Like the Chinese, Tim Don will consider eight his lucky number. A top eight finish at the Madrid World Cup would help to book his place in Team GB in Beijing.
“I want to keep consistent. I’m ranked number one in the world at the moment and my goal is to try and maintain that,” he said. Don has finished in the top five in every World Cup event so far this year and he won in Tongyeong, Korea last month. “All the boys are racing so it is going to be a really tough field, Madrid is always a tough course very similar to Beijing,” he said looking ahead to the race.
Victory at the Corus Elite event in Reading a week before the Olympic showdown was the perfect springboard. In the process he beat New Zealander Kris Gemmell, a man who is already sure of his own Olympic place. “It is always nice when you can get through with no injuries, no niggles and no crashes, i’m looking forward to Madrid,” said Don.
Triathlon only became an Olympic sport at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. Don finished 10th for Team GB. He also went to Athens 2004 where he finished 18th. He celebrated his thirtieth birthday this year and the prospect of a third successive Games excites him. “I’ll definitely enjoy it. That may sound a bit funny and unprofessional but it is a journey. Maybe I’ve been so focussed on the races in the past that maybe I’ve missed the occasion. I know this time I am in good shape. If I can keep on moving upwards and onwards and not to stress too much, I’ll just be looking forward to being in the best shape and giving it a go.”
The development of his sport gives him considerable pleasure. “To put it into context, we only had our first World Championships in 1989 but we are already an Olympic sport, so triathlon is definitely on the move and I expect to see it around a fair bit longer. It is very important the athletes must not lose sight that there are other races out there as well. We don’t want to be one of those sports which is only remembered every four years.”
Don won the 2006 World Championship in Lausanne and his own maxim is “train hard win easy.” He knows Olympic qualification will be anything but. “I think when you win; it is a little bit easier. You recover a lot better and you have an extra spring in your step. I believe if you put the hard work in you will get the performance out.”
Although conditions are set to be tough in Beijing, Don is sure the air quality won’t cause him problems. “It is a concern, just as much as humidity, as much as the heat, as much as the jet lag, but we have got a fantastic structure behind us. They’ll make sure the athletes turn up there in the best shape possible. We are very lucky, the triathlon is about 45km out of the main city in a mountain region so the air quality isn’t as bad as the city centre. It is going to be the same for every athlete, so I am not too concerned.”
By Philip Barker