Australia’s mixed relay team delivered a bronzed end to the triathlon campaign in Birmingham for the final triathlon event of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
It was another strong and tactical Australian team performance as the sun came out in Sutton Park on the first Sunday afternoon of the Games.
Yee again set the tone with a blistering run to put hosts England ahead of the field early on, with Sophie Coldwell, Samuel Dickonson and Georgia Taylor-Brown holding the lead throughout, and Taylor-Brown extended the gap to enjoy a memorable win in front of the packed-home-crowd, finishing in 01:16:40.
At the final leg, with the podium undecided, it was Wales, Australia, and New Zealand in the battle which culminated in a tight contest between Sophie Linn for Australia and Non Stanford for Wales over the final 2km run. Linn managed to out-sprint Stanford by two seconds in the individual race on Friday, but it was Stanford who found the extra gear to power home for Wales to claim Silver in the final metres.
Linn emptied the tank to bring it home for third and another bronze for Australia, after Jake Birtwhistle, Natalie Van Coevorden and Matthew Hauser had all combined to put her right in the medal mix.
Australia’s Bronze medallist from Friday’s Individual Men’s Triathlon, Hauser said the Australian team played to their strengths to secure the Bronze.
“Jake had an epic run to try and keep up with Alex Yee, as one of the best runners in the game, so he kicked it off really well, I knew I could use my swim to our advantage, to close any gaps if need be, but the girls were super strong. Nat on the swim bike, holding onto the run and Sophie finishing it off so strong,” said Hauser.
“We really played to our strengths out there today and ran a tactical race.”
Jake Birtwhistle now with a full set of Commonwealth Games medals across 2018 and 2022 campaigns said he ‘couldn’t be more proud of the team today to be up there on the podium’.
Mixed Relay
1st Team England 01:16:40
2nd Wales 01:17:26
3rd Australia 01:17:29
World Triathlon Full Race Recap here.
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