Bermudian triathlete Erica Hawley says her sixth-place finish at the World Triathlon Cup in Edmonton was precisely the statement performance she needed to kickstart her Olympic qualification campaign.
Hawley executed a composed and tactically sharp race in Canada, stopping the clock at 1:00:23 in a high-caliber field of 60 competitors. The result comes as a welcome response following a disappointing outing at the Huatulco World Cup in Mexico.
"I am extremely happy with placing sixth in Edmonton," Hawley said. "It was exactly the result I was looking for after Huatulco and to 'start' my Olympic journey again.
"It felt like a riskier decision to race here since the start list was a lot stronger than most World Cups, but I felt like the minimal travel and the timing suited my goals much better this year. I love racing in Canada and over the last few years I’ve had some of my best results here."
Key to Hawley’s success was a sharp start in the water and a furious opening effort on the bike, allowing her to establish herself firmly in the primary chase pack.
Having previously identified the swim and the opening stages of the cycle as areas for improvement, the Bermudian put in an aggressive display on a demanding Canadian course.
"What I’m most proud of is the swim and lap one of the bike," she explained. "This part of the triathlon has been one of my weaknesses, but I think I had one of my best swims and was really aggressive on the first lap of the bike, which meant that I was in the first chase pack.
"It was a hard course, so I knew the first three kilometers of the bike would be all-out, and I was strong here."
Beyond the technical execution, Hawley highlighted her mental recovery following her struggle on the run in Mexico.
"I'm proud of my resilience to bounce back after Huatulco, where I had one of my worst runs in a while. I felt a lot more in control and got into a rhythm on the run from the get-go.
"I didn’t have the final sprint for the podium, but overall I had a very solid swim, bike, and run. It’s really hard to mentally come back from a bad result, and I believe that shows lots of growth—maybe even some veteran mentality!"
With a strong foundation now laid in North America, Hawley turns her focus to a quickfire double-header in South America as she continues her push to secure valuable Olympic qualification points.
"Next up is the Rio World Cup on August 2nd, and then the Asuncion World Cup on August 9th," Hawley added.
"The goal for this race block is to get lots of Olympic points banked. I am really happy to start off with this sixth place and hopefully build from here."
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