Paula Findlay Returns to Competition as Top Canuck at ITU Triathlon World Championship Series Race in London
—Findlay successfully tests injured hip with 29th place result in Olympic test race—
LONDON—Paula Findlay finished as the top Canadian after returning to competition for the first time in over one month while battling a nagging hip injury.
The 22-year-old Edmontonian, who entered the Olympic test event on the 2012 course in London ranked second overall, finished 29th with a combined time of two hours, two minutes, 34 seconds (2:02:34).
“It is not the result I wanted, but I have to put things into perspective and I can’t expect to be there with the fastest girls having not run in nearly five weeks,” said Findlay, whose finish dropped her to third overall in the ITU elite rankings. “When I made the decision to race, I knew I didn’t have the run training, but wanted to come and experience the London course so I can be prepared for next year.”
Findlay showed her shape in the swim and bike never lost a stride since her last race where she captured her third consecutive victory in Kitzbuhel, Austria. She came out of the water after the 1.5-kilometre swim at the tail end of a lead pack of nearly 25 athletes. Findlay then settled at the back of the pack as the world’s elite triathletes headed out on the bike course. Findlay had a quick second transition onto the run where she made her way up to the top group of 10 athletes in the first of four laps around the picturesque Hyde Park before running out of gas.
“I felt good in the swim. The bike I was very conservative, and it became a tactical race. I tried to save my energy so I didn’t get tired on the run,” said Findlay. “It was tough to watch the top girls run away from me. That has never happened before but it shows you can’t expect to come in here and win when you haven’t trained for it. These girls work super hard, and they all brought their A game today because it was one of the most important races of the season.”
The Hyde Park course is pancake flat and fast in the centre of one of the world’s biggest cities. The top 67 athletes dove into the Serpentine, which is a picturesque body of water in the middle of the vast downtown park, for the 1.5-kilometre swim. The seven-lap bike course, which totals 40 kilometres, took athletes outside the Park for a tour past some of London’s most recognizable landmarks including Buckingham Palace, Wellington Arch and Constitution Hill. The athletes then ventured out for a final four loops around the Park to complete the 10-kilometre run.
“It is tough, but this is teaching me to deal with a bad race. This is my first bad triathlon, and I guess it is good to have set backs because I can’t expect to win every time.”
One of Findlay’s main rivals, Helen Jenkins of Great Britain, will now have loads of pressure on her shoulders over the next 12 months to win Olympic gold in one year’s time after handily winning her first World Championship Series race in front of her hometown crowd with a time of 2:00:34. Gwen Jorgensen, of the United States, finished seven seconds off the pace in the silver-medal position with a time of 2:00:41. Germany’s Anja Dittmer won the race for the bronze medal with a time of 2:00:49.
Two other Canadians also hit the start line in London. Montreal’s Kathy Tremblay, who stayed near the front of the lead pack for most of the bike course after enjoying a solid swim, dropped back to 45th spot with a time of 2:03:59. Victoria’s Kirsten Sweetland, who worked at the front of the chase pack on the bike to bridge the gap with the lead group, pulled out of the race after the transition area with a sore foot.
Findlay and the Canadian squad will now prepare for the biggest race on the World Championship Series calendar in 2011 – the Grand Final on the 2008 Olympic course in Beijing.
Findlay will head into the race with five World Championship Series titles to her credit.
After quietly making her World Championship Series debut with a 16th-place finish in Kitzbuhel as a 20-year-old in 2009, the triathlon world has watched the development of an absolute superstar in Findlay as her incredible run to stardom began just under one year ago when she shocked the world to win on a modified version of the 2012 Olympic course in London in her second-ever World Championship Series race.
She followed that performance up with a victory two weeks later in Kitzbuhel, Austria, before a fifth-place result at the Grand Final in Budapest, Hungary in September. Findlay crushed any doubts she may be a one-season wonder by winning the season-opener this year on the iconic course in Sydney, Australia and followed that performance up with two more victories in Madrid, Spain and again in Kitzbuhel.
The world’s top male triathletes will dive into the Serpentine in London for their Olympic tune-up race on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. (local).
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