Russell White 48th in Debut Olympic Games
Russell White made his Olympic debut overnight and battled valiantly in the toughest of conditions to earn a 48th place finish in the Men’s Individual Triathlon.
It was an early start time for all at the Odaiba Marine Park, with the race beginning on the second attempt following a false start. The Banbridge athlete posted a finishing time of 1:54:40 for the event, which was won by Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt.
A Big Bike Effort
The swim saw White exiting in 48th position, 58 seconds down on the leaders. A clean transition to the bike saw him solidify his position and a big effort was needed to stay with those around him on the technical bike course.
Eight laps of 5km around the city, with 17 turns, was the challenge and White worked in a small group with eight of his competitors, moving up one position to 47th into the final transition.
Soaring Temperatures
White was quite isolated for most of the 10km run, with a 30-second gap to the athletes ahead, and over a minute to those behind. While some cloud cover took the sting out of the sun, the temperature and humidity remained intense throughout the event.
Speaking afterwards White said:
“I was on the back foot from the start, I didn’t get a great swim. I thought after the first lap that I could maybe bridge up to that main group but it sort of split with about 300 to go and I just didn’t get on good feet.“
“It made for a gruelling bike in a small group and having to really work hard – not much draft, a lot of gaps. Sprinting out of all the corners in such a small group it did burn the legs out for the run.“
Reflecting on his Olympic Games debut he added:
“I’m absolutely honoured to be here today and compete for Ireland in the Olympic Games – but obviously, just not the performance I was looking for.”
Hayes in Women’s Event
Next up for Team Ireland, Carolyn Hayes races in the women’s triathlon at 10.30pm tonight, Monday 26th July (Irish time).
Watch live on RTE 2, BBC One and on Eurosport 1 in Ireland.
