just it's just part
and parceler But you know, we we knew as athletes
leading into this race, and you know it was going
to be where there was contingency plans, so meantly everyone
was prepared to race different days or.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
Sorry, is that a bit of the scene coming out?

Speaker 3 (02:35):
Sorry, just had dinner.

Speaker 1 (02:39):
I thought you, I thought you're vomiting up the river.

Speaker 3 (02:44):
They've got a bit of a leaf inside my mouth.

Speaker 4 (02:48):
And then yeah, like we're earleading athletes and we have
to adapt on days and you know, that is what
it is.

Speaker 3 (02:55):
I just wasn't prepared for that that heat, I think.

Speaker 4 (02:58):
And yeah it was super hot and yeah, and I'm
just stoked that we actually got to do a trithle is.
The last thing that all the athletes wanted was to
do a jew f one, which is a run bike run.

Speaker 3 (03:09):
So it was really good. We got to get it
done on the day.

Speaker 1 (03:11):
Good.

Speaker 2 (03:11):
What if your family had to say for themselves because
they're there with you, aren't they?

Speaker 4 (03:16):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (03:16):
I was.

Speaker 4 (03:16):
It was amazing to have them here, you know, you
know I gave them an early Christmas present to shout
them over to Paris. It was I never they never
get that opportunity is now. We come from a pretty
small family and it's yeah, it's always it's always hard
for my parents to come over ash it with work
and everything. So it was really nice to give them

(03:37):
a little gift to support them a little bit to
get over and and and watch me race. And yeah,
it was so it was just so awesome to have
everyone there, my coaches, my my family and my team.

Speaker 3 (03:48):
So it was just it was a special It was
a special.

Speaker 1 (03:51):
Day, brilliant.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
So the trender's bronze this time still the next time gold.

Speaker 1 (03:55):
Is that how it plays out?

Speaker 4 (03:57):
Yeah, I guess I didn't really ideally, you know, I
wanted to go straight to go and finish my Olympic
season career.

Speaker 3 (04:04):
But it looks like I have to go to La
and get the trio.

Speaker 2 (04:08):
I'm sure you will go well, mate, listen, appreciate it
very much. Hayden whild who is what would have been
It's ten o'clock at night at least in Paris at
the moment. Good he could spare the time to have
a word with us this morning. Silver medal.

Speaker 4 (04:21):
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Speaker 2 (04:24):
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