PUTRAJAYA – Swimming in murky waters disrupted triathlete Esther Joy’s rhythm but that did not stop her from finishing as the best Malaysian at the Asia Triathlon Cup Putrajaya at the Watersports Complex here today.
Ester finished the season-opening Asia Triathlon Cup series women’s race in 12th place with a time of 1h 8m and 15s.
“I didn’t even know I was the best Malaysian, but I feel like it was an okay race.
“The swim could have been better. It was also really hot, especially on the run and the cycling part.
“Swimming in this lake is not the same as in a pool, I could not see anything and I didn’t really know where I was going and who was next to me, or if I was swimming in the right direction.
“So that played to my weaker side,” said the 21-year-old.
The national champion retains her title with today’s performance and wishes to focus on more sprint-format races in the future.
“I will probably lean away from half-distance Ironman races a bit because last year we just wanted to try our luck. So definitely there will be more sprints this year (so I can) try to get the hang of it.
“This is only our third sprint race, so I would like to see a bit better results, especially from the swim portion of my sprint races,” she said.
Julie Derron of Switzerland crossed the finish line in first place clocking a time of 57m 29s.
She was very pleased to win her first race in Malaysia.
“I think I won in China before, but it’s my first time winning and racing in Malaysia. It was a great race and I’m happy to start the season like this.
“I was training in China, and from where I was training, it was just a short trip to come here.
“I know Tony Tan (Malaysia Triathlon president) and all the organisers, so it was a great opportunity to support the race, running through everything, doing a triathlon…(going through) all the processes, preparing for the season.
“I’m not really used to this kind of heat, so I was a bit apprehensive about how it was going to go. During the race, I was just trying to stay cool and accept that it was going to be hot and try my best,” said the 28-year-old.
Bailee Brown from Hong Kong was second (59m 03s) and Alanis Siffert (59m 35s), also from Switzerland, rounded up the podium. – February 25, 2024