Trainee accountant Jayne Emery, our Team GB Triathlete, is just back from her first 2022 international competition in Romania.
Find out how she got on, from losing count to close calls with a kerb!
What – Sprint Duathlon World Championships
Where – Targu Mures, Romania
When – 13th June, 2022
Position – 9th
Best bit – racing in a bunch over a technical bike course, the adrenaline rush was great!
Worst bit – terrible sunburn and nearly running over a bride…
What I learned –
What a day! It was HOT (my suit lines will be with me for a while yet).
First run went from a four lap 4.8km run to a six lap 5.8km run, thanks to an overnight course change. We were in pens half an hour before the start and I was cooking!
Focusing on not fainting, I managed to run past transition and make it a 6km run, dropping from 5th to 8th.
Onto the bike, by far the most technical I’ve ever ridden: 5 laps of cobbles, climbs, twists and turns.
Coming to the end of my 5th lap my watch read 17km and I thought surely not, it can’t be short – I must’ve miscounted. Off I set on what would turn out to be my 6th, and therefore extra, lap. I took a corner a little tight and clipped a kerb. For a brief moment I thought I might not finish at all but somehow held it and made it back safely.
The second run I managed to actually complete the correct number of laps but had dropped down to 9th. There were multiple disqualifications and DNF’s (did not finish) due to those pesky laps, which makes it slightly easier to take!
Not quite the race I’d hoped for but delighted to have completed my first international championships and absolutely buzzing for Munich in August.
Thank you so much for all the messages of support. It is so, so appreciated.
What’s next? – The European Triathlon Sprint Championships will take place in Munich in August 2022 as part of the Munich 2022 European Championships.
