Three of South Africa’s Rio Olympians were in action at the weekend’s ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon… resulting in two top 10 and one top 20 finishes… and one unexpected night in hospital.
Two-time Olympian Richard Murray ended fifth in the elite men’s race. Rio bronze medallist Henri Schoeman took 10th spot before collapsing, was then whisked off to the medical tent and spent the night under observation.
In the women’s race run a day earlier, Gillian Sanders, also a two-time Olympian, was 20th.
The men’s race was won by Spain’s Javier Gomez in 1hr 52min 31sec as he returned to racing after a long break. Britain’s Thomas Bishop podiumed for the first time in 1:52:45 ahead of another comeback athlete, Vincent Luis of France, who hasn’t raced the WTS circuit for more than a year.
Murray clocked 1:53:25 and Schoeman 1:54:35, while a third South African in the men’s field, former junior world champion Wian Sullwald, failed to finish the race.
Schoeman took time out at the Abu Dhabi airport before flying back to SA and chatted to the SASCOC website after his unexpected night in.
‘I’m feeling quite rough, I have to say. They wanted to keep me in hospital overnight and monitor my levels for 24 hours as there were some heart enzymes that were elevated and they were quite concerned.
‘Otherwise I just wanted to get home early and see my own doctor [Team SA’s doctor at the Olympics, Dr Kevin Subban]. Naturally I’m disappointed with how the race turned out for me. I’m in some awesome shape and I expected a podium result.
‘The swim felt fine, but then on the bike I knew something wasn’t right and I was struggling to hang on. On the run it was just the adrenalin that got me through the first 2km. Surprisingly, I felt really good and was running in first with Javier and actually quite comfortably.
‘But after 2km my body just started shutting down and I went downhill from there. I don’t remember the last lap, it was all just a blur and I was going through some excrutiating pain and the next minute there I was in the medical tent with doctors all around me and then I was in the hospital.
‘So it’s not the way to finish a race, but I’ll get 100% healthy and come back better and contest for that podium again next time,’ were the Olympic bronze medallist’s last words.
The women’s race went to New Zealand’s Andrea Hewitt in 2:03:46, after a sprint finish with Britain’s Jodie Stimpson, credited with the same time. Hewitt dedicate the victory to the memory of her fiancé and fellow triathlete Laurent Vidal, who passed away in late 2015.
Sanders, still based in London, had mixed feelings about her efforts. She told the SASCOC website: ‘I’m not happy with my race, but also not disappointed. There were elements I felt really good in and a few bits I didn’t feel good in.’
Good news is that for this stage of the year, Sanders is super positive. ‘The past few years I’ve been a bit slow out of the blocks in my early-season races, but I felt much stronger overall than the last few years at this time.
‘This was a brutal bike course and very tough for the first race of a season,’ she added.
She spent a week training in Dubai before the race just to get used to the punishing heat… although heat is something she’s always embraced as a friend in her career.
‘I think I’ve had a really solid winter, which is good. So I’m satisfied to start the season with a top 20, but I feel there’s lots more to come which makes me very excited for the rest of the season.’
Next up for the former KwaZulu-Natalian? ‘Definitely the Gold Coast WTS for a last practice on the Commies [Commonwealth Games] course and then maybe a World Cup in New Plymouth the week before. They’re both sprint races so “doable”.’
