Raising a fist in triumph at his first World Quadrathlon Championship - 1992 World Quadrathlon Championships
*** Read Eric's own account (given below) of his amazing battle to make
it three
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There are sports
that are entertaining; sports that are simply good fun, and sports
that are challenging. And then there are sports that push the
body to the utmost limits. One of these is the Quadrathlon! Especially
for the Over 60s. The Quadrathlon comprises of the following four disciplines:- Swim (Sea) 5km (3.1 miles) Kayak (Sea) 20km (12.4 miles) Cycle (Tarmac roads) 100km (62.1 miles) Run (Road & Track) 21km (13.1 miles) The total distance travelled is 146km (90.75 miles). The race starts at about 9.30am and stops when the last competitor has completed all four disciplines and crossed the finish line.
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'Having won the over 60yrs World Title in 1992 & 1993, this was a race I dearly wanted to win to be the first athlete to achieve a hat trick of world titles at the Quadrathlon World Championships. ' HOPES ALMOST DASHED AT THE START
A HARD ROAD AHEAD
THE WORST IS YET TO COME
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Eric failed to finish the 1995
championship. His body gave up after ten and a half gruelling hours of
competition. What Eric didn't know was that he was suffering from an underactive
thyroid and had lost 25% of it. With daily medication keeping the
condition under control, and after a year off, Eric entered the 1997
Championships in the Over 65yrs category. Here's his account of the event.
'The sea was choppy and awkward and as I had not raced for nearly two years I didn't want to go out too fast and blow out before the finish. Apart from this I had no one in my age category to beat so I just had to cross the line to pick up the gold medal. I took it fairly easy and completed the swim in 2.15.40, a slow time but not too bad considering everything. The kayak section was hard going in the choppy water, especially out at sea where we were about three miles from land on the back leg. A disappointing time of 2.15.40 put me behind schedule for my goal of achieving 11hrs for the course. But I still felt good and there were still some athletes behind me. On to the cycle section and I really felt good now, pushing along as much as I dared - bearing in mind that I still had half a marathon to run afterwards. I made up some time on the cycle section and turned in a time of 4.11.22. I began the run and had to walk and run past the half way section - true to the words of my coach who had warned me that this would happen because I had not put in enough long distance training. Although I was tired I was still feeling good; no nausea or sickness, but I was very glad to se the finish line. I completed the run in 2.07.08 giving me a total time of 11.34mins to take another Gold Medal. And to be the first athlete over 65 year to complete the course. Since then I have taken a year off an may consider going back at 70yrs to set another record. But that is in the future - and possibly another story." Eric Hatliff, September 1997 |