TRIATHLON: Bunbury triathlete Ryan Bailie’s dreams have come true as he won a bronze medal in the triathlon team event at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Saturday, just two days after a fifth place finish in the men’s triathlon.
In the first time the team triathlon event has been seen at a professional competition, each of the nine competing nations nominated two female and two male athletes to complete a condensed triathlon in relay.
Emma Moffat led out the Australian team in the first leg with a solid 250 metre swim and a competitive six kilometre lap of the course on the bike to be four seconds behind the leader.
Completing the 1.6 kilometre run, Moffat found herself in seventh place, 35 seconds behind the Canadian leader as she tagged in Aaron Royle.
Royle who is known for his swimming ability hit the water and pulled the Australian team up to sixth before closing the gap to the leading four a little more with a powerful ride.
He continued to push himself to the limit on the run and looked ready to collapse with exhaustion as he passed over to Emma Jackson in fifth position, 25 seconds behind English athlete Jonathon Brownlee who took home the silver medal in the men’s triathlon.
A blistering swim from Emma Jackson put the Australians into third place and she consolidated that position on the bike before gaining back even more time with a fast run.
As 24-year-old Bunbury boy Ryan Bailie dived into the water, the Australian team found themselves in third place, 22 seconds behind England’s Alistair Brownlee in first and New Zealand’s Ryan Sissons in second.
A competitive swim from Bailie opened up a three second gap over South Africa and Canada with Australia maintaining third as he took off on the bike.
Working with Richard Murray from South Africa and Andrew Yorke from Canada, Bailie bridged the gap to Sissons and the four men were left to fight for the silver and bronze medals as they embarked on their 1.6 kilometre run.
Brownlee blew the race apart as he did on Thursday to take the gold and Murray showed his strength on the run to take the silver medal.
Coming into the home straight Bailie and Yorke matched each other stride for stride and with 200 metres to go Bailie took off in a sprint to put a gap on the Canadian.
With gritted teeth and nothing left in the tank, the joy at claiming a medal in his debut Commonwealth Games was evident as Bailie crossed the line in third.
Royle, Jackson and Moffat wrapped Bailie up in a team hug moments after he finished and the four looked thrilled as they were presented with their medals on the dias.