Victoria triathlete McQuaid races to her fifth world title

Racer Girl is still all that.

Not even time can erode that special quality Melanie McQuaid has brought to off-road triathlons all over the world.

The 44-year-old from Victoria won her fifth world championship Wednesday by taking the ITU Cross Triathlon women’s world title in Penticton.

It goes with the world championship she won in 2011, and three X-Terra Triathlon world championships won in 2003, 2005 and 2006.

The ITU Cross Triathlon consists of a 1.5-kilometre swim, 30K mountain bike race and 10K trail run.

To do it on home soil was memorable for the globe-trotting Island athlete.

“It is really special when you can win a world championship in your home country, because you just have that extra support and more of your family and friends around, so it is awesome,” McQuaid said in a statement.

“I told my coach [Kelly Guest of Victoria] that this was the world championship course I always prayed for when I was focusing on the off-road stuff, so I really knew it was going to be a great course for me.

“Then when I went out there, it just was one of those magical days where I just was having so much fun, nothing hurt and I just was loving it.”

Jacqueline Slack of Great Britain took the silver medal and Ladina Buss of Switzerland the bronze. Francisco Serrano of Mexico won the world men’s championship.

TRI NOTES: McQuaid’s feat follows two-time Olympian Brent McMahon of Victoria destroying the course record in winning Ironman Lake Placid in New York state last month.

McMahon also holds the course records for Ironman Arizona and Ironman Brazil, the latter set in 2016 with the thirdfastest Ironman clocking in history. McMahon will be among the favourites in October at the 2017 Ironman Hawaii world championship in Kona.