Hamish Miller' summer of sporting prowess continues to pay dividends this time being included in Triathlon New Zealand's talent squad targeting the ITU world stage.

Hamish Miller during the 2014 Mount Monster. Photo: Tracy Hardy.

Triathlon New Zealand this week confirmed the make-up of the 2015 National Talent Squad, those athletes who have met the criteria for selection to the ITU World Championships in Chicago in September in both the Junior (U19) and U23 categories.

All athletes have come through rigorous selection criteria to earn their inclusion, with Triathlon New Zealand setting a high standard across all teams.

Miller, 15, has been included in the squad featuring a full team of three men and three women named in the junior category, along with applications being made to the ITU for extra start positions due to the depth in this age group.

National junior champions Tayler Reid and Lizzie Stannard lead the team, which includes four debutants among the eight athletes.

Miller is better known for his exploits on the surf lifesaving scene, last month named in Surf Life Saving New Zealand's development squad for 2015 – after forming part of Mount Maunganui Lifeguards Service's strong Under16 boys contingent.

At the recent New Zealand surf lifesaving championships in Gisborne, Miller along withDaniel Barron, Issac Marshall and Morgan Brockelsby, combined to clinch a number of titles.

The quartet won the U16 men's surf teams race before Miller, Marshall and Barron took out the U16 board relay, and Barron and Miller the U16 board rescue.

He also finished third behind fellow Mount clubbies Perry Farrell and Kane Sefton in the 2015 edition of the Round the Mount swim and fourth in the Under198 division in the 2014 edition of the gruelling Mount Monster in a time of two hours 26 minutes.

In the Tri NZ squad just one athlete has been named as a result of meeting the selection criteria in the U23 category, with Cameron Todd set to line up in the men's race in Chicago.

There will be further opportunities for U23 athletes to join Todd in Chicago, with selectors revisiting performances in August following more World Cup racing.

Triathlon NZ high performance director Graeme Maw is excited to make the announcement, all the more so given the sport's investment into talent development and pathways in the past 18 months.

"We are delighted to announce such strong squads for the World Championships and National Talent Squad. With the National Talent Programme now 15 months old, we are starting to see the impact.

"Tayler Reid deservedly goes to his third World Championships; but for the likes of Dan Hoy, Kyle Smith, Lizzie Stannard and Katherine Badham, Chicago will be their first and is off the back of rapid progress. They have all been pushing each other in racing and gaining from various experiences including Japan, Youth Olympic Games, Oceania Triathlon and Duathlon Champs, World Aquathlon and the Sovereign Tri Series."

Maw says the pathways are clearly helping produce some outstanding young prospects and the numbers at the National Youth Festival and the recent National Schools Champs testament to the growing depth from which the athletes for the World Champs and in the National Talent Squad have won out.

He adds the regional youth academies are doing a great job finding and fostering young athletes, highlighting the likes of Ari Graham, Trent Dodds, Miller and Olivia Corrin coming in to triathlon and quickly finding their feet.

"We are delighted to add Hamish, Trent, Bradley Cullen and Katherine Badham to the National Talent Squad, and to support Olivia a little as she takes her first steps. All these athletes are supported by a passionate group of forward-looking coaches keen to develop the best talent network in the world."

The National Talent Squad athletes are identified from within the National Talent Programme and along with their coaches will work closely with Triathlon New Zealand throughout the year as part of a clear and tangible pathway for athletes from Talent Identification to World Class podia.

The athletes will benefit from some performance support services and coaching in their home regions; coaching, training and competition support as a National Squad; and assisted access to equipment.

Key focus include technique, conditioning and performance lifestyle, with exposure to international competition. Again in 2015 the squad will periodically train alongside the HP Squads at the National High Performance Centre in Cambridge, starting with the first camp of the new Squad from 12-16 April.