Ryan Sissons has been awarded an Olympic Scholarship to support his bid for the London 2012 Games.
A total of 16 triathletes around the world have been awarded scholarships by the IOC's Olympic Solidarity World Programme Fund.
That means 22-year-old Sissons will have access to a wide range of support services through the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) as he eyes selection for London 2012.
Sissons feels hugely honoured to be one of such a small group worldwide to be selected.
"I feel very privileged to receive this scholarship and know it will certainly help me follow that goal of making that 2012 Olympic team,” he said.
"It's a great opportunity that's been given to me, and it's great to know that they want me to fully concentrate on my training and racing as a prospect of gaining that 2012 selection.
"There has been some, and still are some great athletes who have received this scholarship and thanks to our National Olympic Committee I can hopefully become one of these great athletes in the future of our sport.”
This is the largest number of awards in ITU's history as an Olympic sport. The recipients include eight men and eight women from National Olympic Committees (NOCs) that meet the Olympic Solidarity aims.
Olympic Scholarships for Athletes "London 2012" is a key mission of the Olympic Solidarity programme in order to allow talented athletes to prepare for the London Olympic Games.
The athletes nominated by Olympic Solidarity come from Barbados, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Slovakia, Denmark, Chile, Bermuda, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ireland, Costa Rica, Ukraine, Namibia, and Monaco.
ITU President Marisol Casado said she was proud to see such a large number of Olympic Solidarity Scholarships being awarded to triathletes.
"Triathlon is one of the fastest growing Olympic sports and athletes are emerging from every corner of the world," she said.
"Global sport development has always been one of our main aims which is in keeping with the spirit of the IOC's Olympic Solidarity Programmes, and today I am extremely pleased to see these athletes being helped on their way to international and Olympic success."
A full list of the 16 athletes selected:
Ryan Sissons (NZL), Jason Wilson (Barbados), Vendula Frintova (Czech Republic), Elizabeth Maria Bravio Iniquez (Ecuador), Elizabeth May (Luxembourg), Richard Varga (Slovakia), Helle Frederiksen (Denmark), Barbara Riveros Diaz (Chile), Tyler Barbour Butterfield (Bermuda), Flora Jane Duffy (Bermuda), Stojan Popovski (MKD), Aileen Morrison (Ireland), Leonardo Chacon Corrales (Costa Rica), Yuliya Yelistratova (Ukraine), Abrahm Louw (Namibia), Herve Banti Mon (Monaco)
