Although the five-time Island Games triathlete qualified automatically in winning Sunday’s Rocquaine Sprint Triathlon, alongside men’s victor Ethan Woodhead, she claims to have approached the designated selection race as a fitness test following the cancellation of her focal Nice 70.3 amid the heatwave in France.
The Guernsey women will head over to the Faroes as defending champions, but Critchlow is hopeful they can continue their streak of success without her.
‘I think we’re in a position where we can get a strong team and evolve the team a little bit,’ the veteran competitor said.
‘That’s what needs to happen now.
‘Especially with the different format in the Faroes, where it’s sprint distance and draft-legal, we can take a slightly younger team as well.
‘We’ve had interest from some girls who already have strong swimming and/or running backgrounds and are wanting to do triathlon.’
Due to absences in Sunday’s qualifier, she now hopes that the Grandes Rocques Sprint on Sunday 26 July will play an elevated role in forming the women’s team.
Guernsey have typically sent four women to recent editions, and the spaces are already looking tight, with Hannah Kennedy having pre-qualified through sealing silver last year, Chloe Truffitt having shown interest in the Faroes, and Katie Birch proving a strong runner-up at Rocquaine.
Guernsey Triathlon’s recently-released criteria suggest the team could be finalised by late October, but Critchlow indicated there could be a battle for any remaining space.
‘We might be in a position where we have a bit of a development team and select our final team a little bit later than we will with the men,’ she added.
‘We are in an interesting place.’
The Orkney 2025 flag-bearer does already have a record of coming back from apparent retirement, as she did after her individual medal at Guernsey 2023.
And she has not yet entirely ruled out heading to the Faroes either in a competitive or official capacity.
‘I do love the Games, and if I’m needed, I will be there,’ she added.
‘But for the purpose of evolving triathlon, I hope I will not be racing.’
n Full Rocquaine Sprint report on page 31.
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