Nice Preview: Paula Findlay gears up for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship

It’s been quite a journey for Edmonton’s Paula Findlay since her Olympic appearance in 2012 in London – years of dealing with a variety of injuries hampered her ability to come back to the highest levels of WTS racing (she remains the most decorated WTS athlete in Canadian history with five WTS titles between 2010 and 2011) and she’s since turned her sights on the half-distance, with some impressive results including a win at the Ironman 70.3 North American Pro Championship in St. George, Utah last year.

Triathlon Magazine Canada caught up with Findlay a couple of days before the 70.3 World Championship in Nice. She’ll be one of 63 pro women lining up for tomorrow’s race and the only Canadian. On Sunday Guelph, Ont.’s Jackson Laundry will be the only Canadian in the men’s elite field.

The women’s race goes on Saturday, with the men competing on Sunday. Leading the women’s field is four-time Ironman 70.3 world champion Daniela Ryf. She’ll face some stiff competiti0n, though, including last year’s runner-up at both the 70.3 worlds in South Africa and the Ironman World Championship, Lucy Charles-Barclay, and the last woman not-named Daniela Ryf to win this title, 2016 world champ Holly Lawrence.

The men’s race promises to be very fast and very competitive, with Spain’s 10-time world champion Javier Gomez looking for a third 70.3 world title. He’ll have his work cut out for him, though, thanks to the competitive field that includes: England’s two-time Olympic gold medalist Alistair Brownlee, Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt, who is fresh off a big win at last weekend’s Grand Final in Lausanne, two-time Kona champ Patrick Lange, two-time 70.3 world champ and 2014 Kona champ Sebastian Kienle to name just a few.

Women’s start list:

Men’s Start List: