Royle return for Commonwealth Games qualifier

Olympians Aaron Royle and Ryan Bailie will have to hold back the young guns to qualify for the Commonwealth Games today.

Jake Birtwhistle qualifies for the Commonwealth Games as the first Australian man to finish at the Gold Coast world series race in April.

Rio Olympians Aaron Royle and Ryan Bailie will have to hold back the next generation of young guns to grab the remaining automatic spot in next year’s Commonwealth Games team at this weekend’s Hamburg world series event.

Former world under-23 champion Jake Birtwhistle grabbed the first automatic qualifying place at the Gold Coast round of the world series in April and the second place will go to the first Australian to finish in Hamburg, as long as he finishes in the top 10. Royle, 27, has been the first man into the team at the past two Games, qualifying automatically for Rio last year and for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014, but he admits this will be his toughest assignment.

Not only is he coming back from a plantar fascia tear in his right foot, but youngsters Luke Willian and Matthew Hauser are threatening to upturn the status quo by challenging for the prized place at a home Commonwealth Games.

Willian, 20, finished sixth at the Gold Coast, just two places behind Birtwhistle but ahead of Bailie. Hauser went on to win his first World Cup in Chengdu, beating third-placed Willian.

Both rising stars have the speed to compete over the sprint distance of 750m swim, 20km cycle and 5km run that has been ­included in the Commonwealth Games program.

Royle has only raced once since the foot injury in February, finishing 12th in the Leeds round of the world series last month, but he hopes he will be ready to go today.

“Since I tore my plantar fascia in February, it’s been all about getting back for this race,’’ he said.

“It’s been a while since it’s been this competitive among the ­Australian men, but this is the first time I’ve been able to run with a full training load since mid-2015 when my foot first started bothering me.’’

However, he said he would not approach today’s event as a race within a race. “I have been able to get the first qualifying spot at the last two Games and I did that by knowing if I put my best race on the board it would go a long way towards qualifying. So I don’t think about racing the other ­Australians. It’s about putting up a good performance.’’

Royle has changed his entire training environment since he finished ninth in Rio, moving across the world from Wollongong to Leeds to be with his partner, leading British triathlete Non Stanford, and train with the champion Brownlee brothers. “It’s been a bit of an eye-opener,’’ he said.

“The training is very different and the way things works. I’m making a lot more decisions for myself, and I’m putting myself in an environment with the two best athletes in the world.

“Everything is thought about and every detail is crossed off and they believe in what they’re doing. They are not afraid of failing, they are afraid of not giving their best. The conviction they have is what makes them special.’’

In the women’s race, former world under-23 champion Charlotte McShane hopes to secure a place at the Gold Coast after ­narrowly missing out on Olympic selection last year.

Her new training partner Ashleigh Gentle took the first qualifying spot on the Gold Coast and McShane will have to hold off the likes of former surf lifesaver Emma Jeffcoat and training partner Natalie Van Coevorden to earn her place in the Games team.

“Hamburg is one of my key races for this season so the plan is to do everything I can to qualify,’’ McShane said. The final two ­places in the Australian team will be filled at the discretion of the ­national selection panel.