Brown down but vows to rise again
HARRIET Brown says her nail biting Nutri-Grain Ironwoman Series loss will only fuel her desire to capture the series again.
Brown was announced the series winner in a day of high drama before officials realised Brielle Cooper, knocked out in the first of three races in the eliminator format, still had a chance to seal the title depending on Brown’s result.
Still short of full fitness after an ankle injury in January, Brown was eliminated in race two with her 10th placing in the race forcing a countback to determine the series winner.
Cooper’s two round wins compared to Brown’s one proved telling. With direct passage to the last of the eliminator races available to the top two finishers in race one, Brown put all her eggs in one basket and looked set to be re- warded before being pipped by Lizzie Welborn and Georgia Miller on the line.
“It has been a really difficult preparation for me, both physically and then that plays on me mentally,” Brown said.
“I went out in that first race trying to give it everything I had because I knew that I didn’t have the biggest training base in the past six weeks.”
But Brown said the title loss had already fired her appetite for next season.
“I’m disappointed today, I would have loved to win but that’s got me fired up and I want to come back next year and get that feeling back that I got last year,” she said.