Ellice Dropped From Triathlon New Zealand's High Performance Squad

Clark Ellice will not be funded by Triathlon New Zealand in 2013.

Clark Ellice has been cut adrift by Triathlon New Zealand but is determined to go it alone in order to pursue his dream of competing at next year’s Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

Only five days after his third place at the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Auckland in front of some of the biggest names in the sport, it was announced that Ellice had failed to make Triathlon NZ’s high performance squad of 14 athletes, meaning he will no longer be funded by the organisation. It is understood that the annual funding is about $30,000 per athlete.

Only three athletes were selected for the high performance “podium” category – Andrea Hewitt, Kate McIlroy and Ryan Sissons. The other 11 fell into the development section.

Ellice, a reserve behind Sissons, Bevan Docherty and Kris Gemmell at last year’s London Olympics, knew he wasn’t high on Triathlon NZ’s list of priorities but the announcement still left a bitter taste. The 30-year-old said he had a lot to offer younger triathletes but would not be welcome at New Zealand’s training base in the south of France.

“I got my guidance and my accelerated learnings from the likes of Kris and Bevan and Hamish Carter and I’m a senior athlete that’s quite willing to help the likes of Bryce McMaster and the younger guys coming through,” he said.

Read more: Odt.co.nz