Findlay still hungry to win big race
Edmontonian disappointed with lack of comeback results
There is a discernible degree of frustration in Paula Findlay’s words, which is to be expected given the way the triathlete’s season has unfolded.
It was a year ago that Findlay made her way back to the international race circuit — in her home town, no less. But her 15th-place finish in the World Triathlon Series’ Grand Final has not turned out to be a springboard back to the top of the rankings.
There’s also a chance she may never recapture that magic that thrust her into the spotlight four years ago, but she’s just not ready to abandon the quest.
Findlay, 26, won five WTS races in 2010-11 before a hip injury essentially knocked her from the top of the standings to a last-place finish at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The hip injury begat foot issues, a stress fracture in her pelvis, knee problems, and countless hours of angst.
“I don’t even feel like I’m succeeding (at a comeback).,” Findlay said when reached in her training base in Boulder, Colo.
On Thursday, she’ll return to Edmonton to compete in this weekend’s ITU World Triathlon sprint event. It will be the ninth stop in the WTS series, and it comes two weeks before this season’s Grand Final at Chicago. Findlay will compete there as well, then she’ll decide if she’ll call it a season and regroup for 2016 or race in the World Cup at Cozumel, Mexico, in October.
“It’s just been a really, really tough year. I had one good race in London, which was reassurance that I was still on the right path, but everything else has been pretty disappointing,” she said. “It’s just been way more difficult than I thought it would be.
“I’m coming back to Edmonton not sure what to expect,” she continued. “I’m not particularly excited to race because it’s hard to come into races when you haven’t been performing well. My confidence is pretty low right now.
“I have been having good training sessions, so I’m just trying to draw on the confidence from that.”
That’s hardly the sentiment of an athlete on the cusp of a resurgence.
Findlay finished eighth earlier this summer on the same Hyde Park course that was used for the London Olympics, but was 11th at a World Cup in March, 30th at a WTS event in Auckland, N.Z., DNF (did not finish) at the Gold Coast race, and 25th in Yokohoma, Japan. She was ninth at the Pan Am Games in Toronto and 43rd at the qualification event in Rio de Janeiro in August.
Canada has until May 15 to secure its triathlon berths for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
“I am a great supporter of her. I don’t know how many athletes would still be doing it after what she’s been through,” said Libby Burrell, Triathlon Canada’s high performance director. “She’s so determined, so committed to what she’s doing, and I love her attention to detail.
“(And) I would hate to just write her off and say we’ve seen the best of her, but it’s going to take a special, special effort for us to see the old Paula. She was also racing at a time when the girls’ field wasn’t as stacked as it is now. The level of racing is unbelievable.”
Findlay, meanwhile, says she continues to push because she sees glimmers of hope, because she still loves the sport. Because she’s had success.
“In a way it’s harder (to have been at the top), but in a way it’s easier because I’ve shown myself that I can do it,” she said. “If I had never had those results and I was having these lacklustre performances, I would be second guessing my decision to continue.
“It wasn’t that long ago, so I really think I can do it again. That’s what keeps me hungry, too, because I know what it feels like to win a big race.
“I (also) want to go back to the Olympics. As I distance myself from that experience, I appreciate how cool it is to be a Canadian Olympian. … That’s my only focus right now, without putting too much pressure on myself. That’s ultimately what I’m striving for.”
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