The Abu Dhabi Team triathlete Ina Reinders was celebrating last night after claiming an emotional win at the Xanten Triathlon in her home town in northern Germany. Reinders, 30, crossed the finish line after the final 10 kilometre run 30 seconds in front of fellow German Melanie Schalwe. Although she had won in Xanten six times before, yesterday's win marked a special moment for her.
"It was very significant for me and my family. "My dad has been organising the Xanten Triathlon for 20 years and this was the last time he will organise it," she said. "I am a local hero in the town and the people were so happy I won. My dad was so excited to see me come first over the finish line. "Everyone was crying. It was very emotional." Reinders trailed in second place after the 1.5km swim, but made up time on the 40km bike race, pushing to the front of the pack after 3km and remaining in first place until the finish.
"It is quite a flat course, but it was very windy, during the bike race it was so windy it felt like you were on a very hilly course. Schalwe put a lot of pressure on me, but it helped push me on," she said. "It was very nice for me to win here again." While her Team Abu Dhabi Triathlon teammates head to California to train for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii next month, Reinders, who competes in Ironman 70.3, will turn her attention to the Berlin Marathon in two weeks.
"This was my last triathlon of the season," she said. "Now I will continue preparing for the Berlin Marathon. "I am glad I did well in Xanten as I have been concentrating on running rather than swimming or cycling." Reinders heads to Abu Dhabi in December where she will start training for the 2010 triathlon season. "I hope one day our season will start in Abu Dhabi too," she said. "It would be great to have an official Ironman in Abu Dhabi to start the new season."
Andrea Steinbecher added to the squad's trophy cabinet yesterday, taking the winners medal in the Cologne triathlon in Germany. @Email:sports@thenational.ae
