Paula Findlay wins London Triathlon 2010
The world triathlon continues to roll on as Canadian sprinter Paula Findlay recorded a stunning victory in the women's field event during the London leg of the Triathlon ITU World Championship on Saturday. A total of 68 women took to the field, soaking up the challenge at the Serpentine Lake in the famous Hyde Park in London.
Findlay showed her prowess in all three events to prove that she was a serious contender in the event with a performance full of determination, stamina and endurance in demanding conditions.
She registered her win in one hour 51 minutes and 48 seconds.
The race was kicked off under some clear blue skies with an air temperature of 28 degree Celsius.
It was anything but a stroll for Findlay, as she had to shake of the seasoned duo of Laura Bennett of the United States and Australian Emma Moffatt who charged to the front from the start, just as they did last in the German leg of the event in Hamburg on last Saturday.
The American duo of Bennet and Sarah Haskins were on the top of the pile, joining the pair in the lead, diving in first to kick start lap two of the race.
Bennett maintained her stranglehold on the proceedings by taking the transition into the bike section.
At the end of the first three laps of riding, the leaders were 35 seconds ahead of the chase pack of 30 women that included Sweden's Lisa Norden and Chile's Barbara Riveros Diaz.
The leaders of the pack continued to roll on, as they increased their advantage to less than two minutes.
The quartet of Hewitt, Findlay, Spirig, and Jenkins moved to the front of the pack, carrying on with their lead at the start of the third lap run.
There was misfortune in store at this stage for the Australian athlete Moffat who relinquished her lead at the crucial juncture whilst she was hanging with the front group of eight for much of the first lap.
Fatigue clearly sat in as Moffat fell off pace, totally drained by six days of competition.
Jenkins on the other hand continued to gather pace at the start of lap two, pulling Spirig, Findlay and Hewitt with her as the rest of the lead group faded back.
As the top four started the third and final lap, Findlay moved to the front and cashed in on the fatigue of her opponents as she slowly pushed up the tempo with the rest of the leaders struggling to stay with her.
The 21-year-old made the impact braking away on the final lap of the run from Switzerland's Nicola Spirig and Briton Helen Jenkins, who finished second and third, respectively.
It was the first-ever World Championship Series victory for the Canadian who won her first ITU World Cup race in the Central American nation of Mexico in April.
"Looked back a few times, saw that I made a gap and I just ran harder trying to keep the gap and surprisingly I did so unbelievable," said Findlay after beating some of the top rivals in the women’s draw.
Elite Women results:
1. Paula Findlay (Canada) one minute 51:48 secs
2. Nicola Spirig (Switzerland) 1:51:51 +3
3. Helen Jenkins (Great Britain) 1:51:53 +5
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