Give Lucy Charles-Barclay a target and she’ll likely add another – that’s what great competitors do, and the much-publicised SUB 7 SUB 8 is yet another example.
The British star is in red-hot form right now, following up her fifth on World Triathlon Championship Series debut in Leeds with a dominant victory in the IRONMAN 70.3 European Championship in Elsinore.
And while there are plenty of targets between now and that bid to go under the mythical eight hours next year, it is already firmly in mind. Specifically she has a message for the experts telling her it is much easier for a woman to go under eight hours than it is for a man to break seven.
Lucy chasing Jan mark as well
Lucy’s response is to add that second, much harder target to next year’s event – namely Jan Frodeno’s current best iron distance time of 7:35:39, set at Challenge Roth back in 2016.
She said: “Yeah so the feedback we’ve received publicly has been that they believe the women’s time is achievable to go sub 8, but the men’s time maybe isn’t achievable go to sub 7. So we in theory have an easier task on our hands.
“I guess that could be true, but that sub 8 isn’t the only benchmark I’m gonna lay down. I would love to go out there and beat the current men’s fastest time over the iron distance which I believe is 7:35.
“So if I’m having a good day I will start aiming towards that time rather than thiking sub 8’s easily in the bag.”
No letup for Charles-Barclay
“I’m not the kind of athlete who’s gonna slow down, I’m gonna just keep pushing. People don’t need to worry about it being or looking easy, if they think sub 8’s easy. I’m just gonna push on to go even faster.”
Lucy of course is just one of four superstar athletes taking on the SUB7 SUB8 challenge – she is joined by Swiss star Nicola Spirig, two-time British Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee and Norwegian prodigy Kristian Blummenfelt.
The event will take place next year – with the exact date and venue due to be announced later this month.
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