Amelie Kretz recaps WTCS Yokohama

Canadian Olympian Amelie Kretz continued her quest for a second straight Olympic appearance on the weekend at the World Triathlon Championship Series event in Yokohama. After a stellar swim and bike, she put herself in an excellent position early on in the run, only to fade to an eventual 33rd-place finish. We caught up with Kretz shortly after her race for some insights on the day:

I had a good swim, getting out in eighth position, I believe. I felt strong and smooth the whole time, it felt pretty easy sitting on feet.

I made the first group on the bike and my goal was to be smart with positioning as it is a technical course. I was trying to find the best wheels to follow and also conserve some energy for the run. I positioned myself well into transition, and was towards the front of the group out of T2. I felt good on the run for the first lap – I made my way to the front and my legs felt good. I don’t know what happened after that. After 2 km on the run, I just didn’t have any gas left in the tank. My legs still felt good, but I just had no energy. It’s pretty disappointing because I came in very confident with my running as it has been going well in training, and that’s what let me down today.

There are some positives that I can take away from the race, though. My swim and bike are back to being world class, I just have to put all three together now, because I know my run is also going well.

Next up for the 27-year-old from St. Therese, Que., is a world-cup race in Portugal this weekend where she hopes to be part of Canada’s Mixed Relay on Friday, then she will compete in the individual race on Sunday.