Hall of Famer Emma Carney calls for Australian triathlon clean-out

Triathlon great Emma Carney has delivered a broadside to the running of the sport in Australia given it has lost its sheen from the glory era.

Emma Carney has delivered a broadside to the running of triathlon in Australia. Photo Sarah Reed.

Australian triathlon Hall of Famer Emma Carney has savaged the running of the sport in Australia and called for a clean-out of the governing body AusTriathlon.

Two-time world champion Carney was one of the athletes responsible for the golden era of triathlon in Australia but the sport has sunk from prominence in recent years.

On her own website previewing the Paris games Carney delivered a broadside to the running of the sport in Australia given it has lost its sheen from the glory era.

Matt Hauser, Luke Willian, Natalie Van Coevorden and Sophie Linn will represent Australia at Paris 2024, with Carney describing Hauser as Australia’s best medal chance ever in the sport.

He sits fourth in world rankings entering his second Olympics and won a world series event in Hamburg over the weekend, while Willian is ranked 13th.

Carney said the athletes were not well supported by their governing body, also adding that she thought chief executive Tim Harradine was “clueless”.

Emma Carney has savaged the running of triathlon in Australia. Picture: Mark Stewart

Harradine told this masthead on Sunday night Carney’s continuing criticism of the sport was unwelcome and a total distraction a fortnight ahead of the Paris Olympics.

But Carney believes the sport is being run poorly by Harradine.

“This is the smallest Australian Olympic Triathlon Team ever sent to an Olympic Games. Given the fiasco of Tokyo. Today’s athletes have never been a part of a successful sport in Australia. They have not been racing on TV every weekend, have never raced in front of crowds of 60,000+ or more on home soil and have no opportunity to become household names,” she wrote.

“Their ability to earn a living out of the sport is almost zero because of the terrible governance of AUS Triathlon (Triathlon Australia under disguise with a new name, but old staff and habits). These athletes should be commended for their resilience to remain in a sport that gives them little financially in return.

“Our team needs to perform. Things have never been so dire for Australian triathlon. If Paris is a disaster, that will be the third Olympics Australian triathlon has not delivered a medal. “Funding will slip further, and AUS Triathlon (Triathlon Australia) will turn to the State and Territory Associations (STTA’s) and demand a higher percentage of their membership dollars to have some money coming in.

“This will send some STTA’s broke and hardly keep the sport afloat.”

Tim Harradine says Emma Carney’s continuing criticism of the sport was unwelcome and a distraction.

Carney said the flow-on effect of a poor Paris result would be catastrophic for the sport in Australia.

“With no whole national race series, and nothing to sell, AUS Triathlon will struggle to find any real sponsors who will commit serious financial support for Triathlon,” she stated.

“Hopefully the Australian Sports Commission will step in and clear the decks post Paris, because no one at AUS Triathlon currently has the ability to turn things around.

“The CEO is clueless, the President self absorbed and the Board — who knows what that lot are doing.

What is clear — none of them care and one day all will walk away with no accountability. It’s the athletes that are missing out, the athletes who will be blamed for poor performances and the athletes who have less and less opportunity available to them.”

Harradine told News Corp on Sunday night Carney was not trying to help the best interests of the sport with her continuing criticism.

“I don’t read anything from her. There is no value to it in our sport. There is a real disinterest from our athletes to hear that commentary. It is of no value to our sport. We are all focused on looking forward to Paris and then we will be focused beyond Paris,” she told this masthead.

“It is an ongoing attempt to distract us and a complete waste of time. That is why we all ignore it. It is really pointless and not intended to help the sport in any form or fashion. I am sure that is the reason why Channel Nine don’t use her as a commentator. I lose no sleep over it.’