OTC triathlete Petersen confident for Olympic qualifier
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- Created on Tuesday, 02 August 2011 20:56
- Written by Brian Gomez
BY BRIAN GOMEZ, THE GAZETTE
Her recent performances don’t support her claim. Neither does her international ranking. Jillian Petersen still believes in herself – and in her chances of making the Olympics.
“I can race with these girls,” Petersen said. “I’m just as good as them.”
The Olympic Training Center triathlete will attempt to turn her words into reality during the first Olympic qualifier Saturday in London, hoping to recapture her early season form by being much improved in the swim, dominant on the bike and competitive on the run.
Going for her Olympic debut, Petersen, 28, will be joined at a world championship series event by Sarah Haskins-Kortuem of the OTC, Laura Bennett of Boulder, Sarah Groff and Gwen Jorgensen, while OTC residents Matt Chrabot and Hunter Kemper, Manuel Huerta and Jarrod Shoemaker compete Sunday on the course for the 2012 London Games. The highest two finishing U.S. men and U.S. women – in the top nine – receive Olympic berths.
Petersen has trained in London since last month, trying to get acclimated to the humidity following WCS stops in which she was “horrible,” in a 39th-place finish in Madrid; in a 35th-place finish in Kitzbuhel, Austria; and in a 48th-place showing in Hamburg. Getting back her swagger also is a top priority, as she opened the season with a win at the Miami International Triathlon and a fourth-place finish at a USA Triathlon elite race series event in Clermont, Fla.
“I’m learning still,” said Petersen, who is 41st in the WCS rankings. “I still can learn a lot from all these races, getting to compete against the best in the world.” She added that she “never expected to be in this position. You’re always hoping, and it’s what you train for. But at the same time, it’s surreal. … It’s like you’re so close, you can touch it.”
The swim remains the “weakest link” for Petersen, a 2008 Pan American champion who took 17th at a WCS event last year in London. She’s optimistic that she’ll be “good on my run form, then I’m OK. … On my bike, I’m very confident. I have the strength to ride with them and bridge little gaps. And if I have some help, it’s a whole lot easier to close.”
Petersen needs her swim to “come around, like it did last year,” she said. If that happens, she could “come out near the tail end of that front group, and that’s all I’m really looking for. If I can see that, then I’ll be happy. Then I’ll know I’m in a good position.”
Above all, Petersen is cognizant of the fact that she has “beat some of the girls that have been finishing in front of me. … I’ve beat them before, and I want to beat them again.” Can she hold her own against an Olympic-caliber field? “Everybody can have bad days,” Petersen said. “You’ve just got to hope that you’re on your game when the time comes.”
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