NEWS

Ana Paula Duran is set to represent Mexico at her first World Triathlon Championships

By Courtney Akrigg | 23 Aug, 2019
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Ana Paula Duran, from Mexico, was inspired into triathlon through a friend. Four years on and Ana is heading to the Olympic City of Lausanne, Switzerland, to represent her country at the 2019 World Triathlon Championships, among the top age-group triathletes globally.

What started out as a fun hobby has now become a lifestyle and Ana is thriving across her triathlon journey. Mixing up training with three disciplines of sport keeps it fun and interesting and training in a club environment in Mexico City (Mind2Motion), under the guidance of renowed coach Claudia Beristain, ensures for consistency during training and team motivation. Finding the harmony between work, life and training as an age-group triathlete is challenging but equally rewarding for Ana.

Ana Paula Duran is about to embark on the journey to Switzerland, for the ITU World Triathlon Championships, to soak up her first World Championships experience.

How did you get into the sport of triathlon?
“It was about four years ago when I tried triathlon for the first time (sprint distance). One of my best friends just finished a level 1 triathlon coaching course in Mimi and he asked me if I wanted to train with him. And I thought, since I took swimming lessons when I was little, went to school almost every day by bike and my running was ok, that it shouldn´t be that hard.”

How did you get introduced into a triathlon club and how would you describe the comradery within the club?
“Once I started doing triathlon I came to realize that more friends were doing it too that I didn´t know about. One of them was already in a club (Mind2Motion) and introduced me to Claudia, the club coach. Her husband, who is sort of the club manager, invited me for lunch and explained the whole training system and the team identity and principles, with which I sympathized immediately. Claudia and her husband are really warm and kind, so they´ve managed to lead a group of athletes who appreciate the team values such as companionship. They believe a good athlete trains a lot, but a better athlete balances the training with social life. Continually after a training session or a competition we make a little social event were we get together, eat and have fun, which make the teammates get to know each other and therefore get along.”

When did you decide that representing Mexico at a World Championship level was something you wanted to aspire to?
“I think I never decided that. I always thought going to a World Championship would be really cool, but it wasn´t something I had an aspiration for, or at least it wasn´t a clear one. At the beginning I just wanted to beat my friends for fun. Of course now I´m eager to go and certainly representing Mexico at a World Champion will be a goal for next year.”

Have you raced at a World Championships before?
“No, this will be my first time.”

How motivated are you ahead of the World Championships in Lausanne?
“To be honest it´s a strange mix of motivation with anxiety, but I´m as motivated as I could ever be, not just for the race but for all the World Championship experience that, fortunately, I´m sharing it with some close friends that are competing too.”

What are you most excited for?
“Hard to tell. I think perhaps competing with other country age groupers. In my age group there are over 20 different nationalities. But another thing that I´m really excited for is that I´ll get to watch the male and female elite Grand Final races.”

Why triathlon?
“I think it goes well with my personality. I get bored easily and with triathlon that never happens. Training days are very different along the week. One day I may swim and bike, the next day run and swim. And then again, within each run, bike or swim, sessions are very different. Triathlon is a very beautiful and elegant sport. In Mexico is growing more and more, which makes local competition events more interesting and fun. Also, part of a triathlete lifestyle is to travel, so you end up going to beautiful places you may not get to know otherwise, such as for me, now, Lausanne. “

What advice would you give other age-group triathletes who want to take it to the next level?
“My (inexperienced) advice would be to be really sure about it because is not as easy or as fun as it sounds. It’s definitely hard work and you have to accept the things that comes with it. You might get tired of training hard and therefore be sleepy, hungry and cranky all the time. Or you might get injured, or be stressed for all the expenses involved in training and competition (which are quite a lot). So just be ok with the sacrifices you have to make and enjoy the ride doing the best with what you have. Sounds corny, but it´s true.”

Best wishes for your first World Championships experience Ana Paula Duran! See you in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Follow the age-group athletes and races LIVE on www.TriathlonLIVE.tv | #WTSLausanne.

Related Event: 2019 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Lausanne
29 - Sep, 2019 • event pageall results
Results: Elite Men
1. Kristian Blummenfelt NOR 01:50:47
2. Mario Mola ESP 01:51:03
3. Fernando Alarza ESP 01:51:18
4. Gustav Iden NOR 01:51:34
5. Vincent Luis FRA 01:51:53
6. Javier Gomez Noya ESP 01:52:14
7. Casper Stornes NOR 01:52:20
8. Jonathan Brownlee GBR 01:52:32
9. Marten Van Riel BEL 01:52:53
10. Alois Knabl AUT 01:52:53
Results: Elite Women
1. Katie Zaferes USA 02:02:45
2. Jessica Learmonth GBR 02:02:49
3. Georgia Taylor-Brown GBR 02:03:03
4. Rachel Klamer NED 02:03:44
5. Flora Duffy BER 02:04:26
6. Laura Lindemann GER 02:04:41
7. Annamaria Mazzetti ITA 02:04:51
8. Alice Betto ITA 02:05:11
9. Taylor Spivey USA 02:05:40
10. Nicola Spirig SUI 02:05:53
Results: U23 Men
1. Roberto Sanchez Mantecon ESP 01:50:20
2. Csongor Lehmann HUN 01:50:36
3. Ran Sagiv ISR 01:50:50
4. Vasco Vilaca POR 01:51:07
5. Brandon Copeland AUS 01:51:12
6. Diego Moya CHI 01:51:28
7. Diego Alejandro Lopez Acosta MEX 01:51:38
8. Ben Dijkstra GBR 01:51:44
9. Matthew Hauser AUS 01:51:52
10. Simon Westermann SUI 01:51:57
Results: U23 Women
1. Emilie Morier FRA 02:04:01
2. Olivia Mathias GBR 02:04:08
3. Lisa Tertsch GER 02:04:32
4. Kate Waugh GBR 02:04:53
5. Kira Hedgeland AUS 02:05:22
6. Alicja Ulatowska POL 02:05:38
7. Lena Meißner GER 02:06:30
8. Erika Ackerlund USA 02:06:49
9. Ainsley Thorpe NZL 02:07:25
10. Therese Feuersinger AUT 02:07:37
Results: Junior Men
1. Ricardo Batista POR 00:55:05
2. Lorcan Redmond AUS 00:55:12
3. Sergio Baxter Cabrera ESP 00:55:16
4. Boris Pierre FRA 00:55:18
5. Paul Georgenthum FRA 00:55:23
6. Levente Karai HUN 00:55:29
7. Brock Hoel CAN 00:55:36
8. Alessio Crociani ITA 00:55:38
9. Eric Diener GER 00:55:41
10. Simon Henseleit GER 00:55:42
Results: Junior Women
1. Beatrice Mallozzi ITA 01:00:41
2. Costanza Arpinelli ITA 01:00:42
3. Jessica Fullagar FRA 01:00:53
4. Hannah Knighton NZL 01:01:26
5. Erin Wallace GBR 01:01:47
6. Chisato Nakajima JPN 01:01:49
7. Nora Gmür SUI 01:01:54
8. Anja Weber SUI 01:01:58
9. Gillian Cridge USA 01:01:59
10. Brea Roderick NZL 01:02:01