After disappointment at London 2012 the Bridgend athlete has struggled to find her form and was delighted to qualify in Australia for the Rio GamesA few months ago,when Helen Jenkins was reminded by a friend that the Olympics were rapidly approaching, she dizzily replied: “Is it Rio this year? Oh yeah it is. It’s this year.” The former double world triathlon champion could be forgiven for being absent-minded. She has suffered so many setbacks that qualifying for a third Games was not really on her intellect. That all changed final weekend with a dominant and wholly unexpected victory over the world’s best in the World Triathlon Series Gold Coast event.
Not only did the result book Jenkins’ place in the British Olympic triathlon squad, or which will be named on Monday. It also means that,staggeringly, she will head to Rio as a potential medallist, and perhaps even a gold medallist. “I was shocked to win in Australia, she tells the Observer. “The final five weeks of training before the Gold Coast was the best I’ve had in years but I didn’t expect that.”Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com