Baker credits fast time to relaxation

Press, 8 July 1986, Page 42

Baker credits fast time to relaxation

By

KEVIN TUTTY

Erin Baker last evening dismissed any suggestion that the world best time she set for the long distance triathlon in Sater, Sweden, on Sunday, was achieved on a course shorter than the prescribed distance. In a telephone interview Baker said the organisers of the European long distance triathlon championship had taken “great care” to ensure that the course was the correct length — 3.Bkm for the swim, 180 km for the cycle and 42km for the run. “To make sure that we covered the full distance we had to run a couple of laps of a track at the end of the course,” said Baker.

An American, Scott Tinley won the men’s section, also in a world best time of Bhr 28min.

“They (the organisers) wanted us to do fast times so they could attract some of the other top triathletes to the event next year.”

Baker’s time for the race was 9hr 27min which took 26min off her previous world best time, recorded when she won the Great Lakes triathlon in New South Wales in April last year. On Sunday she completed the swim in 56min, the cycle leg in shr 15min and the run — a full marathon — in a remarkable 3hr 7min. The additional time was taken up in the transition between the three legs. Baker said she put her superb time down to relaxation during the race. “I thought I could do around 9hr 30min, so I decided to relax and race hard but did not set a time for myself.”

The course was varied. The cycle leg was over three laps with a strong breeze blowing on the last lap, and the run was over undulating hills, half of it on seal and half on gravel. The running leg was the hardest, said Baker, but the course was not as demanding as that for

the Double Brown ironman in Auckland in March which Baker won comfortably. She was not surprised by the time she recorded. “My previous best time was set over a year ago. I have done more training and am a lot fitter than I was then.”

Yesterday, after a good sleep, Baker said she “felt great” and was going to do some sightseeing with other triathletes. She was going to take the advice of her coach back in Christchurch, Dr John Hellemans, and take a break from training for a week before starting a build-up for the world championship in Nice on September 28.

In that event, which she won last year, Baker will meet the cream of the world’s triathletes, and judging by her time on Sunday, will again beat them all as comprehensively as she did last year. Before that, though, Baker has an important date in Edinburgh. She will be there in three weeks to watch her sister, Philippa, row in the Commonwealth Games. Another Christchurch triathlete, John Hughes, competed in a half distance triathlon on Saturday and won the men’s section in 4hr 26min. He finished 10 T minutes ahead of the runner-up.