32 | AustrAliAn triAthlete
Then you get to Kona – the Holy Grail of
Ironman. You came away with a
finishing time of 13:47:22, which is
amazing for such a tough event like
Kona. Talk us through how your day
unfolded and what the Kona experience
was like for you.
Love. Pure love. I lapped up the people, the
place and the day. I think I smiled for the
entire time, even when I was on that
Queen K! I loved the stunning swim, the
bike was so tough, and I was just crossing
my fingers that the winds didn’t throw me
from the bike. I knew that once I got to the
run I had it.
Do you think you’d like to go back to
Kona one day?
Sure, but I probably wouldn’t want to do it
at the expense of someone else as at this
stage I couldn’t see myself going to be
competitive. I would just be doing it
for fun.
Then, earlier this year you raced at
Ironman New Zealand. I understand this
was on limited prep because you had
been deployed in the lead-up and you
were also injured. But you still went
ahead with it. Talk us through the
lead-up, how you managed to get
Ironman training in while deployed and
also injured.
I was so blessed to have an amazing group
of girls to hit the gym with in Kabul and a
Commander who lead by example in the
way of fitness, so it was actually really
easy to train. Unfortunately, I was in a
moon boot due to a stress fracture but
that didn’t stop my enthusiasm for
training. As there was no pool, the swim
was my main concern when lining up for
Ironman NZ. But my mum is terminally ill
with cancer, and she has been through the
roughest of rough times with her
treatment, and she still fights, so
whenever I get a little voice I always think
of her, and she always tells me to give it
my all and prove them wrong. So yeah,
I will always try for her.I understand you wanted to give up
throughout the day due to how tough it
was but you didn’t – you got through it
and finished Ironman number four.hUSKISSoN TrIAThLoN feSTIvAL : Still smiling as she crosses the finishing line of
the 10th Annual huskisson Triathlon festival.What are some of the mental strategies
that you might use to get you through
those tough times in a race? How has
your Army training and experience
helped you to get through these hard
times and to never give up?
My mum is the reason I don’t give up.
My Army training has provided me with
the mechanisms to dig deep and never
give up. But when it gets hard I think about
all the chemo mum has endured and ask
myself, “Is a little swim, bike and run that
hard? No! So keep going!”What’s next for you and Ironman?
After Ironman NZ you had said that there
will be a number five but that it will
have to be a special one.
Any thoughts on where/when this may
be yet?
It will have to be Ironman WA. It is my
parent’s hometown, and it was my first
Ironman, and I got a time that was very
special to me. My brother races it every
year now after watching me do one, so it
will be Busselton.© Commonwealth of Australia / ABIS Sarah Williams