THE CANADIAN PRESS
The fastest female triathletes in the world are now looking over their shoulders for a redhead from Canada.
Edmonton’s Paula Findlay was a virtual unknown on the international circuit before this breakout season.
The 21-year-old has won four of five races she’s entered this year, including back-to-back world championship series events on the 2012 London Olympic course July 24 and in Kitzbuehel, Austria, on Sunday.
"I did kind of come out of nowhere," Findlay admits from her training base in Victoria. "Even going in to London, I was ranked 53rd. I wasn’t really known."
When Findlay crossed the finish line in Kitzbuehel, she shook her head slightly in disbelief. While she fumbled with the cork on her podium champagne bottle, Findlay was doused in bubbly by runner-up Lisa Norden of Sweden and bronze medallist Andrea Hewitt of New Zealand.
"I just keep going into these races not expecting to do what I’m doing," she says. "Everything I finish I’m shocked. It’s getting a little less shocking as I go along."
The euphoria from her victories helps offset her fatigue as she prepares for the Pushor Mitchell Apple Triathlon, which doubles as the Canadian championship, in Kelowna, B.C., on Saturday and Sunday.
Winning also eases the pain of the black eye she sustained in Kitzbuehel when she was punched in the face during the swim and lost a contact lens. The International Triathlon Union’s World Championship Series is a seven-race circuit that determines the men’s and women’s world champions. Findlay ranks eighth heading into the Grand Final on Sept. 12 in Budapest, Hungary.
Triathletes usually peak in their mid to late 20s when they’ve had time to develop the big engine endurance sport requires. Findlay is demonstrating that speed and power early. She’s mentally and physically fresh in the sport, so the key is to keep her that way for 2012.
She’s enthusiastic about racing, so coach Patrick Kelly and Triathlon Canada high-performance director Kurt Innes have gently tugged on the reins this season.
Findlay wanted to race in both Des Moines, Iowa, and Madrid, Spain, in June. She was given a choice between the two and raced the Hy-Vee World Cup in Des Moines, where she finished fourth.
"You try to be slow and progressive and very deliberate in your approach fostering athletes’ development," Innes explains. "You don’t want to burn somebody out. You don’t want to damage the athlete’s potential or hinder their potential by coming at them too fast or too soon."
That Findlay won on the 2012 Olympic course inevitably raises hopes she can duplicate that result in two years. Findlay is more preoccupied with staying healthy and training hard. If she can’t do both, she might not make it to London.
"When people ask me about the Olympics, I don’t want to talk as if I’m going already and ‘Oh, I’m going to win a medal,"’ she says.
"Right now my focus is to make the team and then my goal would be to perform well at the Games. It’s an added bonus that I’ve had success on that course in the past, so racing there next year and hopefully at the Olympics will be familiar to me."
The oldest of three Findlay children grew up dancing tap, ballet and jazz — which may explain her leg speed — before switching to competitive swimming.
She’s not an elite swimmer, but strong enough to come out of the 1.5-kilometre swim among the leaders.
"I do get nervous I’m not going to make the lead pack," Findlay explains. "It’s not a sure thing because it’s so violent and I’m not very aggressive in the water. As soon as I get on the pack with the leaders, it’s just a huge relief.
"I know I can hang in on the bike and then it comes down to the run, which is my favourite part."
Findlay’s father Max is a neurosurgeon at the University of Alberta hospital. Findlay wants to pursue a medical degree. She’s enrolled in sciences this fall at Alberta, although she’ll take the winter semester off to attend training camps and prepare for the 2011 season.
She uses those brains on the triathlon course, where tactics and strategy are as important as physical fitness.
"She’s intelligent and makes good decisions and she’s fit," Kelly says. "All those components allow her to succeed. There’s people who are talented and fit who don’t always make the best decisions."
The race Findlay didn’t win this summer was the biggest boost to her confidence. She beat a weak women’s field in April at a World Cup in Monterrey, Mexico.
But the Hy-Vee race in Des Moines offers the biggest prize purse in the sport and thus attracts the world’s top women. Findlay was among just four women to finish under two hours and her fourth place was worth a nice US$20,000 cheque.
"Monterrey was the initial confidence-building and Hy-Vee just showed I could compete with them and kind of belonged up there," she said.
Findlay continued building momentum by winning the Pan American Cup race in Coteau-Du-Lac, Que., on June 26, prior to departing for altitude training and races in Europe.
She’s discovered what’s she’s capable of when healthy. Findlay spent most of 2009 battling a stress fracture and knee issues, but still managed to finish third at the world under-23 championships.
"Last year I went into every race without being prepared for it," she recalls. "It’s been interesting to see what I’ve been able to do with good training."
Findlay has the skill set, determination and now the confidence to have a long and decorated triathlon career.
"Coming from Edmonton for crying out loud," Innes says. "Who would have thought somebody from northern Alberta, which has one of the harshest climates in the world, can succeed in a summer sport?
"Paula is a great example of what’s possible from a Canadian sport perspective. She does a lot of the right things from a hard-work perspective. She’s focused and determined. I’m trying to find more of those."