Sheedy-Ryan Crowned World Duathlon Champion In Nancy
Sheedy-Ryan Crowned World Duathlon Champion In Nancy
Western Australian Felicity Sheedy-Ryan has been crowned only the third Australian woman to win the ITU Duathlon World Championship in Nancy, France overnight.
The 27-year-old elite triathlete dominated the scenic 10km run, 40km bike, 5km run course centered around the city’s UNESCO heritage site Place Stanislas.
Sheedy-Ryan joins Jenny Alcorn (1992) and noted ITU World Triathlon champion Jackie Gallagher (1996 and 1999) as Australia’s latest world Duathlon champion.
And the 2010 bronze medallist had to lower the colours of Great Britain’s defending champion, Katie Hewison and four-time world championship medallist, Frenchwoman Sandra Levenez to claim the gold.
Although Sheedy-Ryan has been absent from the duathlon scene since earning bronze at the 2010 World Championships, she made a seamless return to the two-discipline sport.
“I knew there were some very strong girls,” Sheedy-Ryan said after the race.
“I’ve been doing a lot of hard biking and running recently for my triathlon training, and I was confident I could put in a good race. You never know, it’s never easy, but I was hoping for a really good result.”
The result was indeed good for the Australian, as she dominated the course from start to finish.
Early on the first run, a group of ten athletes quickly forged ahead.
With two silver and a bronze world championship medals to her name, Levenez gunned for the allusive gold alongside compatriot Sabrina Godard in the group.
But on the second half of the six-lap 10km run, the determined young Australian pushed the pace even more to break away from the lead pack.
Hewison, Godard and Levenez met her rate and, together, the quad managed to gain a 40-second advantage by the time they hit their bikes.
The crew carried their lead onto the 40km bike, but it wasn’t long before Sheedy-Ryan, Hewison and Levenez promptly accelerated ahead of Godard on the technical course.
Godard kept the leading trio in range from 30 seconds back while the chase group fell to more than a minute deficit.
The top three leading ladies rode together throughout the eight-lap course, working to put an insurmountable distance between themselves and their competition.
The strategy proved successful, as each of the eventual medallists pulled up to the final 5km run in podium position.
Halfway through the final run, the tenacious trio separated in the hunt for gold.
The Australian surged to the top spot on the first of three run laps, securing a 20-second lead over 2011 champion Hewison.
Levenez, who claimed bronze last year, looked destined for a second bronze as she trailed the leader by 50 seconds.
In a final push for the finish, Sheedy-Ryan collected gold in 1:52:43.
Hewison garnered her second medal at a duathlon world championships in as many years with silver in 1:53:42. Levenez ran to her fourth consecutive podium finish in 1:54:20 to take bronze.
“The first run was very, very fast,” Hewison said.
“I’m really pleased with my second place. Last year I think I was a little bit fitter on the run, but I had a stress fracture after the race. This year, I’m healthy, but maybe just a little bit less fit. But, saying that, I’m really pleased.”
Click here for full results>>
Photos courtesy of ITU_Janos Schmidt
Follow us on:
