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Arrived in Hamburg on 28th August, not feeling too confident after spending the last 3 weeks of my Budgie training program with lower leg problems and doing my only running in the pool. I decided to “enjoy the day” as Budgie has always told me. Hamburg is a beautiful city to visit, very tourist orientated especially sport related visitors. The shopping and the restaurants are great. Enjoyed the beer post event. Anyway back to the event. I was feeling very relaxed at the beginning of the race. My swim was OK; at least I swam straight this year. In 2006 I think I swam 200m longer than the required 1500m. Finished in 7th place in the 50-54 age group. I wanted to go back this year in the hope of doing better as the younger athlete at 55. The transition was better than Lausanne but still quite long. When I hit the cycle leg on my new (2nd hand Quintana Roo) I felt really good. The course was quite fast and scenic. I managed to pass a few people this time and felt that if I could just hold on in the run I would be OK. I took the run quite steady, not sure how my leg would go, until I could see the finish line and then managed a sprint finish. I was absolutely astounded when a girl from the Netherlands said I had won. We thought we should check the results before celebrating. Could this possibly be true? Yes, it was! I was now the World Champion of my age group – 55-59. Me, who had only taken up the sport at 50 years of age from Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Many, many thanks to Budgie, training partner Sue Webber, and fellow triathletes who have encouraged me in previous races. |
World Triathlon Championships, Hamburg, Germany 2nd September, 2007