Kiwi triathlete Hayden Wilde has moved a step closer towards sealing his spot at next year's Olympic Games, taking third place at the Tokyo Triathlon test event.
Keeping up with winner Tyler Mislawchuk across all three disciplines, Wilde was able to make the podium, moving himself up to 11th in the ITU world rankings.
The race was to test the Tokyo course ahead of next year's games, 21-year old Wilde proving he can mix it with the best, finishing ahead of two-time Olympic medallist, Jonathan Brownlee of the UK.
"I always love to race with a bit of passion so I came into the finish line pretty excited. To do that on the Olympic course is huge, to execute that race plan, I'm absolutely fizzing about it," said Wilde.
"The last lap was every man for himself. With about 1500m to go I wanted to kick but just didn't have the legs in the end but I am absolutely stoked to get third."
"I just wanted to have a good race and finish with a good ranking. There were some massive names in that group and I am just fizzing to get that podium. The course was amazing and is my sort of course, I loved it."
Wilde finished behind Mislawchuk who took gold and Casper Stornes from Norway who took silver.
The top ranked 26 competitors in May next year will qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
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