 Andrea Hewitt(Photo: Delly Carr / ITU; click to enlarge) |
New Zealand's leading female triathlete Andrea Hewitt will head into the London Olympics mentally fresh and in the best form of her career.
The 30-year-old Cantabrian has been keeping her Olympic build-up out of the spotlight at her training base in Sete, France for the past month.
Hewitt's last race on the international circuit was just over a month ago, when she finished third at the Kitzbuhel round of the ITU World Triathlon Series in Austria.
With all her fellow Kiwi Olympians competing in Germany last weekend, Hewitt decided to forgo the Hamburg race and continue her final preparations in Sete.
Along with partner and coach Laurent Vidal, who is part of the French triathlon team racing in London, Hewitt believes she is in some of the best form she has ever been in leading into the biggest race of her career.
"Everything has been going well in training and in comparison to other races I've done I feel better than I ever have before. Laurent has been great in training and tells me honestly whether I'm where I need to be which has given me good confidence," she said.
"Since Kitzbuhel I have worked a lot more on my swimming to get that better and obviously the run will again be very important in London. A lot of races finish in sprints so I've been trying to prepare for that. The run's going to be the biggest challenge, I know it will be really fast.
"The swim and bike are definitely important too and can't be underestimated. You've got to be at the front coming off the bike and if I'm not there it's going to be really hard to catch up. In training I've had to focus on the swim and bike too to keep them strong while I've done some key sessions on the run which should help with on the fast London course."
With Hewitt being touted as one of New Zealand's leading medal hopes at these Olympic Games, it has been crucial to stay away from the hype and pressure as much as possible.
Hewitt said being based in the South of France has been great to keep her in the right mind-set, and she will be treating the Olympic race exactly the same as she would any other.
She will continue her standard race preparation and travel arrangements, coming straight from France into London three days before the women's triathlon.
"I don't think the pressure is any different to other races and I've had good results and good form coming into this race. There's always going to be pressure and people talking but I can only do what I can on the day and just go out there and do my best. I raced four weeks ago now and since then it's been all go for London and I'm looking forward to the challenge.
"I'm not feeling much pressure over here away from New Zealand. I can read what's in the newspaper but I'm not really a part of the media hype because I'm not there every day. I'll watch the opening ceremony on TV and get into the mood that way. I won't have to change my training for the travel and it's just going to be like a normal race. I usually arrive three days before an event so this will be no different.
"I can't ignore it's a big race... the biggest race. I'm preparing for this one more than I have any other race and for this one I've really prepared, am fully rested and am doing everything right that will give me the best chance in London."
The Olympic Women's Triathlon starts at 7:55pm (NZ time) on Saturday August 4th with Hewitt competing along with fellow Kiwis Kate McIlroy (Wellington) and Nicky Samuels (Wanaka).
Three days later the men are in action, starting at 10:55pm (NZ time) on Tuesday August 7th featuring Bevan Docherty (Taupo), Kris Gemmell (Palmerston North) and Ryan Sissons (Auckland).
