The Triathlon World Championships event happens once a year, coinciding with the last race of the elite series. In 2019 it was held at the end of August in Lausanne, Switzerland. James Porter, who lives locally, qualified for this event at a race at Eton Dorney in May. However, due to lack of funding from the government and the number of athletes competing across the variety of age groups, British Triathlon couldn't afford to pay for everyone’s travel, race fees and accommodation. So, in order to be able to participate in this once in a lifetime event, James had to seek sponsorship and we were pleased to cover his race entry fees.
To prepare for the race, and give himself the best possible chance of doing well in his first international race, James spent the summer in the south of France, near Carcassonne, training with a coach and getting acclimatised to the heat that he'd be racing in.
On the day itself, James was racing at 10:50am and by this point it was already close to 30°c, with the lake water temperature of around 24°c, meaning it was a no wetsuit swim. There were 90 athletes in his race from all over the world, including countries like America, Australia, Spain and Bolivia. After a hectic swim, James was 17th out of the water. A mistake in transition cost him a couple of places but he managed to get out onto the bike with a pack. The bike course consisted of two laps of 10km with a 500m 10% hill and then a 1km hill at 13%, which meant it was hard for packs to stay together and work efficiently. Off the bike and onto the run, which was a single 5km lap sloping upwards to the Olympic Museum and then back to the flat of the lake front for the last 2km.
In the end James was placed 34th out of 90, which he was happy with considering it was his first international race, which happened to be the World Championships. Looking to the future, following Switzerland, James qualified for the European Championships in Malmö, Sweden at the beginning of August 2020.
Our congratulations go to James on his achievement and we wish him all the very best for his next event!
The Triathlon World Championships event happens once a year, coinciding with the last race of the elite series. In 2019 it was held at the end of August in Lausanne, Switzerland. James Porter, who lives locally, qualified for this event at a race at Eton Dorney in May. However, due to lack of funding from the government and the number of athletes competing across the variety of age groups, British Triathlon couldn't afford to pay for everyone’s travel, race fees and accommodation. So, in order to be able to participate in this once in a lifetime event, James had to seek sponsorship and we were pleased to cover his race entry fees.
To prepare for the race, and give himself the best possible chance of doing well in his first international race, James spent the summer in the south of France, near Carcassonne, training with a coach and getting acclimatised to the heat that he'd be racing in.
On the day itself, James was racing at 10:50am and by this point it was already close to 30°c, with the lake water temperature of around 24°c, meaning it was a no wetsuit swim. There were 90 athletes in his race from all over the world, including countries like America, Australia, Spain and Bolivia. After a hectic swim, James was 17th out of the water. A mistake in transition cost him a couple of places but he managed to get out onto the bike with a pack. The bike course consisted of two laps of 10km with a 500m 10% hill and then a 1km hill at 13%, which meant it was hard for packs to stay together and work efficiently. Off the bike and onto the run, which was a single 5km lap sloping upwards to the Olympic Museum and then back to the flat of the lake front for the last 2km.
In the end James was placed 34th out of 90, which he was happy with considering it was his first international race, which happened to be the World Championships. Looking to the future, following Switzerland, James qualified for the European Championships in Malmö, Sweden at the beginning of August 2020.
Our congratulations go to James on his achievement and we wish him all the very best for his next event!
