‘I gave it everything,’ says Jenkins
ATHLETICS
BY her own admission, Helen Jenkins felt it wasn’t her day during the Rio Olympics Triathlon in Brazil last Saturday, writes Tony Poole.
Helen, who was born in Elgin but grew up in Bridgend, had to be satisfied with a 19th place finish in a time of 2hrs 1min 7secs.
And her race had already been run after the bike ride when she failed to keep track with a leading pack of 18 competitors.
It was her third tilt at the Olympic Games, having finished 21st in the Beijing Games of 2008 and coming fifth in London four years ago.
But having endured a catalogue of injuries, Helen in April returned to form in dramatic style during a World Triathlon Series event in the Gold Coast.
She became the first competitor to beat eventual Rio golden girl Gwen Jorgenson (USA), who had won 13 straight races.
It was suggested during a post-race interview that her husband and coach Marc Jenkins was too nervous to watch the Rio race.
“I lacked top end power and it simply just wasn’t my day,” explained Helen.
She went on: “I was up for it alright and gave it everything, but it was a tough race and I just didn’t have it on the day.
“However, a year ago it didn’t seem possible for me to compete in a third Olympic Games, and it’s all down to a lot of people who lent marvellous support.
“I would also like to thank supporters in Bridgend, as their thoughts and encouragement meant so much.’’
But Helen took satisfaction in two of her teammates – bronze medallist Vicky Holland (Gloucester) and fourth-placed Non Stanford (Swansea) – turning in great performances.
“I’m proud of what Vicky and Non achieved against the best in the world, and it was a shame that Non missed out on a medal.’’
The race that started on Copacabana Beach was won by favourite Jorgensen, who eventually broke away from defending champion Nicola Spirig (Switzerland) during the closing stages.
For the record, her winning time was 1:56:16, and she finished 40 seconds ahead of Spirig.
Holland was a further five seconds behind and fourth-placed Stanford another three seconds adrift.