Perth triathlete Selwyn Parker won European championship gold in the searing Spanish heat on Sunday.
Parker’s age-group victory over the Olympic distance was his first at this event having previously placed second in 2017.
Now bumped up to the 80-84 age category, he lifted the title in Valencia with a 38 minute swim, one hour 21 minute bike ride and 65 minute run for an overall time, including transitions, of three hours and nine minutes.
Temperatures of above 30C made for challenging conditions but Parker’s determination shone through.
“It wasn’t a big field, to put it mildly,” Parker told the Perthshire Advertiser. “There were meant to be three of us – me, an Italian and a German. But the German didn’t appear on race day and I heard he had unfortunately come off his bike the day before.
“The Italian is two years older than me and finished over half an hour back.”
The event was the first European championships since COVID-19 broke out and Parker says he wasn’t in top form.
“Like many others, I didn’t have the same motivation to train during lockdown and the race was tough,” he said.
“I couldn’t get to a pool for nearly three weeks before the race and had to rely on ‘dry’ swimming with tension bands. And although there’s no excuse, I let the running slip.”
Parker continued: “Most people were really struggling with the heat. It just got hotter and hotter, and there was no shade at all.
“But I got through it. It was never even a question in my mind to drop out. I did need to stop and walk a couple of times because the heart-rate was just getting too high.
“At the aid stations I would pour water over my head and down my neck, then got going again and made the time up.”
As the finish line approached, Parker thought he needed to find an extra gear to claim top spot in his age category.
“I got a fright with around 2k to go,” smiled Parker. “There was a guy in front of me and I thought: ‘Gosh, he might be my age group.’
“I had to kill myself to get past him and then discovered later he was in the age group lower!”
Now that racing is back in full swing, Parker plans to move up to marathons and, depending on how the body holds up, to the Ironman after a 20-year absence.
“I’m really looking forward to that,” he concluded.
