 Sophie Linn secured her first-ever World Triathlon Cup victory in Napier, New Zealand, marking an unforgettable opener to the season for the young Australian, who has put herself in a great position on the road to securing a spot on the Olympic team for Paris 2024.
Erica Hawley began the season by finishing 12th in a field of 40 competitors, Linn clocked 56:35, while Hawley was clocked across the line in a time of 57:46.
A beautiful day in the idyllic town of Napier, on the North Island east coast, welcomed the participants of the World Triathlon Cup Napier, opener of the season, with all set up for a sprint race for the ages: 740m swim without wetsuits on choppy waters with a challenging beach star, followed by four laps of 5km each on the bike course, flat as it can be but quite technical, to round up the day with a 5km run along the coast.
Hawley covered the Swimming distance in a time of 10:23, she then clocked a time of 29:24 on the Bike, before clocking a time of 16:45 on the Run.
Hawley said, “The first race of the year always comes with a few unknowns, but I’m very pleased with how the race went and more importantly I felt strong and really enjoyed myself. Last year it took a while to get things rolling in the early races so it’s great to start 2024 feeling proud and see that racing reflects training.”
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