Last season was painful for young up and coming triathlete Sophie Corbidge – literally.
The English born 19-year-old, who has lived in New Zealand for five years, had most of her 2010 season snatched away after breaking her elbow in a bike crash at the Tour de Femme in Nelson.
Sophie was caught as part of bunch forced to slow suddenly at a corner – she managed to avoid the riders in front of her but was slammed into from behind and landed awkwardly.
Another cruel blow came towards the end of the year when she was diagnosed with appendicitis just four weeks out from the world championships meet in Budapest.
Having been unable to race for the whole season, her entry to the event had been granted on discretionary grounds.
Two days before she was meant to be flying to Budapest, Sophie was stuck in a hospital operating room having the pesky appendix removed. Never one to let an opportunity slip past, she rescheduled her flights for two weeks later.
"Luckily we were able to change my flights and I was able to get on the start line and actually race,” Sophie says.
"But by the time I got there after surgery I was pretty wrecked. It was a really disappointing end overall considering the season I could have had. I haven’t had much luck at all.”
Last season’s horror run has now been tossed to one side as Sophie looks forward to 2011 with excitement and anticipation.
Her rise in the sport has been swift, having only taken up triathlon several years ago following on from a background in swimming, athletics and modern pentathlon. In 2007 she began competing in local and regional triathlons, where she quickly began to assert her dominance.
"When I came to New Zealand people told me I should buy a bike and see how it goes. Within the first year I’d been selected to represent New Zealand at the Under 19 World Champs in Vancouver.”
At the age of 16 Sophie won the national sprint triathlon, gaining her entry to the world champs where she finished as the first Kiwi and 12th overall in her age group.
In the same year, she was also selected for the World Cross Country Championships in the Czech Republic and the Youth Commonwealth Games in India to compete in the 800m race on the athletics track.
She’s since dedicated herself to triathlon fulltime and is looking to make 2011 a breakout season.
"I’m feeling really good and have learnt a lot from what happened last year. I just can’t wait until 2011, it’s going to be awesome.”
