Yesterday, Super League Triathlon announced the list of participants for the SLT Arena Games in London. Despite the impressive list of names, a lot of attention went to the announcement of Tim Don’s participation: “Triathlon legend Tim Don is facing one of the biggest challenges of his career as he takes on the cream of short course racing at the age of 43.”
Some readers quickly pointed out that Super League Triathlon seems to be forgetting that Don was involved in a terrible bike accident in Hawaii a few years ago. The athlete broke his neck and spent months recovering. It’s a miracle that Don recovered so well and that he was able to return to the sport as a professional triathlete. He even managed to win Ironman 70.3 Costa Rica just eight months after his crash, run a marathon in 2:49 hours and compete at the Ironman World Championship. Don remains one of the fastest ever at an Ironman race thanks to his 7:40:23 clocked at Ironman Brazil.
“Erm really, biggest challenge of his career!?” reads a Facebook comment by Sarah Connolly. “Not quite sure how Super League tops recovering from a broken neck, wearing a halo, then running the Boston marathon and still [competing in] Kona!”
“Not sure why I’ve opted for this”
Don told Super League Triathlon he is looking forward to competing in the Arena Games, although he is a little hesitant too. “I’m not sure why I’ve opted for this to be honest – it’s from one extreme to the other,” he said. “This new format of racing has grown out of nowhere and keeps on growing and growing and I think it is going to be a great test for me personally and on top of all that I get to race all these young bucks.”
Line-up
The men that Don will get to compete with in London are: Justus Nieschlag (DEU), Leo Bergere (FRA), Vasco Vilaca (PRT), Jonas Schomburg (DEU), Alex Yee (GBR), Jonathan Brownlee (GBR), Ben Dijkstra (GBR), George Goodwin (GBR) and Reece Charles-Barclay (GBR).
The following ten athletes will compete in the women’s race: Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR), Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR), Sophie Coldwell (GBR), Kate Waugh (GBR), Ruth Astle (GBR), Beth Potter (GBR), Helen Jenkins (GBR), Alice Betto (ITA), Ilaria Zane (ITA), Anna Godoy (ESP).
Triathlon legend Tim Don is facing one of the biggest challenges of his career as he takes on the cream of short course…
Geplaatst door Super League Triathlon op Maandag 8 maart 2021
