Tanya Dromgool shares some of her experiences with us after winning two medals at the Beijing World Champs.
She won gold in the 25-29 age group for the aquathlon and then backed up with a bronze over the Olympic distance.
We took some time out for a quick question and answer session with Tanya…
Q: What were some of your highlights in Beijing – before, during and after the race?
A: I was travelling and racing in Europe in the three months prior to going to Beijing, so by the time I got there I was feeling pretty homesick, to the point where I cried watching an All Blacks documentary on the plane to China. However, the Chinese culture intrigued and astounded me so much that I almost forgot my homesickness. I just loved people watching there - it was brilliant. It's crazy what they try and carry on motorbikes - like planks of wood! The place where we were staying was not at all what I had envisaged - we were out in the country and it was really green and full of trees. It was really scenic training around the area in the week leading up to the race. A highlight was the opening ceremony, we felt like celebrities walking down the street and it was so much fun waving and yelling to the crowd on the streets and trying to distract the Chinese soldiers from their statue stances.
Q: You must be extremely happy with how your two races went?
A: I am stoked with how my races panned out, I went into it hoping for top three places overall in both events which is what I achieved. I had a bit of a rough lead up into the races so it was extra special for me that I performed on the day and got a bit of hardware to bring home! Wish there had been three events so I could have aimed for one of each colour.
Q: It was an outstanding effort from the entire New Zealand squad, what was the atmosphere like among all the Kiwis?
A: The team was fantastic, we all got on pretty well especially because we had to all band together to try and survive in a place where not a word of English was spoken. Staying in the hotel with teams from a few other countries was also fun - met heaps of cool Aussies and we all cheered for each other during the races. We did a fair bit of celebrating on the Sunday night after the closing ceremony, but we are all hoping to catch up again in Auckland for the race there.
Q: What was the reaction like from family and friends when you got back to New Zealand?
A: My family were pretty excited, they are technological dinosaurs and not too flash on using the internet so I called them straight away to share the news. When I got back to Queenstown, being a small town word travelled fast and strangers were congratulating me in the street. My workmates had covered my desk in graffiti, balloons and blown up pictures of me racing. It was pretty cool, except the office vacuum took a hammering trying to clean it up.
Q: What have you got planned for the upcoming summer season?
A: I am currently recovering from a tropical parasite that I picked up in Europe, but once I'm back on track I will be starting my summer season with some good base training. I'm keen to get back out there, try and hold the European tan a bit longer and I will do a few of the national series events. I'm hoping to head back to Europe in May to my German team and compete in some other ITU races.
