Two-time Olympian and Commonwealth Games triathlete Richard Murray has ended eighth in the ITU World Triathlon Edmonton event in Canada, writes MARK ETHERIDGE.
Race honours in the sprint event went to Spain’s Mario Mola as he covered the 750-metre swim, 20-kilometre cycle and 5km run in 51min 15sec.
Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt and Aussie Jake Birtwhistle were second and third in 51:18 and 51:22 respectively.
Murray’s time of 52:06 was just under a minute off the winning time.
But the South African was philosophical about this race.
‘It was a tough race weekend for me. In hindsight we may have got here just a little bit late to Edmonton, it being an eight-hour time difference and all.
‘I tried my best but throughout the race it felt like I was being held back in some way. I was just giving it my all and trying to stay as far forward as I could and get some more rankings points.
‘I was hoping to get a little further ahead in the run but I just couldn’t run any faster,’ he told Team South Africa.
‘I’m still happy with my form though. Now I head off to a four-week altitude-training camp in Flagstaff, US building up to the next race in Montreal.’
Photo: Murray in Edmonton action, by Wagner Araujo/ITU Media