Multisport: Samuels to face tough field

It could be Nicky Samuels' year. The triathlete raced in the shadow of Andrea Hewitt last year but is keen to regain the elite New Zealand women's title she won two years ago.

The national triathlon championships take place today at Waitangi Park in Wellington's Oriental Bay for the fourth consecutive year, and they have drawn a strong field.

The event doubles as the Oceania championships, which makes Samuels' task more difficult, as she will not only have to contend with top-rated New Zealander Hewitt but also several top Australians.

Hewitt made a significant breakthrough in the Olympic distance when she finished third in the world series last year. Samuels was 28th.

Former Olympic Games steeplechaser and Commonwealth Games silver medallist Kate McIlroy (Wellington) is another strong opponent after finishing 20th in the world series last year.

"It is a tough field but it makes the race more challenging for me," Samuels told the Otago Daily Times from Wanaka this week.

Samuels (27) is one of the most experienced female triathletes in the country and has represented New Zealand at the elite level since 2005.

She is based in Wanaka for six months of the year and and at the New Zealand training camp in Europe for the other six months.

Her best international performance was finishing third in the world under-23 championships in Lucerne, Switzerland, in 2006.

Samuels won the New Zealand sprint title in Taupo earlier this year.

Today's race also determines qualification spots for the world championships in Budapest later this year.

Samuels has spent the past three weeks living at altitude on the Snow Farm just above her home town.

She has run on the cross-country tracks at 1600m but the cycling and swimming have been done on the flat in Wanaka.

"We live high and train low, so we can do the quality training we need for racing," Samuels said.

"If you do altitude training right, it is a key aspect to training. The Snow Farm is not as high as other areas in the world but you can definitely feel the extra stress it places on the body."

Today's race is Samuels' first Olympic distance of the season.

She travels to Australia for a World Cup race at the end of the month and the first world series event of the year in Sydney in early April.

Olympian Kris Gemmell is expected to win the New Zealand men's elite title, but Otago's Tony Dodds can be expected to reach the podium after finishing fourth in a recent under-23 World Cup race on the Gold Coast.