Photo by: Tommy Zaferes
Event
15/9/18
3.06 pm start Elite Women
Start number
33
Olympic distance
2 lap 1500m broadwater saltwater swim, 8 x lap, technical WINDY 40km ride with a 4x 2.5km lap run- windy & flat.
Weather
Sunny, & VERY windy, & tough racing conditions! Non wetsuit swim.
Result
31st with a solid hit out in helping secure Australia a world title with Ash Gentle & a strong team tactcs role!😊
Splits
1:57:20- 19:35, 0:43, 57:36, 0:29, 39:00
The world triathlon series grand final and world championships on the Gold Coast was a race I won't forget!
A home grand final on Aussie soil, which don't come around very often, My first senior elite team and being awarded my Australian team number -43, just to make a start on what the weekend of racing meant!
With the largest Australian team to be named yet I was honoured to pull on the green & gold and race! With 3 days of elite racing action including, juniors, U/23, paratri and us elites!
The elite women's race kicked off at 3.06pm on Saturday, also my youngest brothers 17th birthday! Conditions were certainly challenging for us, with very strong N winds, creating extremely chopping swim conditions & a strong head wind heading up the Gold Coast highway on the bike & run course!
Racing over the Olympic distance with a STACKED field of the worlds best elite women triathletes!
Diving in the action kicked off and i got firing, heading into the chop rating up & as we approached the buoys on lap 1 of 2 the left and right leading sides of the swim arrowhead merged and there was some carnage getting around the buoys, I for one got clawed down my back from another athlete and lost contact to the leading swimmers around the far buoys! Working hard using my surf skills to use the chop runners to get back on the feet of those lead swimmers ahead, getting out on the pontoon, running around & diving in for lap 2 to finish the rough 1500m swim!
Exciting the water just on the back of the clear front group establishing, a strong transition 1 meant I fly mounted onto the bike and got on the back of the pack!
Here's where the fun began as I was playing a team roll for triathlon Australia, with fellow Aussie athlete Ash gentle the home favourite for a shot at the world championships event win, I was out there on the bike to do everything I could to make sure she was in the game! Ash had a good swim and was only down around 45 seconds from the leaders! Under team instruction on lap 1 I was clear on the situation unfolding early and dropped off the lead pack to wait for Ash, picking her up we got straight to work. Powering away together to make our way forward on the bike, chasing that front pack! By the end of lap 3 at 15km we had caught up from 4th to 2nd pack and took control! With a gap of about 20 seconds still to the world class leading 8 women it was going to take one decisive effort to bridge up.
Lap 5 with just over 15km to go, I decided it was now or never, with Ash on my wheel it was time to do my job and execute, delivering with a determined 1 minute surge to put the pedal to the medal and our large 2nd pack bridged up to the leaders!
With just over 2 laps to go I took control of the ride and got to the front and stuck there, although doing a large majority of the work, I was doing my best to keep Ash safe and protected towards the front, keeping the pace and pressure on and in the large pack that had formed, importantly staying safe!
Dismounting the bike in the pack of 25 toward the front knowing it was going to be a long and tough 10km run to finish. But I was very happy to have delivered and executed on my team roll and job to do!
Losing touch with the leaders on lap 1 of 4 on the run I knew it was going to be a tough one and I was going to have to battle it out for myself to the end. Holding strong on my form but unfortunately the bike just left me stinging and I finished my first Elite world championships in 31st.
Result on paper aside, I was the happiest 30th place finisher out on the run in that last lap, knowing I had helped Australia and friend Ash Gentle secure a world championships title! What a feeling!
And for me, I know this is just the beginning of many more world championships to come!
Photo by: Tommy Zaferes