Sophie Coldwell finished fourth at the ITU World Triathlon Champions in Edmonton, Canada, in the elite junior event. Chris Perham and James Teagle made their international debuts and performed well in a very competitive junior men’s field.
Racing over the sprint distance in her final event as a junior, 19 year-old Loughborough University student, Coldwell, was looking for a top eight finish but surpassed her expectations with fourth.
Positioned well after the swim, she helped set up a lead bike group of seven athletes and was leading for much of the 20km distance. On the run it was a European affair with two French and one German athlete striking out a lead with Coldwell just behind.
At the finish Laura Lindermann of Germany out ran Cassandre Beaugrand for gold with Audrey Merle in third place.
Commenting on the bike leg, Coldwell said: “We got away and then I knew a few of the quick runners were in the pack behind so it was in the best interests to work. Only a few worked but it meant that I got a result I was pleased with, so I didn’t mind doing more work.”
Happy with fourth place, she added: “I said I’d be satisfied with top eight and pleased with top five so I’m really pleased.”
Perham, 19, and Teagle, 18, only qualified for this event a week ago but performed well to finish 15th and 22nd. Perham exited the swim in the top ten and positioned himself well during the bike leg.
The race came down to the run and Perham picked off runners to move up the field and finish ahead of his top twenty target.
The Loughborough University student said: “I accomplished what I wanted to do, got in all the right positions on the swim and the bike. [I kept] building up on the run, gradually picking off people and I’m really pleased with the end result.”
Teagle enjoyed his international debut and is already focused on next year’s world championships in Chicago. He said: “It more or less went to plan. I’ll aim for top ten next year!”
Results junior women:
1. Laura Lindermann, GER, 1:02:35
2. Cassandre Beaugrand, FRA, 1:02:38
3. Audrey Merle, FRA, 1:02:44
4. Sophie Coldwell, GBR, 1:03:37
5. Avery Evenson, USA, 1:03:44
Results junior men:
1. Raphael Montoya, FRA, 56:27
2. Jacob Birtwhistle, AUS, 56:28
3. Calvin Quirk, AUS, 56:45
15. Chris Perham, GBR, 57:40
22. James Teagle, GBR, 58:03
