JULIE Gollan-Foard may have been gasping for air but there were plenty of others struggling to keep in touch.
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The veteran triathlete dominated a women’s-only test at Allen’s Flat yesterday.
The Albury-based personal trainer was racing for revenge and readying her body for the hardship short course events demand.
Last week Gollan-Foard failed to finish in a half-ironman after breaking a spoke on her bike.
It was only the second time in 24 years of racing that she has not finished.
Gollan-Foard, 44, yesterday finished the 300 metre swim, 13 kilometre bike ride and 3 kilometre run in 40 minutes and five seconds, almost two minutes faster than nearest rival Stacey Loccisano, 25, with Thurgoona’s Sarah-Jayne Miller a 30 seconds further back in third
“I guess I wanted to go out and race hard after the disappointment of last week,” she said.
“But it hurt, it’s not like a half-ironman where you can pace yourself.
“Your heart rate is up right from the start and there was a point in the run where I had to scale it back.
“I set myself to do it in less than 40 minutes and I wasn’t far away.”
Emily Crispin, 14, won the junior title in 44 minutes 23 secs, while professional cyclist Taryn Heather and Katie Fearnside won the team event.
Heather, who rode for the Swiss-based Bigla team during the European summer, finished the 13 kilometre bike leg in 21 minutes, 46 seconds, averaging about 40km/h.
More than 170 competitors, tackled the sixth edition of the gender-specific short course triathlon.
Gollan-Foard said the event was a credit to the organisers.
“It was unbelievable to see the event at capacity just a few years after it started,” she said.
“Some of the faster girls went back out, particularly in the run leg, to get a few of the first-timers over the line,
“It was great for women, just great for sport.”