AustrAliAn triAthlete | 27annabel luxford
sports pages. But despite her consistency
and her reliability of result, there always
seems to have been another
countrywoman stealing the limelight.
In short course it was Emma Snowsill.
Middle distance - Melissa Hauschildt. In
long distance - Mirinda Carfrae.
Is Bella destined to always remain in
the shadows of ‘The Greats’ despite her
achievements? Perhaps Kona 2017 is the
race to refocus the slightly wayward
spotlight onto Bella.
My interview with Bella offered me
another insight into the reason why she
may remain an outlier in sports media.
She is very ‘matter-of-fact’ and that, in
turn, communicates as being quite blasé
about her achievements in sport. Her tone
and compact phrasing tend to allow the
listener to skim over some quite outrageously
exceptional accomplishments. I don’t
think she likes talking about her success.Here are just a few statements
from Bella’s account of her introduction
to the sport.
“I won National Cross Country when
I was ten years old.”
“I went on to win the Australian U20
Cross Country in 2000.”
“I guess I knew that I was good at
this sport and could be better if I
wanted to be, but it was still just a
small part of my life. I went off to Bond
University the following year, on a
scholarship to study full time.”“I was named reserve for 1999
Australian Junior Team for the ITU
World Championships as I was in my
final year of high school and focusing a
little less on sport. I got a call up to
compete. I did a month of training and
went, and finished fourth.”
“I won the U23 World Championship,
won some World Cups, and finished off
the year ranked second in the World
Series. In 2005, I got a silver medal at
the World Championships behind Emma
Snowsill, and won the World Series.”eXCePTIonAL
ACCoMPLIshMenTs:
Annabel is one of the
most consistently
succesful female
triathletes Australia
has produced across
the years, and across
all distances of
triathlon.© Spomedis/ITU Media
© Michael Dodge/Getty Images© Spomedis/ITU Media © Delly Carr/ITU Media