full of emotions
Ironman 70.3 Rapperswil
Locations
Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland
Official website
ironman 70.3 Switzerland
Date
02/06/2024
Type of race
Description
A fantastic race, rich in emotions shared with my family, where I climbed to the second step of the podium in 3h56, achieving the best performance of the day on the bike course by 5min!
Feedback
This Sunday 2nd June 2024, I participated in the Ironman 70.3 in Rapperswil-Jona. After an incredible race, I climbed to the second step of the podium in 3h56, just 4 minutes behind my teammate Julie Derron.
It was a fantastic and emotional race, where I could rely on the support of my family, my coach, my friends and my sponsors who came to cheer me on throughout the course. It was a great pleasure to share this wonderful day and performance with them. Due to the cold and rainy weather conditions, we had to wait until the morning of the race to find out if the swimming would take place. With the water temperature at 13.5 degrees, the organizers confirmed 1 hour before the race start that the swim would go ahead. However, for safety reasons for all athletes, the course was shortened to 750m instead of the usual 1900m. I started the race with a good swim, coming out in the lead group. During the first transition, I decided to take a few extra seconds to put on a vest and arm warmers to stay "warm" on the bike. The 90km bike course included two laps and a total of 1100m of elevation gain. I found my rhythm right away and at the end of the first long climb, I took the lead ahead of Julie. I then attacked; it was my opportunity. I knew she would run very fast behind me. I pushed even harder on the second bike lap where I gave it all I had in my legs: I loved that feeling! I arrived at T2 in the lead with a considerable 5-minute advantage over second place. I achieved the best time on the bike over 90km in 2h19min31sec.
So, I left T2 in the lead and started the 21km run. I found my pace and focused on executing my race. The atmosphere was incredible. Leading the race, all spectators cheered me on and I fed off that positive energy. At the beginning of the second run lap, Julie caught up with me, running a magnificent race. I am extremely grateful to have been able to compete alongside my teammate Julie because she pushed me to my limits, and it was a source of mutual motivation. At that moment, I kept fighting and gave everything I had left until crossing the finish line to secure second place and achieve my best race to date! This emotionally charged day shared with my loved ones touched me deeply. I’m grateful to see my immense progress. I cycled 15 minutes faster than last year and ran 7 minutes faster! It's very rewarding after all the hours of hard work I put in. It motivates me even more for what's to come, knowing that I am only at the beginning and still have a lot of work ahead of me. I am lucky to be able to count on my coach Brett Sutton who knows exactly what areas I need to work on to move forward. With mutual trust, progress is visible from race to race. I loved this day!