London Calling
Here is a flashback from a past blog by T1 High Performance Coach, Kyle Jensen. In 2013 Coach Kyle competed in the 25 – 29 Age Group Sprint World Championships in London, England.
“Having won the 25-29 Age Group Sprint Canadian Championships in Edmonton last year, I qualified for a spot on the Canadian team for the 2013 ITU Age Group World Championships.
The trip to England started on a very bad note! Nirvana Europe, the company hired to transport myself and my bike from Gatwick Airport to our flat in Central London, lost my bike in transit. I spent two full days in my apartment on the phone trying to locate my bike. It was a very stressful time as no bike meant no race.
Fortunately my bike was located and delivered to our flat late one night. I was able to, from that point on, begin to put all my focus and effort into preparing mentally for my race. I was also able to do some training with Team Canada in the days leading up to my race, which was a great psychological boost.
Race day approached September 13, 2013. My goal to represent Canada at the World Championships, which I made two years before, was about to be reached.
The race had a violent start, as 96 competitors thrashed about in the Serpentine in Hyde Park to jostle for position for the first leg of the race. In the frenzy, I was elbowed in the face and had my goggles knocked off. I replaced my goggles and tried to recover as quickly as possible.
The bike was slow-going. It was raining fairly well by the time I hit the bike, and the London streets were wet. Many cyclists were going down due to the slippery pavement around the corners of the bike course.
After a longer and slower than normal bike, I began the run feeling fantastic. I had a lot of energy left, and decided that I would use this to my advantage and give absolutely everything I had on the run course. I crossed the finish line with a personal best run. An 18:27 run!
I placed 70th out of 96 competitors in my age group.
As a young boy who loved to watch the Olympics, it was always my goal to represent Canada in some sort of athletic competition. It was so humbling to be able to realize this goal. The level of competition was outstanding and truly world-class. Like no other race I have ever competed in, it was amazing to be swimming, riding and running beside my competitors. It was fantastic to look to left and to the right and see competitors from Australia, Great Britain, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, South Africa, Egypt, Italy……… and the list goes on and on. 85 countries were represented at these World Championships!
So now it is time to put behind me this past race, and look ahead to the World Championships next year in Edmonton, Canada. I have already qualified and will be truly humbled once again to race with the world’s best, especially in front of a home crowd!
Kyle Jensen is a B.Sc. Kin., CPT, NCCP Competitive triathlon coach from Calgary, AB. Kyle is the Head Coach of the Kronos Triathlon Club and T1Triathlon.
kyle.jensen@t1triathlon.com