Sophie Corbidge (Auckland) finished a highly creditable 16th on her ITU World Cup debut at Tiszaujvaros (Hungary) while Mikayla Nielsen (Waikato) withdrew just 500 metres into the run with a slight recurrence of an ankle injury.
 Sophie Corbidge racing in Hungary(Photo: Janos Schmidt / ITU; click to enlarge) |
Both young athletes raced well over the weekend in the semi final and final format, turning in good performances, albeit for Nielsen her race ended early as a result of the ankle injury she picked up in China.
Triathlon New Zealand High Performance Director Graeme Maw liked what he saw from both, with the focus on execution of performance rather than results for the development athletes.
"This has been a great learning experience for the entire team but especially for Sophie and Mikayla in making it through to the final and in Sophie's case, posting a solid result on the back of a well executed race plan.
"It is clear that we must consider this sort of opportunity more carefully and look at our preparation and race opportunities in New Zealand. We are talking with Triathlon Australia and must look at our own events to look to expose our athletes to a higher intensity of racing and preparation. What the girls have experienced here is a level above anything they go through at home; we must look to improve on that at every opportunity."
Nielsen's injury is not serious but more a continuation of some discomfort from the ankle strain picked up in China. The 19 year old came through her semi final okay but felt the ankle a little in her pre-race warm up and then quickly decided to withdraw on the run, with the London World Championships now just on a month away.
Corbidge posted an impressive performance on debut at this level, putting together a consistent swim, bike and run. An indication of the step up in intensity came at the final swim buoy though when a bunch of approximately 30 athletes converged at the same time, putting the 21 year old into a physical battle in the water the likes of which she has not experienced before.
Athletes and coaches will now return to the HP Camp in Spain to continue preparation for the London World Championships in mid-September, with a number of the elites racing in the penultimate ITU World Triathlon Series event in Stockholm (Sweden) on August 24 - 25.
