Debbie’s Back On Track
World number 16 triathlete Debbie Tanner is a late inclusion in the field at Saturday’s ITU Oceania Triathlon Championships in Wellington, with the 27-year-old confirming her first race of the season as she recovers from Achilles tendon problems.
Tanner will line up alongside New Zealand number one Andrea Hewitt and our best performer at the World Champs finale in Budapest last year Kate McIlroy, adding to an already strong international field that includes world number eight Vicky Holland (GBR) and a host of other international and local contenders in a race that also carries national championship status over the standard distance.
"I only made the decision to race Wellington last week with my coach Pete Pfitzinger as I put tears in my Achilles in November and it has been a roller-coaster ride in getting them healed,” said Tanner.
"Now that I am running pain free, Pete and I went through a process of testing my legs each week to see what kind of load they were able to handle and were happy with the progress so decided that Wellington would be the perfect start for my 2011 season.
"Obviously with Olympic qualification this year, every decision is critical and the only thing that matters for me is being in the best shape possible come August and racing in London, but to get there you need to be able to have the stepping stones put in place and not only that, racing in New Zealand and in front of a home crowd is something I don’t get to do much so every have to make the most out of the opportunities.”
Tanner admits that her time out from the sport and in particular racing made her realise how much she loves what she does.
Profile photo courtesy Tri New Zealand
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