Following a fine effort to take bronze at the ITU Under-23 World Championship, British triathlete Sophie Coldwell spoke to The Sportsman straight after the race in Rotterdam...
Sophie Coldwell produced a brave effort to take the bronze medal in the Under-23 World Championship in Rotterdam. The British triathlete had been suffering with a hip injury during the build-up to the event and endured the frustration of two cancelled flights before finally making it to the Netherlands and it proved to be a worthwhile trip as the 22-year-old battled to a third place finish.
Coldwell came out of the swim in second place as she chased the mermaid-like Vittoria Lopes of Brazil into Transition One, although there frustration for fellow Brit Georgia Taylor-Brown as she had to endure a fifteen-second penalty for an irregular transition.
Taylor-Brown, Coldwell and Sian Rainsley were soon part of the leading pack on the bike as the Brits, along with the American, Tamara Gorman, set a dominant early pace that left the chasing pack trailing in their wake by an eye-watering margin of more than two minutes.
A tricky second transition for Coldwell ensured she went into the run in second place, a position she would hold until the final lap, as she eventually succumbed to the mightily impressive Tamara Gorman, who took gold by sixteen seconds from Melanie Santos of Portugal.
Coldwell eventually finished third, fourteen seconds behind Santos, and it was a result that defied even her own expectations.
"The course was really hard and the wet weather made it ten times worse," the 22-year-old from Nottingham told The Sportsman. "I've had a bit of a hip injury so I've missed quite a bit of the lead-up coming in to the race.
I can't believe it, I'm speechless, which doesn't happen very often!"
Taylor-Brown eventually finished fourth, with Sian Rainsley coming in ninth, during what has been a hugely successfully weekend in Rotterdam for the British team.
Earlier on Saturday, Ben Dijkstra was a bronze medalist in the men's junior race after Kate Waugh had won silver in the women's equivalent event on Friday.
Also on Friday, the Great Britain paratriathlon team won two golds, three silver and three bronze medals.
Andrew Lewis and Dave Ellis won their respective disciplines in PTS2 Men and PTVI Men, while Lauren Steadman (PTS5 Women), Steve Crowley (PTS4 Men) and Jade Jones (PTWC Women) took home silver medals, with Fran Brown (PTS2 Women), Joseph Townsend (PTWC Men) and Melissa Reid (PTVI Women) each taking bronze.
In Saturday' elite races, Jonny Brownlee was the highest finishing Brit when he took fifth place in the men's race and Jessica Learmonth was a bronze medalist in the ladies' event.
