World Mixed Team Relay Triathlon Championships, 16 Jul 2023

Despite the distances in the mixed relay being disgustingly short (300m swim, 5km bike, 1.5km run), it certainly felt like it lasted far longer than 23 minutes. I was the 4th athlete to go in the 1st U20 GB team, which is my favourite place as the pressure is on to totally wring yourself to maintain the hard work of your teammates (plus you get to cross the proper finish line). 

As my teammate high-fived me in the handover area we were in 3rd and I knew from the start that if I lost the podium for my teammates I'd never get over it. Charging down the ramp, diving into the water & swimming all out went to plan. Through T1 onto the bike there was little chance of drafting at this point in the race as teams were so spread out. So I worked hard and asides from sheltering behind a stronger U45 athlete for a kilometre was solo.

However approaching T2 I started to panic as my GPS said I gone just over 4km and the course was meant to be 7. I slowed down twice to ask marshals whether there was another lap but none of them seemed to know. So, I headed to the dismount line where a marshal told me the course was 5km, not 7 as the course map had said. As I got to my space on the bike rack I practically chucked it onto the rack by the saddle, but the big kit boxes and bike either side meant there was too little space & whilst I was changing my shoes another marshal told me it wasn’t good enough. Realising our medal chances were slipping through my fingers I frantically tried to rack my bike by the handles but with such little space knocked the two bikes either side off. Still unhappy, the marshal told me to take it off again and rack it by the saddle.

As I sprinted out of T2 I saw the American chasing me come into T2 and how close I was to losing this for the team became viscerally clear. I ran for my life along the track which mostly along one path with 3 hairpin turns, meaning I passed the people cheering me on 3 or 4 times. Never have shouts that another athlete was gaining on me terrified me more. But I made it onto the blue carpet & threw myself across the line.

We were 18 seconds ahead of the next team, meaning at the award ceremony that night we got to stand on the podium and feel like pros. I couldn’t have asked for much more from myself or my teammates - it was a fantastic end to an amazing few days.

Ophelia Vesely