This was my second international race after the European Age Group Championships in Istanbul a few months before.
Things definitely ramp up in World Championships from Europeans.
I was still 16 and racing everyone under 20. There literally seemed to be 100’s of Australians! In total there were just under 80 in my race.
The swim was in the harbour. Sea swim and salt water with big waves. On my 1st recce I saw sea urchins, pelicans and large fish which to be honest, sent me into a panic attack. This was all a first for me.
I worked really hard to overcome this with the help of a few others and over the next few days I got more confident, however I still hadn’t swum out of the harbour walls which I would have to do for my race. On the morning of the race, the water was too choppy out of the harbour so they changed the swim course. Same distance but more turns and remained inside the harbour. The swim started and there were so many of us I could not see a thing. All worries about what was under the water disappeared – there were just feet & arms everywhere!
My swim went really well, and my time was really good and I came out of the water in a good place.
The transition to bike went smoothly.
The bike course was good with a mixture of flat, hills and dead turns. I was in a good group round the first lap but then some competitors in my group crossed over right in front of me making me break just before a corner. I was then left off the back of the group. I caught the 2 who crossed over and left them behind but main group was too far ahead to catch. I was then on my own for the 2nd bike lap so without others to work with, I dropped further away from the group in front.
My 2nd transition went smoothly.
The run was hard. The heat at that time was in the 30’s. It was a very hilly course around the lighthouse which was really tough in the heat. There were lots of athletes around the course at the time doing their own races so it was really hard to see where I was in my race but I did overtake a few in my age group on the run.
In the end I finished 34th out of 79. I wanted to finish a lot higher up but in hindsight the race was dominated by the huge number of Australians competing. I was also one of the youngest competitors there and racing 19 year olds. My individual swim, bike and run times were great.
I was also the 2nd Brit back in the under 20’s.
I want to say a big thank you to the Jack Bloor Fund, who without your support, I would not have been able to race. The experience and competition was nothing like I’ve ever come across before. I learnt a lot from this race and experience.
Jack Bloor Race & Fund 