Wight Tri member Laura Curwood returned to competitive triathlon at the London Triathlon at Docklands – the world’s largest city centre triathlon.
This was the para-triathlete’s first-ever event competing against able-bodied athletes.
After a 03:00 start, Laura’s race started off with a bang. Diving into the Thames and smashing through the water, she achieved 8.39 for the 500m swim and was the 2nd person in her wave to clamber out of the water and into transition.
The bike route – on her recumbent hand bike – weaved around the outskirts of central London and – although a little shorter than the usual super sprint distance of 10km – took in some brutal climbing over several flyovers. Despite this, Laura still achieved a personal best for a little under 9k and headed back to transition 21 minutes and 24 seconds later to head out onto the 2.5km run.
The final leg of the race took her around the outside of the Excel Centre and – despite having some technical issues towards the end – she managed to get back up the ramp into the Excel Centre and zoom down the finishing straight. The run – executed on her pro-racing wheelchair – was a little slower than anticipated at 13 minutes 47 seconds.
Laura’s overall time was 52:14. She finished 2nd in her age category and ultimately placed 22nd out of 128 able-bodied athletes.
At the end of her first race in 4 years, Laura commented:
“Am I delighted with this result? Absolutely!
Article continues below this advertisement “Does it feel good to be back in the game? It sure does!
“Will I be back next year for more? Just try and stop me…”
Laura has 2 more races booked for this year at Dorney Lake, but this time will race in the para-triathlete category.
