Errors cost clearly ‘in-shape’ Lewis
JOSH LEWIS’ push to attain a Commonwealth Games qualifier at the Mallory Park Sprint Triathlon fell to two small – but costly – errors.
Chasing a top-five spot in an elite, draft-enabled sprint event to secure his place at Birmingham 2022, the 2019 Island Games champion lost contention after a shoe issue on the bike, ultimately crossing the finish line in 10th.
But he was then disqualified due to an innocuous error in first transition.
Clearly in great physical shape, Lewis came through the 750m swim strongly to leave the water in the top-10.
He then faced a significant setback when he found a snap in his elastic bands, used to secure the shoes on the bike, and combined with the 20km course’s technical nature, this left him unable to get his feet in and get the power down.
Left in a panic, Lewis slipped back two to three groups before resolving the issue but finished at the front of his bunch.
He followed up with a solid 5km run, leaving him estimating that he could have finished ‘fourth, fifth place’ had he held the front group earlier.
But then came the sucker punch. It transpired he had not put his wetsuit in a box provided at transition, a move that is rarely required and simply slipped his mind, resulting in a ‘DQ’.
‘I think I was really in good shape to produce a good performance,’ he said in a reflection video posted on his growing YouTube channel, Josh Lewis – Entire Performance.
‘But it didn’t go quite to plan. The classic story at the moment is that there’s always been something that hasn’t gone quite right for me.
‘It’s really tough to have these constant setbacks and you know you’re in the shape to be able to perform, you know that you’re able to deliver something good, but at the same time it’s just not coming through because of silly errors on my part.’
