In Beijing, I exited 2nd pack out of the swim about 12seconds back but managed to make it into the lead group up the first hill on the bike. From there, it was a matter of working together and forming a big enough lead to not be challenged on the run from the group behind. I had heaps of help from Kate McIlroy, which made it a lot easier for me. She was unsure if she could finish the run because of her two last races, but she did this time and had her best result all season, in the mix for 3rd, and finished with a 6th place.
For me, onto the run I made a quick transition and it took Helen Jenkins 1km to catch me and take the lead. I managed to follow her this time. I was on my toes the whole time, not knowing if she had extra like she did in London this year. On the last lap, I knew I had to make the first move. So, on the small downhill, with about 1km to go, I overtook her. First, she came with me, but I pretty much did my sprint down to the u-turn with 400m still to run. It was an amazing feeling to see the finish line tape and to grab it. I loved that moment. And also seeing Laurent's face after the finish, then I got tears in my eyes. I really loved it.
With Melanie, Kisses from Laurent and David!
Champagne on the podium! with Melanie Anneheim, Helen Jenkins and Sarah Groff.
