Olympic agony and ecstasy

May 11, 2012

There has been a lot of joy expressed by the 12 U.S. women triathletes who have qualified for a spot in the Olympics. And yet some of the most striking memories are the faces as the door closes on an Olympic dream.

In the 12 year history of U.S. Olympic Triathlon qualification process, there are many heroes who fell short on the field of play but shone bright with sportsmanship and were full of praise for the winners despite their deep seated pain. Unforgettable was America's top ranked triathlete Barb Lindquist felled by heat exhaustion at Sydney and at Dallas in 2000, then rising to shake the hands and hug the three who made the team. Same was the stirring example of Siri Lindley picking herself up from those crushed feelings after falling short at Dallas and shaking the hand of the winner with genuine warmth ands admiration. In 2008, 2000 Olympic 4th place finisher Joanna Zeiger said good bye to her final Olympic dream with grace at Tuscaloosa, while rising star Sarah Groff was consoled months later at Hy-Vee by then coach Siri Lindley after falling short in her duel for the third spot to Sarah Haskins. And just as Laura Bennett was wracked with sorrow when she missed at Washington state as she was aced by better cyclist Susan Williams in the final U.S. Olympic Trials in 2004, so too did she rise to the occasion and contain her disappointment with kind words for the winners. But the lasting image of that moment was the tender words of understanding afforded her by fellow triathlete Sheila Taormina.

When you recount all those moments and see that the protagonists inevitably find themselves on opposite sides of the agony-ecstasy wheel, you see this Olympic chase is just life writ large.

So, today, after a great duel on San Diego course within a mile of the site of the very first triathlon held 37 years ago, Laura Bennett prevailed by 45 seconds over fellow 2008 Olympic teammate Sarah Haskins for the third and final spot on the U.S. women's 2012 Olympic squad. Both women emerged from the swim in the breakaway pack of eight, then pushed hard to build a 2 minute lead over the chase pack starting the run. .

Ironically, Helen Jenkins was Haskins' breakaway partner in their two-woman breakaway to gold and silver at the 2008 ITU World Championship. Haskins was joined by Jenkins once again Friday. But they were joined by six others largely because the San Diego course was almost entirely flat – which makes getaways more crowded. On this day, Haskins was worn a bit by her leading part in the bike surge but she bravely latched on to Bennett's certified speedster's heels and gave it her best shot until her body unraveled from her heart about Mile 3.

After the tumult and shouting were over, Bennett was happy but there could be no boxer's atavistic gestures of like Muhammad Ali's raw gesture of triumph standing over the prone body of Sonny Liston in that famous photograph. Bennett had prevailed over a dear friend who had given her all and thus was quite torn between pride, happiness and a deep sympathy. When Haskins collected her thoughts her eyes remained dry, but her voice was full of hesitation and sorrow as she recounted the struggle. Her triumph was one for self possession as she stood there and answered questions, full of affection for Bennett.

Sarah Haskins

Slowtwitch: How do you take such disappointment?

Sarah Haskins: It's OK. I am really happy for Laura. We are good friends. We both rode the bike super hard. We weren't going to be lollygagging. I attacked the bike several times really hard.

ST: Did you attack too much?

Sarah: I don’t know. CHUCKLES. But knowing I did my own race this time, that's OK. The last trials event [in London last summer] I didn’t live up to that principle. I didn’t race the way I normally race. Back then I was thinking 'Oh I can’t push the bike. I can’t push my teammates.' So today I wanted to make the bike extremely hard. I wanted to walk away from this race thinking 'This time I raced this race the way I always do.' I think Laura felt the same way, too [as both Haskins and Bennett were curiously off form and beaten by Gwen Jorgensen and Sarah Groff for the first two U.S. women's Olympic slots]. .

ST: What do you think of your race today?

Sarah: I guess I have to be proud of my finish. I exploded a bit on the run. I got kind of tight the last couple miles. But I still finished in the top 9. [8th] And so I am an Olympic alternate and I have to be ready if anything happens to our other women. Obviously I hope not. I just went for it. So it's OK. I am personally really sad but I am really happy for Laura.

ST: You were right on her shoulder starting the run. She had five steps on you, but you never got by her. .

Sarah: Yeah. I know I pushed the first two miles really hard. It hit me a little bit at the end. But that is racing. You have to go for it and put yourself in position to win. I faded there at the end — but I had to race like that. We broke away in a small pack. And if you don't push the bike really hard, you won’t get a good separation on the second pack.

ST: How would you describe your signature race your own authentic race style?

Sarah: My strength is a hard swim a hard bike and a hard run. That's how I like to race and I am proud I stayed true to myself and I did this triathlon my way.

ST: Is there any consolation?

Sarah: All in all we had an American on the podium. We had a successful breakaway The goal is to get Americans in that top pack. And to have an American on the podium – no matter what the race. I've just got to go for it. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. But you VOICE BREAKS have to try.

ST: Might you have liked things better with a big hill in the middle of the bike?

Sarah: Even on a flat course you can still work the bike hard. I think that is what we did. I am not sure but I think we kept putting time into the chase pack.

ST: Did lots of turns help you break away?

Sarah: It definitely helps having the turns. I tried with one hill on the bridge. It wasn't much but it was enough to push it.

ST: What is your new target? Rio in 2016?

Sarah: It is not out of possibility. Rio? Four years go by fast. It could be a possibility. I mean the Olympics is obviously a huge goal of mine. But there are so many races outside of the Olympics. The non drafting style of racing is my strength.
There are a lot of things I wanted to do after this year. I'd like to start a family. I am really inspired by a lot of women who are having children and getting back into sport. It’s what I want to do.

Laura Bennett

ST: How did your race start?

Laura Bennett: It was kind of bizarre. I didn’t have the best start line. Do you go right or do you go left? I tried to run far right and OI ended up about 20th. I looked over and saw someone out front far to my left. It was nice to have non wetsuit swim. I felt like I could catch back up a bit and I did. Coming out of the water we had a nice pack of eight. Sarah [Haskins] and I had to be in the top 9 so it was important that we work together. And then we'd fight it out at the end. And we did so. The girls worked pretty well on the bike. Sarah and I were definitely doing what was necessary to stay in front and build that lead. we got a two minute lead or something and it was nice..It is to everybody's advantage to try to get away. There can be a lot of people in the second pack just sitting in and not going much work on the bike. So they can run a lot quicker. It is just a game of tactics. If you work hard on the bike you will have worse run. But if you get a big lead that is worth it

ST: What is it like dueling with a former Olympic teammate?

Laura: It really stinks to have Sarah not be on the team. She is such an asset. She is a phenomenal athlete. I wish we could take four. I think the two girls Sarah and Gwen who are already on the team are phenomenal athletes and you would never want one of them to miss out. It is tough to have her and I going head to head on the final day. I have lot of respect for Sarah and it is tough. And we are good friends. So it is worse.

ST: Have you had time to think about the plan leading into London?

Laura: Yeah we will go back and see what I am missing., The girls who are performing at the top right now like Erin [Densham] and Helen ;Jenkins']. And Nicola Spirig. There are a lot of women today who are performing really, really well. They know what they are doing and so you know what you have to do. So I have to figure out what is the best way to get me to the same point . It is not necessarily they are running faster so run faster. For me I need a lot of strength and endurance. So we will go back and have a look at it.

ST: Are are you aware Sarah was right behind you starting the run?

Laura: No I didn’t know. I just tried to run my own run and see where that got me. and try not to blow myself up.

ST: What were your toughest moments?

Laura: I had cramps in my core and I am not sure what they were for. Just the whole run I felt crampy. But it was fine. I could still run properly.